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AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2006 > October > 08
Sunday, October 8, 2006
Where to from here?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There are no easy answers facing the Bulldog coaching staff after the breakdown in Athens Saturday night that saw a 17-point Georgia lead turn into a thoroughly embarassing 18-point deficit (and the feeling that the Vols probably could have scored one more time if Phil Fulmer had wanted to take away Steve Spurrier’s Sanford Stadium enemy scoring record).
Let’s look at some of the areas of concern and/or uncertainty:
QUARTERBACK: With Joe T. under center, the Dawgs moved the ball well in the first quarter and a half, chiefly due to the receivers suddenly remembering how to catch the ball and our offensive line doing a good job (most of the time) of protecting Joe and opening holes for Kregg Lumpkin and Thomas Brown. (Danny Ware appeared not be dressed out in pads — why, I haven’t heard.) But on closer examination, Joe got away with at least a couple of bad balls in the first half that should have been intercepted. And, of course, come the second half, he threw two interceptions and lost a fumble (though I still think that was a bad call and review; looked to me like his arm was moving forward when the ball came loose). Joe does, indeed, seem to have a firmer grasp on Mark Richt’s offense than the backups. But as has become painfully clear, he just doesn’t have the physical talent to execute it properly. I’ve heard the phrase “wounded duck” more than once to describe his passes, and it fits.
So what to do? While Richt’s first inclination probably is to keep starting Joe T. and use Matthew Stafford in relief, what will that really accomplish? Joe T. doesn’t appear to be good enough to beat the heavyweights remaining on our schedule. As green as Stafford remains (and he certainly didn’t impress anyone with his brief appearance in the UT game, ending in our third interception), he probably can’t do any better.
But I’m coming around to what I’ve heard a lot of fans (including my son last night) say: Write off any dreams of backing into the Georgia Dome this year and look to next year. In other words, if Stafford is the QB of the future, play him now and let him get the experience he needs. If Richt sticks with Joe T. for the remainder of the season, we’ll start out next year in the same boat we’re in now: No experienced quarterback.
RUNNING GAME: When we were in the I-formation Saturday, it clicked (except for the occasional breakdown in blocking from our improved but still inconsistent OL). When Richt persisted in trying to run out of the shotgun, it mostly didn’t click. Lumpkin remains the most consistent, reliable ground-gainer, even if his blocking sucks. Our best solution probably is to stick with Lump, work on improving his blocking (but for pete’s sake get him off the punting team!) and QUIT TRYING TO RUN FROM THE SHOTGUN!
SPECIAL TEAMS: The highlights of Mikey Henderson and Thomas Brown’s tremendous returns Saturday night were canceled out by our terrible kickoff game and our third blocked punt in two games. Surely SOMEONE on that team has enough leg to put the ball in the end zone. I know Richt has some fantasy about high and short, but that only works if you’ve got great coverage. We don’t. As for the punting team, we need only our best blockers in there and the coaches need to light a fire under Gordon Ely-Kelso about the urgency in getting the kick off quickly. As for PATs, Joe T. looked horrible on our try for 2 (completely missing two open receivers) and Andy Bailey’s extra-point kicks definitely need work.
DEFENSE: My son had felt I was being too hard on Willie Martinez, arguing that his schemes and calls weren’t as suspect as I’d been maintaining since late last season. He changed his mind last night. Sitting back in a zone defense that’s being picked apart by a precision pocket passer and not making a serious and sustained effort to blitz (despite the fact that Erik Ainge obviously hurried throws the few times we did apply real pressure) showed Martinez is flatly in over his head. And our secondary just looked pitiful some of the time. (Hard but true comment I heard in the crowd in the second half Saturday: “They should make Tra Battle buy a ticket.”) Martinez makes bad calls and is too slow to adjust to what opponents are doing. He needs to be gone.
COACHING: It was pretty obvious which staff made the successful halftime adjustments Saturday night. We’re seeing a disturbing trend of Georgia getting outcoached in big games. It needs to stop.
I’m not one of the cut-and-run members of the Bulldog Nation urging Richt to head back to Florida. I think he’s the right man for the job in Athens. But his success up to now has gotten fans kind of spoiled, so it’s not easy to witness the Dawgs looking completely unimpressive, even if this was widely considered from the start to be a rebuilding year. What concerns me is that I don’t see progress in resolving some of the problems we have. I hope Richt proves to be the head coach most of us think he can be, and that he takes corrective action, even if it means doing necessary things he’d really rather not do — whether it’s running more, benching some folks or lopping off some heads at Butts-Mehre.
After further review …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
… The evidence on the field confirms what many had thought (or feared): The key to Georgia’s 5-0 record before tonight, and the Dawgs’ status as the nation’s top defense against the score, was: Play sucky teams.
Tonight we found out what happens when we play a good one. And it was ugly.
Of course, the Dawgs’ offense and special teams didn’t do the defense any favors Saturday, consistently giving Tennessee a short field to work with.
More tomorrow.
