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AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2006 > September > 17
Sunday, September 17, 2006
A work in progress
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Saturday’s game wasn’t the most exciting for fans, but when a team like Georgia is playing a team like UAB, it isn’t supposed to be. Excitement in those type games means trouble — usually that the favored team has taken its opponent lightly and showed up flat. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case with the Dawgs. At times, Georgia’s play was sloppy Saturday, but they never looked unmotivated.
And it wasn’t a snoozefest by any means, thanks to the special teams living up to their name and the defense notching its second straight goose-egg. I liked this quote about the defense from center Nick Jones in the Athens Banner-Herald: “Them boys are playing lights out. It makes it easier on us. We don’t have to force.”
That’s the best thing that can be said about the Dawgs’ offense in Matthew Stafford’s first start at quarterback: They didn’t try to force anything and as a result had no turnovers. The only major mistake Stafford made was in not picking up a delayed safety blitz, and the blow he took to the chin probably impressed that on his brain permanently. Thank goodness Jones promptly jumped on the fumble.
Otherwise, the offense continues to be, as Stafford noted, a work in progress. Coach Mark Richt kept the playbook vanilla Saturday; the offensive line continued to be spotty (there were too many tackles in the backfield, even with two previously suspended starters returning, and we had a bad snap); the running game looked good at times (Danny Ware and Kregg Lumpkin) and not so good at other times (Thomas Brown); the receiving corps continued to be unimpressive, and Stafford and the receivers haven’t yet gotten their timing down on the long ball.
Let’s say the offense was adequate with a few flashes of what they hopefully will become. I know some fans are worried about letting Stafford run as often as he has in the past two games, but I think that’s a welcome (if unexpected) addition to our arsenal. Anything that makes the opponents’ defense think twice is good, and Stafford did some tough running in scoring his first touchdown, shaking off three tacklers on what could have been lost yardage.
As Richt noted after the game, there’s a lot of room for improvement. But once Stafford and the receivers get on the same page and the long pass downfield is back on the table, Georgia’s offense should be more than respectable.
As for the defense, they look really good so far, though as my son noted, they haven’t really been tested yet. (And who would have thought you could say that AFTER you’d played a Steve Spurrier team?)
MORE GOOD STUFF: The Blazers (the mascot is a green dragon, for those who might wonder), penetrated no deeper than the Bulldogs’ 36-yard line. … Special-team play was awesome: the blocked punt and recovery for a TD, Coutu’s 55-yard field goal, the coverage on kickoffs and punts, and Gordon Ely-Kelso averaging nearly 50 yards on his three punts. I still have a feeling they’re gonna win us at least one game this year. … The halftime video-screen tribute to Erk Russell was nicely done. In general, the use of the video screen (particularly in the pre-game) has been much improved this year.
AND THE NOT SO GOOD: Nine penalties for 70 yards, including consecutive third-down flags in the second quarter that kept a UAB drive alive and a fourth-quarter facemask call that did likewise. … Some ineffective playcalling, like on the fourth-and-one try when we went with lightweight back Brown, who got stuffed, instead of Lumpkin, Ware or the quick handoff to the fullback that’s worked so well in that situation in the past. … A.J. Bryant taking his eyes off the ball on the Dawgs’ lone dropped pass. … Two badly missed tackles on a 20-yard UAB pass completion. … The ridiculously long delay on the part of the officials while they tried to determine whether Bryant had caught another ball and, if not, what they ought to do. (In general, as LSU fans will attest, Saturday wasn’t a great day for officiating crews.)
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR: The guy who sits on the end of our row had complained to Damon Evans after last week’s game because there was no usher to keep folks from parking themselves on the steps next to him (we sit under the overhang). This week, we not only had an usher, we had an über usher. This guy warned folks to take their tickets with them if they got up or he wouldn’t allow them back in his section, he warned folks who’ve been standing on the top row for decades about the danger they were in of falling, and when early departers started moving up the steps, he started barking to them to “keep to the right.” Actually, it was kind of amusing. I half expected him to start telling us to sit up straight and dress that line!
