Life Calls

We are taking advantage of the bye week for non-blog related work. If the posting or comment moderation is less frequent. That's why.

Life calls.

PWD and TD

Mark Richt's Future

(Image: Hipple)
Every so often (about 10 times a day), I get asked my opinion on Mark Richt. There is one thing that is clear about him, not many people are torn about him. You either love him or you don't. I think that puts me in the minority, in that I am glad he is our coach, but sincerely wonder if he can make the changes, changes personally and corporately, necessary to get back to the successes of the early 2000s. I want him to succeed and wildly, but am less than convinced that he can do so again.

First, let me say I want Mark Richt to coach Georgia until he retires, whenever that is. I am proud to call Mark Richt the man My Coach. However, we can't ignore the level of play and how that level has degraded in the past couple of years. I firmly believe Richt has the personal tools at his disposal to bring that level back to what we saw in the early and mid-2000s. He also has the corporate tools at his disposal to do so. I have questions about Richt's ability to employ those tools, based on the past couple of years. Not that he doesn't want to succeed, I believe he does. Does he have the ability to see the issues, whatever they are, and apply those tools as needed? Can he?

Georgia has been close, very close, to remaining in the upper echelon of the the SEC. They are just as close to becoming what they were in the late 90s; a nice surprise pick every once in a while, but never a real threat to play in Atlanta regularly.

Second, I don't like feeling that Georgia has regressed to the level of 1990s play. Upon the hiring of Mark Richt, we made great strides as a program talent wise, coach wise, and fan wise. Regression is the real danger. I don't believe we 'have' to beat this team or that team every year for us to support a particular coach. I do believe we can look back over seasons and see an upward progression, a downward progression or a steady level of play (good or bad). We have been on a downward track.

I enjoy going to Sanford stadium, seeing the Dawgs play and fellowshiping with fellow Dawgs, win or lose. I love showing my kids where I went to college and where their momma and I met. I don't enjoy going to Boulder or Nashville or Starkeville or Columbia or Athens to watch this team play poorly. I don't enjoy looking at stuff like this and thinking about how the Dawgs never got whipped on the goal line or late in games in the early 2000s. I don't like hearing about 'cancers' and seeing a noticeable lack of leadership on the field, especially when the team is playing from behind.

I write all of this to those that say I am not a real fan, that somehow I can't be a fan if I don't unconditionally support the University, Coach, and Players without question forever and ever, amen. Those that hate Mark Richt and want him gone and you that unconditionally support him are all real fans. We all want the same thing: Georgia Success.

If my kids had to go to court for something they did, I'd still love them, but I'd not be happily chi about their actions. They'd still be my kids; I'd still love them unconditionally; I'd still support them anyway I could. I wouldn't act like their actions are irrelevant to me.

Same goes for the Dawgs. I'm not a booer; I'm not calling for anyone's job. I'm pointing out that it is my belief that Georgia has to play better than they have the past couple of years for continued support of the fans that the decision makers in Athens do pay attention to. At this point, it is impossible to say that Georgia has to win X games for Richt to stay around. It is easy to say playing with the same lack of urgency and general lack of concern about outcomes of games will result in that number being moot.

TD

Georgia Preseason Preamble

There are two things I keep thinking about when I start to write about the upcoming season:

1. How close to the Dawgs are to being overlooked due to the people putting an inordinate amount of weight on last year's performance having anything to do with this year's team.  Not to say they aren't related; they are.  It is too easy to say Georgia lost to UCF and move on to the next team without evaluating what has happened since then.  Similar thing happened in 2007 after the Sugar Bowl win over Hawaii. 
2. How close the Dawgs are to being rightly overlooked, with root causes of the recent past failures being the reason.  Failures of training, failures of scheme, and failures of development.  The answer to a turn around isn't simply saying run fewer quick draws or make the players eat right.  The answer is figuring out what the failures are and fixing them. DNA level failures.  Not doing so, and now, likely means a regime change in Athens.

I've talked about one of the changes that probably is the most obvious.  Getting guys stronger and eating better.  It remains to be seen if the new approach is working, but getting guys to lay off Waffle House and Burger King is a start.

I'm no schematitian, but as a team, we fail to utilize our best talent.  We fail to prepare for the most important times in games.  We blow time outs at crucial junctures.  We are on our heels and playing reactive football, on both sides of the ball, too much.   We don't find plays that work, then run those plays until the other team figures out how to stop them.  I'm bearish on this changing.  Several years ago, Georgia was singled out by the SEC officials for their hurry up offense and a rule interpretation was implemented to help defenses against hurry up offenses. Think about that, then think about the delay of game penalties and time outs we have blown in the recent years because we were unprepared for the next play.

The offensive line is thin.  We'll need inovative play calling to get guys open in space, without having to ask the linemen to create that space.  We'll need players who are ready to go from the day training camp opens.  We'll need those players to buy in and have each others back.  We'll need coaches that aren't afraid to fail and desperately want to succeed.  Not just succeed, but make the other team's coaches look badly outcoached.

I personally don't think there is any one answer to what has happened over the past few years. When you look at the downfall of large organizations, it is rarely one big thing that is the source of the downfall, it is almost always a plethora of small things that become cumulative.  Any one or two or three of those problems won't cause the downfall. I don't know if it has been a lack of oversight, lack of competence at key positions, or a lack of caring about either.  I do know incremental changes have been made the past two seasons, and we have tangible evidence of a mindset change at the top.  Very top.

Great leaders are adept at knowing personal and organizational weaknesses and isolating them.  Great leaders are adept at knowing what they are good at and maximizing those strengths.  For five plus years, we saw the great leader in Mark Richt.  For the past few, we haven't, at least to the best we can tell (I am willing to say the change in Dcordinator, although a year late, still has time to pay off due to implimentation lag time). 

Do I have faith in Coach Richt's ability to correct what has gone wrong?  I don't know, but I surely want to.  Do I have evidence that my faith wouldn't be misplaced? Absolutely.  There is also evidence that my faith would be.  Mark Richt lost to UCF, but he also was the coach that the SEC had to slow down.  Will he become the guy to slow down again?  To still be in Athens in 2012, I think he has to.

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On McGarity

Greg McGarity will be introduced as Georgia's new athletic director this afternoon at 4PM.  This should surprise no one.  McGarity was endorsed by Vince Dooley (again), Dan Magill, Jack Kingston, Tony Barnhart, and T. Kyle King not long after the term "red panties" was uttered for the first time.  It seemed he was the obvious and default choice throughout the process.  His only potential roadblock, it was thought, were his ties to Vince, not Michael Adams.

Despite the perceived clashes with Adams, McGarity was the obvious default pick for a reason.  He's got an impressive Georgia pedigree as a former athlete, coach, and administrator.  When he left UGA to advance his career at UF, he joined what has become one of the best, most consistent athletic programs in the country.  McGarity served under Jeremy Foley while both oversaw the sustained uber-competitiveness of Gator athletics from 1992 until today.  He has a long history at a successful athletic program attached to a academically rigorous public university.  Again, the choice was obvious.

So, what does the decision mean and what does McGarity need to do?  First, I wouldn't read this decision as some profound statement of current politics in Georgia or the university.  I don't think Adams made his pick because he was scared of Roy Barnes.  I also don't think this alone means that Adams's power is eroding on campus.  Once it came to light that McGarity has not only applied for the job, but really, really wanted it, the choice became clear.  No other candidate could match him.  Adams made the call and got a guy with a great reputation and vast experience.  I've also heard that Adams isn't going to be our President for too many more years (by his choice, not yours) and he is becoming more concerned with the state of the university he will leave behind.  Thus, maybe he is more interested in competency and long-term success over hiring "his guy" for control.  I may be giving him too much credit, but it's a theory.

McGarity will have plenty of personnel decisions to make in the next few months.  Depending upon how a couple of our teams perform this year, he could have some coaching decisions to make this year (I'm not referring to Mark Richt).  Those are going to be big decisions, but I'm more interested in making sure McGarity and our athletic programs are on solid footing.  He is taking over a fiscally fantastic program, but the University of Georgia Athletic Department can improve in many ways.  Here's a few things McGarity should concentrate on:

1. Michael Adams: Every successful university athletics program is backed up by a committed and enthusiastic university administration.  Despite our considerable squabbles with the leadership of Michael Adams, you can't say he's not interested in intercollegiate athletics.  People might debate the helpfulness of that interest, but he is at least involved.  McGarity must make sure that our university administration remains committed to the ongoing development of the athletics arm of the university.  Damon and Adams got along well.  McGarity needs to not only get along with Adams, but push him for as much help as Adams and the academic side can give.

2. Revenue: While Georgia is highly profitable, we do not generate as much revenue as our competitors.  According to 2007-2008 numbers, Georgia was sixth in the conference for athletic revenue.  We have to do better than that.  Our profitability is unmatched in conference, so if we can scale that up to the revenue numbers enjoyed by our competitors, all the better.  Florida seems to receive a lot of big donor money through its Bull Gator program for large annual donors.  I wonder if such a program is in the works for Georgia to increase donor revenue. Georgia recently signed a lucrative new media rights contract, so he'll have to look at other, inventive ways to maximize non-donor revenue.

3. Facilities: Most of UGA's current facilities are at or above the average SEC school, with one large exception.  Foley Field.  Ole Miss, LSU, and South Carolina have recently opened baseball palaces, and we're still sitting on a facility that seats less than 3,500 fans.  A big decision regarding Foley is coming and McGarity will be the man to make it.  You can add the less urgent, but omnipresent, indoor practice facility to that list as well.

4. Tone and Expectations:  Jeremy Foley doesn't put up with mediocrity.  McGarity shouldn't either.  There have been times in the past that I believed UGA would tolerate mediocrity.  One of the chief goals of our athletic department should be to turn a large profit, but big profits without championships is emptiness.  I'm all for making money, but money is secondary.  The goal is to offer our athletes a quality education and allow them opportunities to win games.  We seem to be doing fine with regard to educating our athletes, so I'll take that as a given.  But there should be just as much priority on winning as there is on profits.  We're real good at profits.  Let's get as good with wins.

Good luck, Greg McGarity.  Welcome home.

Quinton

UPDATE: Add one more to those challenges.  If we're going to stream a press conference, can we get a consistent stream that doesn't pause every two seconds? That was miserable. 

My 3 Concerns about The Program

In September 2006, I was interviewed by the publisher of the Colorado Rivals.com site. During that interview, I outlined to him the source of my confidence in the UGA program at that time. I said:

"With the exception of Auburn...every time Georgia laces them up, I expect us to win IF we show up prepared and ready to play. We rarely *lose* football games anymore. We beat ourselves via coming in flat or just stone cold wetting the bed...like when we enter the Jacksonville City limits.

...We just have to focus on blocking, tackling, passing and catching. The basics. If we make the plays that our talent level suggests we should make, we win.

Georgia doesn't have to do anything super human to win games with its talent, team work and conditioning.

Auburn is the ONLY team that we play that is just as tough. Just as well coached. Just as deep. Just as talented. And they are the only team that TAKES victory from us without us giving it to them or nutting up.

That's a very good place to be as a program. (PWD - Sept. 2006)"

That article was written before Urban Meyer really got things cooking at Florida. Before Saban turned Bama around. Before Miles really established himself at LSU. Before those three coaches combined to raise the standard of play in the SEC. Just as importantly, it was also before Georgia started the slow erosion of many of those areas of my confidence listed above.

Mark Richt's Future
I don't want Mark Richt to leave. Damon Evans doesn't want Mark Richt to leave. Mike Adams doesn't want Mark Richt to leave, and the vast majority of the lucid, Hartman contributing portion of the Bulldog Nation doesn't want Mark Richt to leave.

Just as importantly, Mark Richt doesn't want to leave. He has moved about 30 friends and family members to Athens. This is his family's home. All of those factors are why he's not going to leave.

But that doesn't mean that Mark Richt or any of the other folks listed above are happy with the current state of affairs. Nor should they be.

In the wake of the UT and LSU losses, there's a lot of talk about play calling, talent level, penalities, turnovers, etc. Those are symptoms. They aren't root cause problems. In my opinion, the Top 3 Core Issues are:

1. Lack of a Sense of Urgency -- This is a by product of Coach Richt's eight year deal and his enormous buyout. That contract and his track record of averaging over 10 wins a season have created a comfortable existence in Athens. Comfort has arguably lead to complacency and stagnation. The flip side of the argument -- Richt's contract promotes a level of stability that helps us recruit at a very high level.

2. Lack of a Transparent Meritocracy -- Sport is the ultimate meritocracy. The best move up. The weak move down. When the meritocracy breaks down within a program so that friendships, past relationships and/or seniority within the coaching staff or depth chart are favored over excellence or pursuit of excellence, everything falls apart. Urban Meyer and Pete Carroll have a relentless pursuit of merit among their players and coaches. If you're not good enough, you don't play or you move on. Knowshon Moreno would never redshirt for Pete Carroll. Bacarri Rambo would never be second string for Nick Saban, and our kick coverage would never be so un-special under Urban Meyer...not for this long.

3. Lack of an Attack Mentality on Every Down -- On Sunday, Blutarsky said we have a crisis of faith. He explained that by saying:

"It's a systemic doubt: the coaches lack faith in the players to execute and the players lack faith in the coaches' ability to deploy them efficiently and effectively."

I agree with him; although, I'd use a different phrase. I'd say we're coaching and playing scared. Scared of failure. Scared of giving up the big play. Scared of freshmen mistakes. Scared of everything. In the LSU game, we had Logan Gray fielding punts at mid-field in an obvious designed fair catch where we also didn't attempt to block the punt. That's as passive and submissive of a coaching move as you'll see. We're not attacking on special teams. We're not consistently attacking on defense. We're not consistently attacking on offense. We're not making the other guy uncomfortable.

The good news. All of this is fixable. And all of it is fixable by Mark Richt. In 2001, that's the kind of coaching staff and program he was building. But somewhere along the way things just sort of slipped.

How do you fix those issues?

If you fix #1, then #2 and #3 would fix itself.
If you fix #2, then #3 would fix itself.

The problem is...it's all fixable, but not without introducing new personalities into the mix. Something will have to change on that front, and Richt will have to make moves in the off season to address the issues.

Naming names and calling for specific heads to roll at this point does nothing. It helps nothing because Richt is not going to make a move mid-season. Nor should he. And Damon shouldn't start saber rattling either. Damon's private message to Richt should only be, "I'll give you the financial resources to do what it takes to make the staff excellent when the time comes. You can count on me."

Beyond that, Richt has to decide. How many more times does he want to feel like he felt Sunday morning? It's up to him.

PWD

Mark Richt: A Comparison

After the uproar over the coaching, performances, and disappointment of last season, I went looking for some perspective on Coach Richt.  I wanted to find a coaching parallel.  A parallel that had enjoyed great success, but for some reason or another couldn't breakout of consistent and diligent excellence to capture an mythical national title.  I went looking for a coach in a similar position.  A coach in a major conference with a major national rival who has shined a bit brighter and who also has an in-state little brother.  A coach who has proved himself an able recruiter in a fertile garden of football talent.  It didn't take long to turn my eyes upon Texas and coach Mack Brown. I hadn't remembered my search until Peter Bean's comment about Richt and Brown in this week's EDSBS Live, which jogged my recollection of all the parallels between the two coaches.

Brown took the golden reigns at Texas in 1998 after the Horns had grossly underachieved for years. His hiring set in motion the golden age of Texas athletics.  Brown has averaged over ten wins a season, is 8-3 in bowl games, and has ended up in the top ten of the final AP poll six of the last eight seasons.  Brown most importantly won the 2005 national title in that epic Rose Bowl against USC.  Surprisingly, Texas has won only one Big 12 title during Brown's tenure, in that same 2005 season.

While Mack Brown is now recognized as one of the best college football coaches in the country, he also has some serious flaws.  Brown was, and still is, an impeccable recruiter.  Normally that isn't a knock on a guy, but Brown failed to deliver results on the field that matched his success on signing day.  For a while there, Brown was dubbed Mr. February for his successes in recruits' living rooms rather than on the field of play.  After Bob Stoops took over in Norman, Brown and UT seemed cursed in their annual neutral site battle in Dallas.  After beating the Sooners in 1999, Stoops' first year, Brown lost five straight to the Sooners, sometimes by spectacular scores.  He's still only 4-6 against Stoops despite his recent successes in Dallas.  In Brown's twelve season tenure, the Horns have still only won that single Big 12 championship and have lost two other Big 12 title games.  He's also lost to the lesser in-state program, Texas A&M, three times, but still holds a 9-3 record against the Aggies.

Richt has eerily similar stats: averages over ten wins a season, 6-2 in bowls, ended in the top ten five times in the last eight seasons, three divisional titles and two conference crowns.  He's 7-1 against Tech.  Richt has an eerily similar weakness, too: 2-6 against the Gators.  Richt has also had two teams that, on paper, were absolutely loaded with talent and disappointed, 2004 and 2008.  So, you have two coaches in similar situations with similar results.  The notable exception is Brown's national championship.  That only took Vince Young and one of the greatest games in NCAA history.  Both coaches have also had a team with national championship caliber resumes that didn't get a chance to play for the crystal, Richt in 2007 and Brown in 2008.

There is one notable exception to the Brown and Richt comparison: their philosophy on defensive coordinator turnover.  Offensively, Brown has had one coordinator, Greg Davis, during his entire tenure at Texas.  Davis has had his detractors, but Brown has stubbornly remained loyal.  Richt has had only one OC other than himself (I'm not counting Neil Callaway because, ... well, you know why).  On defense, both Brown and Richt had a solid DC for the first few years.  Brown had Carl Reese for six years.  Richt had VanGorder for four seasons.  Since then, however, Brown has had a revolving door at DC, four coordinators over a six year period. Richt has held steady with one, Willie Martinez.  Other than turnover at DC, both coaches mix in long-term stability with new blood.  Brown has four assistants that have been with him from the start at Texas.  Richt has five.

I guess this comparison is useful, no matter what your viewpoint on Richt.  One could argue that like Brown, Richt simply needs the stars to align correctly to win the MNC.  He's doing everything right, but he just needs his luck to change and he will break through, just like Brown did.  On the other hand, one could argue that Brown broke through because he became willing to inject new blood into the highest ranks of his coaching staff.  Thus, Willie should find somewhere else to go.  Take the data as you will, but those two are almost exactly parallel.  Maybe Richt will get his shot soon, too.  

Quinton

Hidden Yardage: Killer Penalties

(Image: An Opinion on Sports)

As you already know, UGA was the most penalized team in the SEC and fourth most penalized team in the NCAA (116th) last year with 112 penalties (8.6/game) for 938 yards (72.2 yards/game).

	UGA	UGA Avg./Gm		Opp.	Opp. Avg./Gm
Penalties	112	8.6		66	5.1
Penalty Yards	938	72.2		558	42.9
First Downs by Penalty	15	1.2		35	2.7

Many folks (including me) have said in the past that penalty stats overall aren't that indicative of whether or not a team is successful. After all, the Gators were 11th in the SEC in penalties and tied with Oklahoma for 105th nationally. However, the real problem is WHEN the penalties happened. Not just the total volume.

Last year, Georgia's defense surrendered 35 first downs to the opposition via penalty flags. That's a staggering 2.7 free first downs per game. By comparison, the Gators only gave up 1.5 first downs by penalty per game and Alabama only 1.2 per game.

At this point, some of you are saying, "See, Willie Martinez sucks." However, if you look at this stat per game since 2002*, Willie's defenses were giving up freebie first downs via penalty less often than Van Gorder's crew until the 2008 debacle.


The Opportunity for Improvement:
If Georgia's entire team were to simply go from rancid to mediocre in the penalty area, they could improve about 30 net yards per game in field position. Based on Richt's statistical track record in Athens, that's doable. This is the hidden yardage we've talked about in the past.

But again...it's not the volume of flags. It's when they fall.

Eliminating 1 first down by penalty per game for the defense, could be the difference in winning and losing. Consider that last year, Georgia opponents scored 314 points offensively (non-special teams or defense) during 147** possessions.

That means the average value of an offensive possession for our opponent's was 2.13 points (points/possessions). That may not sound like much because it's stretched across an entire season. But consider specific examples.

The Bama game.

• Bama 1st Series - Georgia gave Bama two first downs on this drive including a roughing the passer play that happened when UGA recovered a Bama fumble. This cost UGA 7 points. Does the game get so far out of hand so quickly if we keep the momentum through that first possession?
  
  
• Bama 2nd Series - UGA gives Bama a 1st down at mid-field on a defensive holding call. The possession ends with a 23 yard field goal. Does Leigh Tiffin make a 33 yard kick? Probably. But another drive was extended.

The Tech Game:

• GT's 2nd Possession of 2nd Half - UGA gives GT a first down on a pass interference play of all things. Moves ball from the UGA 22 to the UGA 8. Next play TD. Holding GT to a FG here wins the game. (Although, not a defensive penalty...the first GT possession of the half started with a kick out of bounds followed by a 1 play 60 yard TD drive.)
  

Combine the 2.13 points per game from improving our defensive penalties with the special teams improvement we talked about a few weeks ago. We're almost giving the opponent an extra first down with every kickoff due to horrific coverage. Considering we kicked off 77 times last year, we're talking well over 500 hidden yards of field position for the other guys in 2008. Force 1 more punt per game by pushing the starting point back (a reasonable assumption), and you're adding another 2.13 points per game to the team. (I'm articulating the points per possession stat wrong here, but you get the idea)

What does 4.26 points per game mean? Last year, the UGA defense allowed (not turnover points allowed or special teams points) 24.2 points per game. Cutting that to about 20 points per game would be enormous. That's roughly what the 2007 team that finished #2 in the nation allowed. Given that we lost to GT by 3, no one can argue that 4 points of improvement wouldn't be a big deal. Beat GT and we finish 11-2 for the second year in a row, and we're all talking about a COMPLETELY different outlook for 2009.

Don't get me wrong. 20 points per game is still too many...but again....all of that improvement is BEFORE you factor in an improved pass rush or run defense by finally having healthy defensive linemen again.

Basically by trimming the stupid untimely penalties and getting better coverage on kickoffs, we get better quickly.

As for the kickoffs, I was pleased to see that Coach Richt doesn't want to redshirt any of the offensive skill, LBs or DBs in this freshman class to improve special teams. Getting the fourth team walk-on linebackers, fullbacks, long snappers and safeties off the kick coverage team and replacing them with faster scholarship players will do wonders for improving our kick coverage problems.

Bottom line. This team can get better by doing some basic things better.

PWD


*I can't find the '01 stats.

**Possession defined as a series involving a TD, FG, Punt, or Failed 4th Down. I didn't count possessions ending in a half because that's not easily accessible data.

Ok State OL: Matchup to Watch

Most folks want to focus on the broad picture of the Ok State offense (great in '08) vs. the UGA defense (shaky in '08), and for good reason. According to Sportsline.com, of the 530 points scored by Oklahoma State in 2008, 512 were by players who return in 2009.

However, I don't think it's as simple as "Them good: Us Bad." Their offensive line vs. the Georgia Bulldog defensive line is a very curious match-up. Let's take a look.

Let's look at their OL:

• OT -- Russell Okung (Sr.) Potential Top 5 pick in the 2010 NFL draft. Okung, the Big 12's top returning tackle, has started the past 34 consecutive games. Without Justin Houston at DE for UGA, we will definitely be facing a mismatch at this position. (Image above)
  
  
• OT -- Brady Bond (RSr.) 30+ starts for the Cowboys. If you're looking for a comparison, I'd say he's something like Chester Adams with more agility. An experienced, smart player with enough talent to be an NFL free agent. He's a kid that would be vulnerable to a big pass rusher if we had one.
  
  
• C -- Andrew Lewis (RSr.) 26 straight starts. He has played a little guard, and a lot of Center. Comparison...he's somewhere between Fernando Velasco and Nick Jones in terms of ability. Solid, savvy college veteran, but he's not a dominator.
  
  
• Guards -- This is where the Cowboys have issues. They aren't short on warm, big bodies, but none of them has seen a lot of action. A couple of JUCO guys and younger players highlight the list. It's always a treat to put experience DTs against inexperienced OGs.
  
  

I think Georgia is at a big match-up disadvantage on paper for OT vs. DE. However, we've got the horses up the middle this year to cause real problems for the men in Orange. Jeff Owens and Geno Atkins have vibrant NFL futures, and they are backed up by Kade Weston. Weston wasn't healthy enough to make much of an impact, but he'll be the best back-up DT the Pokes see all year.


Good to have the big fella back (Image: Hipple)
If we get competent play from the middle linebacker spot beside Rennie, we're definitely going to stop the run up the middle. We simply have better personnel. Our DTs should push back the middle of the line and eat up the zone read option, inside counters and draws from the shotgun. Owens, Atkins and Weston should draw double teams and free Curran and the MLB to make some plays.

Rennie is also so outrageously good in sideline pursuit on his side of the formation that the outside runs should be manageable. To shorten all of this...we don't need our MLB to play like Odell Thurman or Tony Gilbert to stop them from running the ball. He can play like Ellerbe pre-injury or Tony Taylor in '05 before he injured his arm. (I didn't discuss SLB because who knows if we're going to play 4-2-5 or 4-3 vs. these guys).

The question is...can we stop the pass. Martinez's scheme has never needed a 5 star alpha-male to stop a rock star WR like Des Bryant. Kelly Washington, Calvin Johnson, Percy Harvin, Robert Meachem, etc. None of them ever had a 100 yard receiving game vs. the Dawgs. The scheme needs DEs who can put pressure on the quarterback. Period.

Jon Fabris has faults. But as a DE coach, he has produced the most productive and consistent unit on the field for the past eight years. Last year, his only healthy kids were Justin Houston (RFr.) and Demarcus Dobbs (2 biscuits shy of 300 lbs last season). Everyone else spent more time on the training table than the practice field. Particularly Battle and Lomax. He had extremely little to work with and as Bear Bryant famously said, "You can't make chicken salad without chicken."

My point -- history suggests that Fabris will have the DE position figured out if he has something to work with. Battle should be healthy and productive this year. Against Ok State in 2007, he played possibly the best game of his career. Dobbs says that he's lost around 20 pounds. Cornelius Washington and Montez Robinson provide exceptional speed (although inexperienced). There are options.

The question is...will the DEs be ready to step up in Game 1...or a few weeks later? Because that's the entire ball game for the Dawgs defensively. Can we stop the pass? Because I really believe we're stopping their run.

Thoughts?

PWD
Georgia Sports Blog

Ok State OL: Matchup to Watch

Most folks want to focus on the broad picture of the Ok State offense (great in '08) vs. the UGA defense (shaky in '08), and for good reason. According to Sportsline.com, of the 530 points scored by Oklahoma State in 2008, 512 were by players who return in 2009.

However, I don't think it's as simple as "Them good: Us Bad." Their offensive line vs. the Georgia Bulldog defensive line is a very curious match-up. Let's take a look.

Let's look at their OL:

• OT -- Russell Okung (Sr.) Potential Top 5 pick in the 2010 NFL draft. Okung, the Big 12's top returning tackle, has started the past 34 consecutive games. Without Justin Houston at DE for UGA, we will definitely be facing a mismatch at this position. (Image above)
  
  
• OT -- Brady Bond (RSr.) 30+ starts for the Cowboys. If you're looking for a comparison, I'd say he's something like Chester Adams with more agility. An experienced, smart player with enough talent to be an NFL free agent. He's a kid that would be vulnerable to a big pass rusher if we had one.
  
  
• C -- Andrew Lewis (RSr.) 26 straight starts. He has played a little guard, and a lot of Center. Comparison...he's somewhere between Fernando Velasco and Nick Jones in terms of ability. Solid, savvy college veteran, but he's not a dominator.
  
  
• Guards -- This is where the Cowboys have issues. They aren't short on warm, big bodies, but none of them has seen a lot of action. A couple of JUCO guys and younger players highlight the list. It's always a treat to put experience DTs against inexperienced OGs.
  
  

I think Georgia is at a big match-up disadvantage on paper for OT vs. DE. However, we've got the horses up the middle this year to cause real problems for the men in Orange. Jeff Owens and Geno Atkins have vibrant NFL futures, and they are backed up by Kade Weston. Weston wasn't healthy enough to make much of an impact, but he'll be the best back-up DT the Pokes see all year.


Good to have the big fella back (Image: Hipple)
If we get competent play from the middle linebacker spot beside Rennie, we're definitely going to stop the run up the middle. We simply have better personnel. Our DTs should push back the middle of the line and eat up the zone read option, inside counters and draws from the shotgun. Owens, Atkins and Weston should draw double teams and free Curran and the MLB to make some plays.

Rennie is also so outrageously good in sideline pursuit on his side of the formation that the outside runs should be manageable. To shorten all of this...we don't need our MLB to play like Odell Thurman or Tony Gilbert to stop them from running the ball. He can play like Ellerbe pre-injury or Tony Taylor in '05 before he injured his arm. (I didn't discuss SLB because who knows if we're going to play 4-2-5 or 4-3 vs. these guys).

The question is...can we stop the pass. Martinez's scheme has never needed a 5 star alpha-male to stop a rock star WR like Des Bryant. Kelly Washington, Calvin Johnson, Percy Harvin, Robert Meachem, etc. None of them ever had a 100 yard receiving game vs. the Dawgs. The scheme needs DEs who can put pressure on the quarterback. Period.

Jon Fabris has faults. But as a DE coach, he has produced the most productive and consistent unit on the field for the past eight years. Last year, his only healthy kids were Justin Houston (RFr.) and Demarcus Dobbs (2 biscuits shy of 300 lbs last season). Everyone else spent more time on the training table than the practice field. Particularly Battle and Lomax. He had extremely little to work with and as Bear Bryant famously said, "You can't make chicken salad without chicken."

My point -- history suggests that Fabris will have the DE position figured out if he has something to work with. Battle should be healthy and productive this year. Against Ok State in 2007, he played possibly the best game of his career. Dobbs says that he's lost around 20 pounds. Cornelius Washington and Montez Robinson provide exceptional speed (although inexperienced). There are options.

The question is...will the DEs be ready to step up in Game 1...or a few weeks later? Because that's the entire ball game for the Dawgs defensively. Can we stop the pass? Because I really believe we're stopping their run.

Thoughts?

PWD
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