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AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2008 > November
November 2008
Running out of options
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just imagine what it would have been like if the Dawgs hadn’t had two weeks to prepare for the triple-option!
Makes you shudder, doesn’t it?
A lot went wrong for the Bulldogs on a miserably rainy Saturday when the Dawg Walk was canceled and the seniors didn’t even get to pose for pictures on the field with their parents. The offense certainly wasn’t perfect despite record-setting days by Matthew Stafford and Mohamed Massaquoi. As brilliant as he was at times threading the needle to MoMass, Stafford also made some awful throws and a pick-6. Of course, he was under considerable pressure much of the time with too many Tech defenders in the backfield. Knowshon Moreno continued to develop as a double threat, running and catching, but Georgia never really established the running game. And those holding and false-start penalties certainly didn’t help.
But the offense didn’t lose to the Jackets. Bottom line: If you’re an SEC team and you score 42 points, you should win the game.
This one falls squarely on the defense, which looked completely hapless in the second half, and on the special teams’ play, which was awful as usual.
The lack of discipline displayed much of the season by the team in general reared its head again in the third quarter as the Dawgs once again wilted in the face of a revved-up opponent. Now, it’s true that lack of execution falls on the players. Assignments were missed. Tackles weren’t made. Defenders tried in vain to shove a runner out of bounds instead of taking him down.
But those flaws point to a bigger problem for Mark Richt’s program: His defense does not appear to be well-coached. And the entire philosophy of special teams at Georgia is wrong-headed. To get to the heart of those problems, you have to look at the coaching. Georgia played four major games this year and had fatal meltdowns in three of them for losses. And even the LSU victory saw our defense hemorrhaging points. Ditto in the win over Kentucky.
On the matter of special teams, coach Jon Fabris just doesn’t have a clue. Georgia’s approach to kickoffs, with high, short kicks (when they don’t go out of bounds) and mediocre coverage by a team dominated by walk-ons, routinely results in superb field position for the opponent. Meanwhile, we have a 17-year-old kid back there receiving kickoffs for us who hasn’t even been coached on where he should line up before the kick, resulting in catching the ball while running backwards and then not knowing where to go. And then he fumbled on top of that.
Fabris also coaches defensive ends, and while that position has been a disappointment for Georgia this year, a lack of talent seems to be the main problem there. In the past, he’s produced some terrific DEs. Richt needs to let Fabris focus on defensive ends and find someone else to handle special teams. And maybe he needs to take a page out of Urban Meyer’s book and realize that special teams require more time, thought and emphasis than Richt has been willing to allocate so far.
As for the defense, the strong finish the past two seasons after faltering early in the year now appears to have been an aberration. The Dawgs started out this season mediocre and never got better; in fact, they appeared to get worse. Willie Martinez has shown little imagination in scheming and apparently isn’t able to teach his players how to fix what’s wrong. And, like Richt, he appears incapable of demanding his players perform in a disciplined manner. Maybe that’s because when they make blunders, there are no repercussions other than “loving” them more.
Martinez needs to go.
Richt, meanwhile, remains in some sort of la-la land of denial, sticking by his buddies on the coaching staff even when it’s obvious things aren’t working. And, knowing how stubborn Richt is, it’s likely to remain that way until the day that Michael Adams calls him in and tells him point-blank he needs to make some changes on his staff.
Frankly, I hope Adams doesn’t wait for another underachieving season before he does just that.
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Family time in Athens
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This has been a difficult week for my family, with the sudden death of my 82-year-old Mom and the need to make arrangements for the care of my 85-year-old Dad. So I’ve been in Athens most of the week with my brothers. This isn’t the place to memorialize my mother, but I do want to thank the many friends who came to the service or have sent notes or e-mails. It means a lot to us.
I will add one post-script: You know you’re a Bulldog family through and through (and that you’re in Athens) when discussion of the future plans of Stafford and Moreno even crops up during visitation at the funeral home.
I’ll be back to talking football soon. Until then, remember to hold your loved ones close to you. There’s nothing like family.
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Blame game at 9-2?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I saw this post-Auburn quote from defensive tackle Corvey Irvin on the Athens Banner-Herald Web site:
“We’ve been getting criticized the last couple of weeks now. They can’t stop the run. Coach Martinez this, Coach Martinez that. And the scoreboard we’re getting 38 and 40 put on us. They scored 13 points on us today. I’m not bragging or nothing, but we were just getting tired of it.”
Yeah, Corvey. The Bulldog Nation knows the feeling. Especially after the latest in the Dawgs’ series of underwhelming victories this season. The reality is, Georgia’s defense didn’t really look that much better Saturday than it had the three previous weeks when it was giving up points at an embarrassing rate. It simply ran into pretty inept offense.
And still Auburn came within a pass of winning the game. Not just because of our porous defense, of course. There was the second straight week of abysmal play by Georgia’s special teams. And the intermittently brilliant offense continued to stall in the Red Zone and have way too many three-and-outs thanks at least in part to Mike Bobo’s increasingly predictable play-calling.
I guess it might seem crazy to some that many Georgia fans are complaining about the team after it just notched its ninth win of the season, but that’s the way it goes for an elite program that was expected (unrealistically, it turns out) to be in contention for a national championship.
There’s plenty of blame to go around, including on the sideline, and not just Willie Martinez and his soft zone. Georgia’s talent level is obviously down on defense, especially at defensive end and in the secondary. Shall we tag recruiting chief Rodney Garner with that? He’s also the coach of the defensive line that has been manhandled by opponents much of the season and hasn’t consistently pressured the opposing quarterback. And while Jon Fabris has turned out some stellar defensive ends in the past when he had more to work with, his special teams coaching is just clueless.
And then there’s the penalty situation. Some of those personal fouls Saturday were totally needless and just plain stupid. I can’t really argue with the critics who call this team undisciplined and not very well coached. The Dawgs don’t tackle well, either. So the players get their share of blame, along with head coach Mark Richt, who sets the tone for the program and obviously needs a reality check. His “Hey, a win is a win” attitude and apparent instant amnesia about what went wrong each time Georgia squeaks by a team it should have dominated is beginning to wear thin.
And yet Georgia stands at 9-2 and, assuming it takes care of business Between the Hedges in a couple of weeks, in line for the SEC’s third best bowl bid. There are programs that would kill for such a result. We used to be one of them. But we thought we had moved past that point.
So, yeah, 9-2 is good. Not great.
POOCH KICKS: Think we’ve seen the last of Prince Miller back there to receive punts? Let’s hope so. And I’m glad someone finally told Logan Gray that fair catch and waving everyone off and letting the ball bounce aren’t his only options. … Thank goodness for Georgia’s Fab Four: Matthew Stafford, Knowshon Moreno, Mohamed Massaquoi and A.J. Green. I’ve been wishing all season we’d throw more to Moreno; his score on that screen pass shows why we ought to. And to give Bobo his due, that was a very well designed play. MoMass is a go-to guy. A.J. is a phenom. And Stafford always gives Georgia a chance. … However, unless you’re using misdirection, the quarterback keeper isn’t a good call for Stafford. … Sure sign that a promising Georgia drive is about to stall: Moreno takes himself out after a good play and heads to the sideline. … At least we didn’t try that bubble screen Saturday.
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Calling Soulja Boy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A lot of Georgia fans are convinced that no matter how bad Auburn has looked at times this season, the Tigers will play their best football so far this year against the Dawgs on Saturday.
It’s just part of the contrary nature of this always close series between two intertwined programs that recruit the same territory and hire each others’ grads as coaches. The fact that the visiting team often has the edge may favor the Bulldogs, but this is also a rivalry where the unranked team frequently pulls an upset (see Georgia’s totally unexpected domination in 2006).
On paper, this year’s matchup looks to favor the Dawgs: Georgia’s explosive offense against Auburn’s good but not great defense, and Georgia’s frequently ineffective defense against Auburn’s frequently ineffective offense. Auburn gets the edge on special teams, but you’ve got to figure that the Dawgs will show some improvement in that area this week (they could hardly be worse than last week). And Matthew Stafford, Knowshon Moreno, Mohamed Massaquoi and A.J. Green should prove too much for the Plainsmen.
But this is Georgia-Auburn, so there are no sure things.
The gut feeling is that in order to win out, the Dawgs are going to have to turn a page, like they did midseason last year. Georgia’s defensive players have talked the talk this week about getting back to basics, back to hardhitting, Dawgs D. And more importantly, about having fun.
They’re on to something there. See, that’s what I think has been missing much of this season … the fun. The swagger. The aggressive confidence. I’m not talking about a bunch of stupid personal foul or taunting penalties, either. I’m talking about the kind of swarming, lights-out defense that Hawaii saw in the bowl game and, overall, the kind of let’s-dance mentality that irritated Auburn so a year ago.
That Soulja Boy spirit.
Whether it was brought on by the lofty pre-season ranking that made them take themselves too seriously, a lack of strong on-the-field leadership, or the coaching staff having a lack of confidence in its patched-up lineup, the Dawgs have too often played tight and conservative this season.
A good portion of the blame can be laid at Richt’s door. Whereas last season he managed to get in touch with his inner Hurricane/Seminole bad boy, this year he’s reverted to Mr. Nice Guy.
We don’t need Mr. Nice Guy on the sidelines or on the field the rest of this season.
We need Soulja Boy.
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It was in the stars
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Although it was kind of lost amid the frequent special-team meltdowns and horror over just how incredibly inept the Georgia defense was against the Wildcats’ option running attack for three and a half quarters Saturday, Matthew Stafford played a pretty terrific game against Kentucky, even with several badly overthrown long balls.
At least, Stafford’s showing seemed to be somewhat overlooked amid the moaning and groaning in these parts about Georgia’s latest close-call win, saved by Demarcus Dobbs’ crucial one-handed interception. But his career-high 376 yards passing, three touchdowns and clutch plays, particularly when he scrambled out of the pocket to find A.J. Green up high in the corner of the end zone, were noticed by Sporting News Today, which named Stafford player of the day.
Mark Richt likes to call these “team” wins, but Saturday saw the team as a whole frequently trying to give the game away, only to have the most talented Bulldogs step up and get things back on track.
Notwithstanding his two fumbles in the fourth quarter (neither of which resulted in any Kentucky points, thank goodness), senior Mohamed Massaquoi continued his recent torrid pace, with eight catches for 191 yards and a touchdown. Most notable was his comeback after the fumbles, with his elusive running on that 78-yard pass play that set up Georgia’s go-ahead score.
And while the Dawgs’ offensive line (which took another injury hit) continued to be consistently inconsistent and was dominated in the middle by the Cats on way too many running plays, Knowshon Moreno still managed to get more than a hundred yards rushing and three touchdowns, mostly thanks to his own exceptional second effort on runs where he was given a very small opening and still managed to produce a big result.
It’s good to get a reminder of why these guys are stars.
POOCH KICKS: If there was the equivalent of an anti-game ball, special teams coach Jon Fabris’ stumbling units would be the hands-down winner this week. At least Blair Walsh didn’t miss any field goals. Of course, he didn’t try any. Most of the problems were the result of individual breakdowns, but that seam down the middle of Georgia’s kickoff coverage that resulted in a 96-yard return for the Cats has been evident for a couple of seasons now. Looks like Fabris needs help (or maybe Georgia needs a different special teams coach). … What to make of Georgia’s defense? While they occasionally got burned by being in the wrong scheme, which you can lay on Willie Martinez, most of the Dawgs’ problems stopping the run appeared to be due to poor tackling (particularly on the fullback dives up the middle) and missed assignments. I mean, why did it take the Dawgs so long to figure out that you have to cover both the QB and the pitch man on the option? Anyway, tackling and missed assignments are something the coaches ought to be able to work on. Considering we’ve got two more option-based running attacks coming up, that would appear to be Job One this week. … It was good to see Stafford throwing to Moreno. I bet we see even more of that in the remaining games. … It seems like those still recurring facemask penalties always come at the worst possible time. … Michael Moore once again had a couple of really nice catches Saturday. … Somebody needs to cut back on Scott Howard’s caffeine on game days. Whereas Larry Munson was known for getting into the game and turning a colorful phrase, on Georgia’s big scoring plays Saturday Howard sounded more like your average screaming fan freaking out. Exciting, yeah, but not the kind of play-by-play call likely to be quoted in years to come. Dial it down a notch!
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What a difference a play makes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s amazing how important a single moment in a game can be. Last year, Georgia scores first against Florida and lifts its game into a whole new level with the end-zone celebration. The team seemed to become infused with confidence. Florida scored. Georgia answered. The Dawgs seemed fearless, playing loose, having fun. From that point on they were unstoppable, playing with a swagger and conviction more associated with his FSU teams of the past than with any of Mark Richt’s Georgia units. I think you could have put that Georgia team up against anyone in the nation and it wouldn’t have mattered. After all, they’d beaten Florida!
This year, you could boil down the disaster in Jacksonville to one moment again, the second play from scrimmage, when mouthy Gators linebacker Brandon Spikes stuffed Knowshon Moreno and, for emphasis, kept Moreno pinned to the ground for a few seconds while he flapped his jaws instead of letting him spring up as he usually does. You could practically see the Bulldogs collectively thinking, “Oh, crap. Knowshon’s going to be ineffective today.”
Yes, Georgia moved the ball from that point, but Mike Bobo apparently had lost faith in the ability of Moreno and the Dawgs running game to punch it in, so he felt he had to get cute with the playcalling. Likewise, Matthew Stafford seemed to think he had to win this one all by himself, so he started pushing, making throws he shouldn’t have. The Dawgs were playing tight, scared. Like they had in so many games against Florida in the past.
So where do the Dawgs go from here? With their pre-season goals mostly likely out of reach now, can Richt and his staff keep the players’ heads in the game? Is playing for an 11-win season and the best available New Year’s Day bowl, the Capitol One, enough to motivate them? Can they regain at least a measure of that swagger and confidence that were so crucial late last season?
It’s not going to be easy. A key difference between this season and last has been the play of the lines, both hampered by an unlikely run of injuries and too many years of spotty, ineffective recruiting at those positions.
With an offensive line that can’t open holes, Bobo hasn’t been the same playcaller as late last season. This is where his lack of experience has been a factor; a seasoned offensive coordinator might have been better able to adjust. Bobo instead just became predictable, which is the worst thing for an offense. On top of that, Stafford obviously doesn’t trust this line, which has affected his play. He’s an extremely talented, if still uneven, quarterback and Mohamed Massaquoi and A.J. Green are brilliant, as is Moreno when he can get some space. But once the Dawgs get into the Red Zone, that doesn’t mean much if Bobo makes the wrong call or the line doesn’t get any push or players don’t execute properly.
Defensively, the lack of any pass rush has exposed the weaknesses of the Georgia secondary and coordinator Willie Martinez’s unimaginative calls. The swarming, shut-down defense of late last season has become the weakest in the conference, frequently out of position or in the wrong scheme.
And there are the penalties, of course, which show a lack of discipline. Plus the way the Dawgs wilted once they fell behind Saturday showed an alarming lack of mental toughness and focus.
Adjustments on and off the field are necessary, both in the short-term and the long-term, but for now it’s all about winning out and getting back into that unbeatable frame of mind. The pieces are, for the most part, there. Someone has to put them together. It’s time for Mark Richt to earn his big-time salary.
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Not ready for prime time
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A couple of weeks back when I was talking to various UGA fans about the murderer’s row the Dawgs were entering on the schedule, the consensus seemed to be that Georgia would be lucky to win one of the games against LSU and Florida. So, yes, Saturday’s loss to the Gators in Jacksonville was hardly a bolt out of the blue (and orange).
What was shocking and disturbing was the manner in which the Bulldogs lost, with Florida getting 21 points from turnovers on top of the 21 that the Penn Wagers officiating crew predictably gave the Gators with blown calls, and the Dawgs continuing to act like they’re scared to death of the goal line once they get inside the Red Zone. Once again, Georgia failed to show up mentally ready for an important game against a top opponent, something that’s now happened four or five times in the Richt era.
Granted, Florida has a superb offense and an opportunistic defense and deserved the win. But the Dawgs easily could have made it a close game had they not repeatedly shot themselves in the foot.
The chain of dispiriting events that marked Georgia’s self-destruction started on the opening drive with what the CBS crew charitably called “unusual playcalling” by Mike Bobo, who seemed determined to pretend like Matthew Stafford the passing QB was actually Tim Tebow the running QB. Stafford already had taken some hits courtesy of the Gators’ pass rush and was looking a little dazed and gimpy when Bobo decided to get cute with his calls in the Red Zone. In what universe do you approach a crucial third-down play by calling for Stafford, not the speediest of runners, to fake the handoff and try and go around the corner himself? Say what you will about armchair quarterbacks second-guessing the guys who get paid big bucks, but that was just a boneheaded call and unfortunately not the only one Bobo or Richt made Saturday. (“Here’s a great idea, guys. We know how explosive the Florida offense is. So let’s gamble with an onside kick and possibly give the Gators a really short field to work with!”)
From there, everything that could misfire for Georgia did just that, with our skill players making mistakes and Willie Martinez’s porous defense looking more and more like something out of the Big 12 or Mountain West. They did a pretty good job of keeping the Gators in check for much of the first half, though you have to wonder just what defense they were in on that first Florida touchdown as Percy Harvin STROLLED into the end zone. At times in the second half, though, the Florida receivers must have felt lonely out there as they sometimes made catches without a Bulldog in sight. And let’s face it, while they may have been let down by the continually misfiring offense, the Dawgs defense appeared to QUIT in the fourth quarter.
Some more observations:
Blair Walsh apparently flinches when the snap is less than perfect, resulting in two missed field goals, one of which saw him hit the upright for the third time this season. Somebody please hire Kevin Butler to tutor this kid! And maybe next time Georgia decides to try an onside kick they’ll remember the bowl game against Virginia Tech and ask Brian Mimbs to handle it. …
Knowshon Moreno kept taking himself out of the lineup whenever he did get off a good run, which makes it pretty much impossible to establish a rhythm. Is there some problem with his conditioning? Note to Knowshon: Heisman votes are attracted on the field running and catching the ball, not on the sideline playing cheerleader. …
Stafford, who played his worst game since his freshman year, alternated beautiful throws (with MoMass and A.J. Green making some terrific catches) with terrible ones, including at least one incomplete throw into triple coverage when he ignored at least two other open receivers. However, the missed TD to a wide-open Tripp Chandler in the end zone was Chandler’s fault, not Stafford’s. In that situation, the receiver is supposed to stop and give the passer a stable target. And there were a couple of dropped passes, too. …
Apparently the Georgia offense has never conducted an interception drill, judging by the way they let Gators race down the field after making picks. …
When will Bobo give up on that bubble screen that hasn’t worked all season?
Apparently the Urban Crier felt he had to make a statement with those last two timeouts. He made one alright, though I’m not sure it’s the one he thought he was making. …
Here comes the part the folks in jorts will call sour grapes, but anyone who watched Saturday’s game on TV knows it’s true: The officiating sucked big-time. Again. Richt correctly challenged the spot on that supposed first-down run by Tebow, and the replays clearly showed Tebow’s knee down well short of the marker. And yet after a lengthy review, the bad spot was upheld as SEC officials continued to refuse to grant a coach’s challenge, even when the evidence is there. But there was more, clearly seen by the CBS cameras and noted by their announcing crew: The uncalled defensive holding by the Gator defender on the first interception. And the uncalled offensive interference on the 44-yard Gator touchdown pass. This from the same Penn Wagers crew that proved in the Tennessee game they don’t understand the NCAA rule book. Either they still don’t, or they were determined to keep punishing the Dawgs for last year’s excessive celebration. If this is the SEC’s top officiating crew, then the conference needs to fire the lot of them and start over.
POSTSCRIPT: My neighbor the Gator didn’t do anything to mark Saturday’s win, so it was peacefully quiet and dark on the cul-de-sac, matching the mood of the Bulldog Nation.
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