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Week 10

Opponent:  Auburn Tigers

Kickoff:  7:00 PM

TV: ESPN2

Alright, that went about the way you’d expect.  Nice to watch a game and not be a bundle of complete nerves just knowing it was going wrong at some point.  Now we get a team that’s struggling for consistency about as much as we are.  Should be interesting to say the least.

About the Tenn Tech game…­­­­­­

The Good: The defense completely dominated an opponent despite emptying the bench.  That was nice to see.  They had less than 100 yards of total offense.  Offensively we played about like I would’ve expected.  We ran the ball and passed the ball at will and substituted liberally.  It was pretty much an ideal game.

The Bad: Logan Gray threw an INT so we ended up losing the turnover battle…again.  That and the fact we couldn’t force a turnover were a bit disappointing.  Given the way we’ve played at times this year, that’s really nitpicky.

The Key: The interior of our DL played like I had imagined it would all year.  TT couldn’t run the ball and it had no time at all to throw it.  Their offense was never a threat because of the play of the DL.  I’d love to see that effort carried through the rest of the season.

AU Offense

• For the 2^nd consecutive year the Tigers are breaking out an innovative offense in order to shock the world.  This year it’s worked decidedly better than last.  Last year’s debacle of an offense under Tony Franklin which lasted barely half the season was a disaster early and often.  This year’s unit under Gus Malzahn has been much, much better.  While still not the most consistent group, they took the same personnel and developed a productive offense.  The “it” phrase nowadays is spread and while they do spread you out, they actually run the ball a lot more.  Look for lots of misdirection and cutbacks.
• After suffering through a miserable, injury-riddled season last year, Chris Todd has bounced back in a big way.  Completing nearly 60% of his passes, he’s got a very tidy 17 TD to 3 INT ratio.  3 INTs all year?  We’ll drop that in a half if Cox is on.  Anyway, Todd isn’t a threat to run and he doesn’t have the raw arm strength of a Mallett to burn you deep.  Skills-wise he’s very similar to Cox, just without the INTs.  Not surprisingly, his 3 lowest passing games (by more than 50 yards) were in AU’s 3 losses.  I’d be remiss not to mention the “wildcat” since Malzahn was instrumental in its development while at Arkansas with Nutt and McFadden.  Last year’s QB Kodi Burns plays some WR now but will do some wildcat stuff.  Given their considerable misdirection stuff, Burns could be effective given his passing ability but he’s been largely held in check in that role this year.
• The AU running attack always has talent.  This year is no different where Sr. Ben Tate has emerged as a real threat, rushing for over 1,100 yards already on the season.  He’s averaging over 5.5 ypc and better than 1 catch per game too.  Freshman Onterio McCalebb has added a spark as more of slasher but the infamous high ankle sprain has held him out of the last two games and he’s questionable.  Mario Fannin is a do-everything back that’s lethal out of the backfield in the passing game.  Seriously.  That guy always makes a big play when I’m watching them.  He’s also 2^nd on the team in catches and 3^rd in rush yardage so that supports my theory.
• Lanky Ga native Darvin Adams has emerged as the biggest passing game threat, with 38 catches on the season for over 600 yards and 9 TDs through 10 games.  Jr. Terrell Zachary has been the definition of a big play threat, with 4 catches of 40 or more yards, but he’s been held to 2 or fewer catches in 7 of 10 games.  Sr. Tommy Trott is a weapon who’s only caught 10 passes on the year (he pulled in 20 last year).  Again, the RBs factor into the passing game a good bit.
• The AU OL was young a few years ago and they‘re now reaping the rewards of that a bit.  With the exception of RT Andrew McCain, every OL had started multiple games entering this season.  Don’t feel bad for McCain, he’s played in 37 games so he’s no newbie.  LT Lee Ziemba is probably the best of the bunch although OC Ryan Pugh isn’t far behind.
• Bottom Line: As you’d expect of every offense ever, Auburn has been more successful against weaker defenses.  Auburn’s just got a more stark difference than most.  They’re averaging 450 yards of offense per game, but in 6 games against teams with winning records that number falls below 360 ypg.  They’ve beaten up the bad teams they’ve played, averaging 590 yards of offense per game.  We’re barely a winning record team, but we’ve certainly got a stronger pulse than Ball State or La Tech, right?  LSU’s active D held AU to 10 points.  That bad Arkansas D only gave up 23 to AU, with 20 of those coming after Arkansas carried a 34-3 lead well into the 3^rd quarter.  Their offense has had some gaudy outings, but they’ve had some eggs too.  Look for Malzahn to put pressure on our DBs (safeties in particular) with the play action passing.
• Key Matchup to watch when they have the ball: Todd hasn’t turned the ball over much this year.  Well Brandon Cox hadn’t turned the ball over a whole heckuva lot his last two years coming into this game either and I think he averaged 5 INTs a game over those last two years against UGA.  I want to see Justin Houston really, really emerge.  I want to see the DTs play like they did last week, just disrupting stuff.  If our DL can control the LOS (not out of the question) like LSU did, we can have success against this team.

AU Defense

• We’ve played a considerably tougher schedule than AU has to this point.  Despite that, and despite the considerable defensive struggles we’ve had this year, I was shocked to see that our defense has put up better statistics than AU virtually across the board.  You thought our D was bad?  Auburn is 11^th in the SEC in total defense (we’re 7^th) and last in the SEC in scoring defense (we’re 10^th).  They’ve been particularly bad against the run (10^th in the SEC), which should be interesting to watch considering we can’t run the ball, which begs the question, if we do run the ball well against Auburn, does that mean we can run the ball or not?  The lack of a strong D is a bit surprising considering Chizik built his rep as a defensive coordinator.
• The star of the Tiger DL is Sr. DE Antonio Coleman, who is currently 3^rd all-time in sacks for the Tigers, a considerable feat.  His 12.5 TFLs and 6.5 sacks on the season easily pace the team.  They’ve yet to develop a bookend at the other side to match his production.  The interior is manned by guys that are solid but aren’t going to be guys you have to gameplan for.
• The Tiger LB corps has been paced by a pair of juniors from Florida in Craig Stevens and Josh Byrnes.  They are currently 1-2 in tackles on the team.  Rounding out the unit is a guy with one of the better names in the conference, Eltoro Freeman.  Eltoro.  That’s great.  The bull, or maybe it’s just the toro.  I don’t speak Spanish any gooder than English.  Sorry, any more gooder.
• This is where it gets weird.  Auburn has been significantly better against the pass than the run.  That’s not the crazy part.  The crazy part is they’ve taken as many injuries at one spot (safety) as you’ll see any team take and still been prodcutive agains the pass.  It’s gotten so bad that they started a 5-9 JUCO transfer CB at safety against Furman last week that had never played safety prior to that game.  Opposite him is a true freshman, granted, one that’s started every game this year, but still, that’s how beat up they are there.  Granted, the questionable safety position is shored up considerably by a pair of fine CBs in Sr. Walter McFadden (leads the team in INTs with 4) and Neiko Thorpe (3^rd on the team in tackles), but this unit is playing well above itself given their issues and results.
• Bottom Line: If we can avoid shooting ourselves in the foot, i.e. turning the ball over deep in our own territory, we should be able to move the ball.  No one all year has shut AJ down and Auburn has yet to shut a running game down.  If we suddenly are able to run the ball then our play action becomes that much more dangerous.  Right now no one respects it.  With the major question marks AU has at safety right now I’d imagine we use our athletic TEs to stretch the seams and couple them with AJ flooding some zones to put pressure on those guys.  Heck, I don’t care if we cut Chapas loose on the FB screen play 15 times per drive, I just want to score some points and move the ball consistently.
• Key matchup to watch when we have the ball: Watch AJ.  You know we’ll throw to him several times and you know if it’s close he’s going to come down with it.  He’s so vital to our attack it’s not very fun to think about him getting hurt and missing time but missing last week might have gotten him recharged and ready to produce against an AU defense that has played for 10 straight weeks.

The AU Game Overall

This is labeled the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.  That name conjures up old black and white footage and legendary coaches roaming the sidelines.  The rivalry is close, with AU holding a 2-game advantage.  The total margin of points over the 112 meetings is less than 50 points.  By all accounts this should be a close, old fashioned slugfest.  There’s an odd underbelly to this rivalry though.  Lopsided games are more common in recent years than closely fought ones.  You’d be better served coming into this game as the underdog, playing on the road based on history.  The rivalry just doesn’t make sense.  How else can you explain UGA being a 5-pt favorite?  Seriously?  Has Vegas watched us recently?

At the end of the day though, I think this game boils down to Joe Cox.  Sure, recent years would tell us that QBs by the name of Cox (see Cox, Brandon) tend to implode in this game but you could also say that QBs by the name of Cox tend to spur on UGA wins.  Whatever, Joe Cox playing like he did in Arkansas, or even against SC, can have some success.  Joe Cox playing like he did against UT, UF, etc. could get ugly against anyone.  Getting back AJ should open the running game up even more and I think we all know how much Bobo wants to make that work.  Maybe the OL is finally gelling after early season injuries, maybe it’s the emergence of Washaun, maybe it’s all smoke and mirrors, but I saw a running game start to emerge against Florida and last week it was there in the brief moments where we were trying offensively.

After this game Saturday, one fanbase is going to feel relieved and one is going to be depressed.  Yes, that’s true of most games in the SEC but this one is different.  UGA and AU don’t usually play with this little on the line.  True, AU’s in a transition year, but they came out of the gate too fast, got expectations up, and now they’ve proceeded (with a loss to the worst UGA team of the Richt era) to come crashing back down again heading into their nightmare matchup against a resurgent, undefeated Alabama team on the prowl for a national title…again.  On the flip side, a UGA loss to another first-year SEC coach at a traditional rival would just be too bitter to take.  With the way this season’s gone for us, I’m really hoping we come out on the good side of this one.  Lord knows we need it.

Positional Notes

• Washaun just looks better and better out there.  Very decisive on his cuts and just seems to naturally find space.  His development seems to have allowed Caleb to slide into a more specific role as pass catcher, slash-type guy, which he seems perfectly suited for.
• Josh Davis’ development at OT is only going to help our depth next year.  We should be loaded at OL next year.  Of course, I thought that about this year too prior to some of the injuries.
• Montez Robinson looks like he’s coming on at rush end.  After originally being an Auburn commitment, I imagine he’d love to bust out this week.
• Charles and White at TE are going to be a fun duo to watch over the next few years.  Both of those guys are so athletic and versatile.
• Joe Cox has thrown some questionable passes this year.  I don’t know that any were as questionable as the INT Logan Gray threw against Tenn Tech.  Straight into double coverage.  Ouch.
• Branden Smith is really fast.  I mean really fast.  He’s going to be a great CB once he’s in the system for a year too.  It’s easy to forget he’s just a true freshman.  He and Boykin are going to be a great tandem next year.

Random Thoughts

• UGA-Auburn in Athens will always make me think of the blackout two years ago.  Yes I know it’s been tainted somewhat after the debacle of the Bama blackout last year, but that night was just special.  It was really, really something to watch.
• With that being said, I think this whole trend in college football is getting a little crazy.  The trend of all these uniform combinations.  They’re basically just a shill for uniform manufacturers to make money by selling yet another jersey.  Black is one of our colors so I don’t mind it too terribly much but it’s one of those things where our uniforms looked so danged good already, why mess with them, especially when you know it’s going to get labeled a gimmick.  Look, I don’t blame a school like Clemson trying out a few different uniform combinations.  They wear purple and orange.  They owe it to themselves to try and find something tolerable out of the union of those two atrocities.  At UGA we don’t.  I don’t want to turn around in 5 years and be like FSU, more recently Oregon, where you never know what the team is going to look like week to week.
• Maybe it’s just because UGA is out of it completely since oh, week 1 or thereabouts, but this year’s national title hunt is pretty boring.  At this point you know the winner of Florida-Alabama is getting in, likely even if they take a regular season loss unless it’s really ugly.  Texas is likely in barring a meltdown.  I don’t even know what happens if Texas loses one.  TCU?  Boise State?  Gulp…Georgia Tech?  I mean, I don’t know who to pull for there.  I can’t pull for Florida anymore, I just can’t.  Bama, well…
• I don’t like Florida fans because they’re generally tacky.  UT fans often come across ignorant of anything not UT.  LSU fans are just weird.  SC fans are just fun to laugh at.  AU fans are obsessed (with Bama), but one thing this Bama resurgence has shown me is that it’s really, really easy to hate Alabama.  Good grief they are an annoying lot.  I had an Auburn fan tell me once that the Alabama fanbase was by far the most obese in college football. True or not, they certainly carry around massive amounts of inflated egos, which works great with Saban.  Where did these folks crawl out from?  I haven’t seen Bama fans en masse since Gene Stallings was there yet now it seems like you can’t go to a restaurant with a game on and NOT hear “ROLL TIDE” in that oh-so-Bama drawl.  Aren’t they about due for probation so those folks can go away again?

As always,

Have a safe weekend,

Jody

Viewfrom336.com

Last week was interesting…if you’re into pain and suffering, self-loathing, things like that.  I’m not, so I was miserable.  With that behind us, time to move on and see what we can salvage our of a pretty disappointing season.

The UF Game:

The Good:  Ealey getting his eyes gouges out shed light on Brandon Spikes’ general despicableness.  That’s about it.

The Bad:  Pretty much everything else.  The defense gave up another big offensive day to a team that had been struggling to put up points.  The offense showed some fight at times but has become so predictable it’s beyond sad.  Cox threw into quadruple coverage once.  AJ is a fine football player but c’mon.  4 guys?  It was just a total wreck.

The Key:  The opening drive.  We kicked off and simply watched Florida go straight down the field on us.  Just to make sure they understood exactly what we were about, we let them do it again on their second drive.  Meyer had his team focused and they came out executing on all cylinders.  Us, not so much.

The Tennessee Tech Game Overall:

AJ is out so our offense will have to find another way to score.  Look for us to try and pound the ball to try and estbalish some sense of running game.  King and Ealey still have potential to be excellent backs this year for us but we’ve yet to see consistency.  With AJ out and Wooten stepping into his role we should be looking at some opportunities for some of these other WRs to step up.  Wooten has looked good the couple of times we’ve gotten him the ball.  Hopefully Marlon Brown can have a breakout.  We really need for Cox to have a big day just from a confidence standpoint.

On defense we just need to pitch a shutout or something close to it.  We’ve got depth and against a team this overmatched we should be able to just out-athlete them.  I just don’t know what to expect.  I want some turnovers forced and some 3 and outs with regularity.

Positional Notes:

• Like I said, AJ is out so we’ll rely on others to step up.  I think Charles might have a big game.
• Boling looks OK to go.  That’s nice.
• Houston hurt his elbow and it wouldn’t surprise me if he was very limited.  That’s not terrible because I’d love to see guys like Washington and Robinson get some shots to provide a spark.  They’re the future, let’s get them ready.
• It wouldn’t shock me to see a random LB unit to start the game.  Curran and pretty much any of the 8 or so other LBs wouldn’t surprise me at all.  They just haven’t been that effective despite the incredible amount of talent there.
• Hopefully Gray gets his shot to operate the offense under normal conditions.  The couple of times he’s had the opportunity to operate the whole offense, i.e. not just the wildcat, it’s been in games so far decided as to be laughable.  Hopefully he can come in for some mop up duty and get some confidence.

Random Thoughts:

• Most of my thoughts aren’t print-worthy…still…
• I know most folks don’t care, I don’t really either, but I imagine the Indiana football team feels completely snake bit.  I mean first they had the whole Michigan game ending INT thing, then the TD overturn against Iowa.  Couple that with the fact that they’re in a turnaround year where two wins could make a huge difference in their season.  I mean, imagine that happening to Vandy when they were trying to get bowl eligible.
• OK, the season basically boils down to two games now…Auburn and GT.  Lose both of those and this season is one of the worst of the last two decades.  Win them both and it’s probably only the worst of the Richt era.  Actually, I still think we’re going to play a solid game on both sides of the ball against someone this year and win convincingly.
• Can someone tell Brandon Spikes to buckle his chin strap?  Josh Davis gets accused of “ripping Spikes’ helmet off” when it seemed clear to me it was popping off every other play.
• The winner of the LSU-Bama game still controls their own destiny, for the whole shebang too.  If LSU wins out they’ll likely be in the MNC, more than likely against Texas.  Who’s going to keep them out?  Iowa?  Boise State?  Oregon?  Not likely…at all…
• I know everyone is pretty well sold on the fact that Martinez is gone after the season, at least as DC, but I’ve yet to hear a DC name that really excites me and makes sense.  Richt’s hires typically have some connection, on some level, and I’ve yet to hear one of those that makes sense.  Tubberville of course has gotten thrown around some, but he hasn’t coordinated in a long, long time.  Not saying he couldn’t, just throwing it out there.  I don’t know who else would make sense.  I’d love to hear new ideas.  Is there any connection to Jim Haslett?  That guy coached the Steelers’ defenses of the late 90s before moving on to New Orleans and then eventual obscurity.  He’s now the head coach of a UFL team (that’s that 4-team pro league you’ve never heard of).  I’d be willing to take someone that would only be here for 2 or 3 years if they’d reestablish our defensive presence.  Any thoughts?

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Week 8

Opponent:  Florida Gators

Kickoff:  3:30 PM

TV: CBS

Well, the off week was long overdue given the schedule we faced early this season.  Now that we’ve rested up we get the #1 team in the country, the defending national champions, a team that utterly destroyed us last year, led by a coach who is probably still trying to make a statement about a perceived slight.  Perfect.  Oh well, into the breach…

About the Vandy game…

The Good: Initially on offense there wasn’t much, then AJ broke loose and we actually started to look more like an offense with a plan.  The defense was outstanding all day, with the exception of getting rolled to open the 3^rd quarter.  All in all, pretty much the ideal performance against a team that hadn’t been giving up many points on the season.  We didn’t win the turnover battle but a push feels like a win, especially when the turnover we gave up was deep in our opponent’s territory, a decidedly different approach to turning the ball over for us.  Oh, Caleb King looked good in as gutsy a performance as you’ll see (his jaw was broken).

The Bad: The offense struggled early, not getting a first down in the first 3 drives.  Against a team with a more potent offense than Vandy (pretty much anyone I suppose), we could have been in considerable trouble given our defensive play for much of the year.  The running game was still largely a mystery although there were some signs of life.

The Key:  Solid defensive play was the key.  The offense didn’t show up until we threw it to AJ and let him just create but the defense seemed to have everything under control for the most part.  Man that’d be great to break out this weekend, you know, a defensive pulse.

UF Offense

• This isn’t the Gator offense of the past couple of years, the one headed by Tim Tebow that just blew the conference apart averaging over 43 ppg for the past two years.  This offense has struggled at times, particularly in the red zone, as the personnel losses are appearing to be a bigger issue than originally expected.  They are still a formidable bunch, it’s just shifted.  They still have a good bit of talent and their national rushing rank of 6^th is certainly impressive.  The fact that they are currently 8^th in the country in total offense and 9^th in scoring offense and people are wondering what’s wrong is a testament to how good they’ve been prior to this year with Tebow at the helm.
• You might have heard of UF’s QB, former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.  A threat to score whenever he touches the ball, he’d be considered a throwback player because of his bull-headed approach to the game except for the fact his dual-threat ability is decidedly un-throwback.  His career passer rating is the highest in SEC history and he’s 1 rushing TD from setting a new SEC record for career rushing TDs.  While the UF passing game has struggled some this year, he’s really taken the reins and his 121 carries is more than double anyone else on the team.  He’s a load.
• At RB, UF has 3 options (whenever Tebow doesn’t just do it himself).  Demps and Rainey are essentially interchangeable, ridiculously fast, shifty weapons.  USC (the real one) transfer Emmanuel Moody has more beef to him but he’s only getting a handful of touches a game.  It’s surprising given the struggles of the UF WRs to see that the RB corps doesn’t have much in the way of receptions.  They’ve stayed out of that for the most part.  Demps is currently a little questionable for the game after injuring his neck, but if Tebow could play through a concussion that would take down a rhino I’m sure Demps will be fine.
• Gone are Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy, the pieces that just might have made the Gator passing attack work.  In their place is essentially Riley Cooper and well, that’s it other than TE Aaron Hernandez (who, while very good, is not going to present the same threat as Harvin/Murphy).  Cooper is a solid WR and since he’s white I feel like I should say he’s got great hands and runs good routes.  He does have a knack for being pretty hands-on with CBs and not getting called, a la Murphy against us last year.  Hernandez is a real threat for a WR.  He’s vital to their option game too as a 3^rd or 4^th option on the TE shovel pass that can just be a back breaker when it looks like everything else is covered up.
• The UF OL is big and experienced, with every starter tipping the scales over 305.  The line is anchored by the Pouncey twins, Maurkice and Mike, who man the OC and RG positions.  As much as Tim Tebow’s scrambling ability helps them look good, his tendency to hold onto the ball for long stretches has led to as many sacks already this year (15) as he had all of last year and more than he had for the whole 2007 season (when 6 of his 13 season sacks came against UGA).  They aren’t overly excited with the unit as a whole though and are toying with starting true freshman Xavier Nixon at LT.
• Bottom Line:  UF came out of the gates looking like world-beaters, averaging almost 60 ppg (against questionable opposition), but they’ve come back to earth, averaging roughly 26 ppg in the 5 SEC contests since.  UF has really struggled in the red-zone this year where (in SEC games) they have sported a decidedly mortal 76% red-zone scoring efficiency (19 of 25) including a surprisingly bad 28% TD rate (7 of 25).  This is hard to believe considering Tebow is one of the great short yardage options in recent memory (or at least he was prior to this year).
• Key Matchup to watch when they have the ball:  Tebow is obviously the key to this offense, and while he’s not a great option QB in the sense of making defenders commit (although from what I’ve seen of him this year he’s gotten better), UF really gets scary when they attack the perimeter with that speed at RB, Tebow as a power option and Hernandez coming underneath as another option.  We have to play good, disciplined defense to defend that part of their offense and that scares me.  If we can force Tebow to stand in the pocket, I like our chances, UF’s WRs have struggled to get open against most of the SEC teams they’ve faced, including an Arkansas team we threw all over.

UF Defense

• Well, any questions about UF’s offense certainly don’t apply to their defense.  While Alabama gets all the hype for having the best defense in the country, this UF unit is actually ranked 1^st in total D nationally.  Oh and they’re 2^nd in scoring defense, allowing barely 10 ppg.  They have legit, first day NFL talent at every level of the defense and return their entire 2-deep from the defending national championship defense.  That just doesn’t happen.  They’re very, very good.
• On the DL, UF sports a pair of bookend DEs as good as anyone in the country.  Javon Kearse might have been labeled the Freak but Carlos Dunlap is one.  At 6-6, 290 he’s as big as many DTs but he moves like a LB and just wreaks havoc.  He led the SEC in sacks last year and leads the team in sacks this year (5).  Opposite him is the more normally-sized Jermaine Cunningham, who leads the team in TFLs with 7 and has considerable experience to draw on, with 32 career starts.  Inside, a rotation of Omar Hunter, Terron Sanders, and Lawrence Marsh (possibly out with an injury) make for a stout unit that have given OLs fits.  Justin Trattou can play inside or outside but is banged up some.
• As good as the Gator DL is, the LBs are likely better.  MLB Brandon Spikes is an All-American and likely the best MLB in college football.  He’s missed the last two games with a groin injury but will likely be just peachy for our matchup.  He also looks like he’s 45.  WLB Ryan Stamper leads the team in tackles and basically caused the team to not miss a beat in the absence of Spikes.  SLB AJ Jones is an incredible athlete.  Guys like Dustin Doe and his 17 career starts have been rendered to backups.  Sick.
• As good as the Gators front 7 is, the secondary is likely the strength of the team.  CB Joe Haden is a pure CB who just makes plays.  Janoris Jenkins started as a true freshman last year and was the 2^nd true freshman to ever start at CB on opening day for UF.  The first was Haden, so these guys are seriously talented.  The safety trio of Will Hill, Ahmad Black and Major Wright are as good as you’ll ever see on a college football team and all 3 will likely make NFL rosters.  There’s a reason they are 2^nd nationally in passing defense.
• Bottom Line:  If we’re going to score significantly more than the 10 we managed last year we’re going to have to play our best offensive game of the year.  This defense is more than just a collection of NFL talent.  They are a disciplined, aggressive, brutal bunch that plays with passion.  Pretty much the ideal defense.  We’ll have our hands full for sure.  We’ve done a pretty good job of keeping Cox upright this year but we haven’t faced a front this good and if Cox starts staring WRs down like he has at times, this secondary will be all over him.  UT has a good bit better running game than we do but they were willing to sell out to run the ball and it kept the game close.  I’m not sure we can run against them, but I wasn’t sure we could in 2007 and Knowshon ripped off nearly 200 yards.  We, unfortunately, don’t have Knowshon anymore.
• Key matchup to watch when we have the ball:  Everyone knows that AJ Green is our best player.  That’s easy to see.  As much as I want to say we need to establish the running game and be able to control the clock, I just don’t think we can and I’m not entirely convinced we should.  AJ (and to a lesser extent Charles and White) gives us our best matchup, even against the top secondary in the country.  If AJ gets shut down, we likely don’t stand a chance.

The UF Game Overall

There are tons of old football adages out there about winning…run the ball and stop the run, protect the football and play good field position, be sound in the kicking game, etc.  The fact is we haven’t adhered to many of those.  If we’re going to have success this weekend we’re going to have to do a better job at a lot of those. We’ve got be better at holding onto the ball and forcing turnovers.  Don’t even get me started on special teams where I imagine even a banged up Brandon James is licking his lips, not to mention whoever is in charge of Florida’s fake punts…seems we’re good for one of those every key situation since the 2005 Sugar Bowl (exaggerated sure but a nugget of truth in there).

A couple of weeks ago I was convinced that this was going to be utterly hopeless.  After watching UF play the last few weeks I’m going to upgrade that to likely hopeless.  Florida is a very, very good football team with as good a defense as you’ll face that isn’t getting paid.  When you look at the matchup on paper, we really have no legitimate shot.  Honestly.  We’ve yet to run the ball with any consistency and our passing attack is essentially one guy, although what a guy.  On the other side of the ball, well, ouch.  We made Jonathan Crompton and Stephen Garcia look like all-Americans.  Neither one of those guys will ever be considered for a Heisman.  Tebow is being considered for his 2^nd.  UF is running the ball on everyone.  We’re handing out turnovers like candy.  It doesn’t look good folks.

With that said, why do I have this sinking suspicion that this game is way, way closer than the 17-point spread Vegas is laying on it?  Yes, I know we’re coming off a bye week and that certainly isn’t to be underestimated given the history of the bye week and this series, and I’m very pleased we’ve had 2 weeks to prepare, but I think this game sets up well for us for other reasons too.  Richt can basically pitch this as David and Goliath.  We’ve got nothing to lose, UF has everything to lose.  Their offense, while winning, has been beaten up steadily since the UT game.  Teams have shown how to play them.  Lesser teams than us have played them closely.  As strong as they are on paper, they haven’t lived up to it yet, then again, neither have we.

This UF team came into the season with one main goal, an undefeated season.  No Florida team has ever done that.  It’s the reason that Tebow, Spikes, et al came back for another year.  They want to win back-to-back titles but they want their legacy to be perfection.  So far they haven’t lived up to their preseason expectations.  Sure, they’re undefeated and still ranked #1, but they’ve looked more like those Ohio State teams that scrape by every week than the preseason machine that some picked to win every game by 10 or more.  The more they struggle, the more they seem to press.  If we can manage to play some stout D early and put some points on the board, I could see Florida pressing for perfection and eventually it will backfire.  Wouldn’t it be nice if just once Florida was the team that played tight in Jacksonville?

Positional Notes

• Getting back Akeem Dent and Marcus Dowtin should help considerably.  Both are talented LBs who will allow us to rotate more and stay fresh tracking down UF’s strong run game.
• Looks like there will be even more shifting on the OL.  Boling at LT makes a ton of sense.  Josh Davis played well at OT in his return at Vandy.  The rumors of a Boling-Glenn left side make me think we’re heading that way on the ground.  Whatever works.
• Chapas returns.  He hasn’t had the year he did last year but getting him back certainly eases things from a depth perspective.  Munz was his usual productive self.  I can’t imagine anyone in the history of football has a better touches-to-points ratio.
• If anyone ever questions Caleb King’s toughness they need to be shot.  The guy has a broken jaw, is still on a liquid diet and he’s ready to go.  Very impressive.  He looked good against Vandy in the passing game too.
• If we’re going to have success against UF, we’re going to need that vaunted interior DL of ours to actually play like a vaunted interior DL.  Owens, Weston and Atkins have played like world-beaters at times but I want to see some pressure this week.
• How great was it to see Prince Miller with a couple of nice punt returns?

Random Thoughts

• Well, everybody in the country is now talking about the SEC refs.  Are they conspiring to set up the matchup the conference wants in the SEC title, Alabama vs. Florida?  Florida has certainly gotten some breaks here and there from the officials.  It’s pretty absurd to think that the refs are in on some plot to get UF to the SECC game as #1.  Just to prove how absurd that is, I think the refs need to call a blatantly anti-Florida game this week.  Go ahead refs, shock the world and prove just how unbiased you are.  I dare you.
• So apparently the World Series just started.  I couldn’t imagine two teams I’d less like to see in there than the Yankees and the Phillies.
• How is it that Tebow never gets flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct despite leading the league in self-aggrandizing celebrations?
• I think Carlton Thomas has the most ill-fitting helmet I’ve ever seen.  It always seems like it’s way back on his head and he’s looking through the bottom of his face mask.
• Did anyone notice how often Dan Mullen and Tim Tebow remain in physical contact?  They still do, which would be more understandable if he wasn’t coaching against him.  It’s like Mullen’s Tebow’s pet or something.  Pretty coach.  Tim like coach.  Mullen looks positively smitten.
• Pottsie with the line of the week again:  “I keep expecting Logan Gray to fair catch a snap”
• If you don’t want Boise State playing for the national title you’d better be pulling for USC to beat Oregon this weekend.  If Oregon wins then BSU will take a big jump in the computer polls.  Not that UGA has any stake in those anymore.
• I know most of you have probably already water-coolered this one to death but how about Verne’s slip up in the Arkansas-Florida game when the guy had run with the ball about 40 yards and fumbled at the goal line to which Verne queried: “is that an incomplete pass?”  Wow, Verne, that’s Mike Patrick territory there.  You’re better than that Verne.
• Earlier this year I was wondering why Bob Griese had fallen so far as to be doing the noon Big-10 game on ESPN when he used to be a solid mid-afternoon guy and I think he even called the national title game a few years ago when Michigan won (QB’d by his son).  Maybe he was dropping taco-esque lines in production meetings and it was just a matter of time.

As always,

Have a safe weekend,

Jody

Viewfrom336.com

Trying something out here…let me know if you have strong feelings either way.  If you’re looking for the pdf version, it’s down below.

Week 7

Opponent:  Vanderbilt Commodores

Kickoff:  12:20 PM

TV: SEC Game of the Week (same as last week)

Oh dear…um…wow…that was as bad as I could’ve ever predicted.  The phrase “worst possible outcome” comes to mind.  Hopefully the team uses this as a rallying point and gets their collective butts in gear to finish out the season.  Up next a struggling Vandy team in a stadium that we haven’t played well in for as long as I can remember.

About the UT game…

The Good: Not much.  Boykin’s return. Walsh’s long FG.  Rambo’s pick 6.  That blocked punt was pretty cool.  I’m getting tired of pointing to this, but our punting is outstanding.  It’s that kind of year.

The Bad: Pretty much everything.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a UGA team this poor at running the ball.  Just bad.  Our pass defense looks just awful.  We do a decent job against the run but we were so unprepared for the bootleg and seemed to refuse (or were we just incapable) to make adjustments to it.  It was painful.  Crompton looked like Manning out there.  Has anyone figured out why Prince Miller can’t figure out where the 10-yard line is on a punt?  Our offense never crossed the 30-yard line of UT and honestly never really threatened.  From my recollection of the game (I haven’t been able to make myself rewatch), Joe Cox rarely checked to a 2^nd receiver.  He’s just locked in when he drops back, and not in the good way.  More in the way of I’m going to throw it right here.  I’m sure UT was doing some different stuff but if we were 3^rd and long you could pretty well count on a 4-yard pass.  Generally speaking if your defense scores a TD and your special teams scores a TD, you like your chances.  When your offense gets outscored by BOTH of those units it’s a problem.

The Key: Wow.  Just one?  The key to the game was our knack for making opposing QBs look like all-conference guys.  Mallett and Garcia had career days against us…and now Crompton too?  #$*^%.  Crompton threw the ball incredibly well on the run although not having a defender within 5 yards of most of his WRs probably helped the completion percentage a bit.  In the end, our inability to get them off the field killed us.  Not that we were going anywhere if we’d gotten them off the field.

VU Offense

• The Vandy offense has struggled this year to put points on the board.  More than us even.  Seriously.  In the 3 SEC games they’ve played so far they’ve yet to reach double digits points scored.  While they have a pretty solid ground game they haven’t done well in the air, currently ranking last in the SEC there.  Given the propensity of our defense to bring out the best in opposing QBs, I’m thinking Vandy has to be thrilled to play us this week.
• Sophomore Larry Smith took over the reins of the QB position late last season and has carried over to this year.  He’s putting up Reggie Ball-esque numbers, only without a Calvin Johnson to throw to.  His 46% completion rate is among the worst you’ll see.  In conference play his percentage actually drops below 40%.  He’s thrown only 2 TDs compared to 6 INTs.  He’s mobile though (bootleg anyone?) and his 59 carries are within 6 of leading the team.  He’s only averaging 1.7 ypc but that’s largely due to the fact he’s been sacked 14 times.
• At RB, a pair of freshmen have split the carries so far.  Quite literally.  Both have 65 carries on the season.  While they are similarly sized, Warren Norman has a little more breakaway ability and is sporting a tidy 6.1 ypc average.  Zac Stacy started off hot but has slowed (ankle injury didn’t help) but is doing well for a freshman.
• At WR Vandy hasn’t really established a great threat, mostly thanks to spotty QB play.  Put it this way, Michael Moore would lead Vandy in receptions and would only be less than 10 yards from leading in yardage.  Fort Valley native Udom Umoh leads the team in yards and his 1 TD accounts for half of their aerial scores.  Wow.  Slight freshman John Cole leads the team in catches with 17.
• I mentioned before that the OL has given up 14 sacks of a mobile QB.  Not good.  Well, color me surprised to see that Vandy starts 4 5^th-year seniors and a 4^th-year junior.  I think two years ago they started an all-senior line.  How do they always have that much experience?  Decidedly different than our approach of the last decade of stock-piling OL into 1 class and then doing a wholesale replacement every 4 years.  I like their idea.  Seems we’re headed more that direction already.
• Bottom Line: OK, Vandy isn’t a good offensive football team.  Yes, I know UT wasn’t supposed to be either and they just dropped 45 on us but Vandy should be much worse.  Yes, they have that whole mobile QB thing that can drive you crazy but this guy hasn’t come close to putting it together this year against defenses with a pulse.  Now begin your debate of whether or not we have a pulse.  I’m on the fence.  Anyway, we’ve been pretty good against the run, awful against the pass and worse against the bootleg.  Hopefully we can stop our string of career QB days this weekend.  We need it.  To give you an idea of how poorly our pass D is playing right now, SEC QBs are averaging right at 100 more ypg against us than their season average.  Thank you Jim Garland for that little nugget of depression.
• Key Matchup to watch when they have the ball: Crap, I don’t know.  It surprises me to see that Vandy is attempting essentially as many passes on the season as UGA.  If they throw 30 passes against us this kid might set personal bests all across the board.  He’s completing less than half his passes.  If we can slow their run and force them into long throws to convert I really, really like our chances at forcing some stops.

VU Defense

• While the Vandy offense has largely been ineffective, the defense has been quite solid, particularly against the pass.  They are 2^nd nationally against the pass, yielding under 120 ypg on average.  Against the run though they’ve yielded a bit more, managing a poor 90^th national ranking.  They’ve done a good job keeping people out of the endzone though, giving up under 16 ppg and not allowing more than 23 points in any contest.
• The Vandy DL rotates a good bit.  Sr. Greg Billinger, a former UGA commitment, anchors the interior.  At DE, lanky senior Broderick Stewart is a pass-rushing threat.  They’ve struggled about as much as we have in getting to the QB.
• LB is a spot that Vandy usually does a good job of producing talent.  While there isn’t a Jamie Winborn-level player here, they do have some good players who are extremely active.  MLB Chris Marve is establishing himself as a force, leading the team in tackles.  Sr. WLB Patrick Benoist is a bit undersized but he’s experienced and can make plays.
• The Vandy secondary came into the season knowing they had to replace early departee D.J. Moore at CB (what’s going on with kids leaving Vandy early?).  Despite his loss, CB is the strength of the team.  Sr. Myron Lewis will likely make it back-to-back seasons that a Vandy CB is taken in the draft.  His 6-3, 202 size at CB is a rarity and his 3 INTs show he has the ball skills for his position.  Opposite him is So. Casey Hayward, who isn’t the biggest CB in the league but will stick his nose wherever he darn well pleases, 3^rd on the team in tackles and an impressive 1^st in TFLs with 7.5.  The 3-man safety rotation of seniors Trice and Caldwell and sophomore Sean Richardson has been productive.
• Bottom Line: This ought to be interesting.  Vandy basically begs you to run against them.  We beg people not to make us run.  It’s like the movable object vs. the resistable force.  Vandy has been excellent against the pass all year, which up until last week was about the only thing we could do well offensively.  Teams so far have loaded up to stop the run and made Cox beat them.  Some games he’s looked capable, others not so much.  Given the likelihood of Vandy keying on the run, we’re going to have to get a good game from Cox.  Their secondary is strong so bigger games from Charles and White and our backs against their LBs would be preferable.  Who knows, maybe we get that RB breakout performance we’ve been waiting on.  Washaun maybe?
• Key matchup to watch when we have the ball: Lewis matches up with AJ Green about as well as anyone you’ll come across.  I don’t think they’ll be so bold as to man him up on Green, but if they are able to neutralize Green then we’ll be struggling.  He’s our only legit threat right now.

The VU Game Overall

This is the roughest I’ve felt about UGA football since, well this exact same week two years ago.  Flash back to 2007.  UT had just delivered us one of the more devastating losses I’d ever had the displeasure of sitting through.  Complete domination.  We had looked largely unmotivated at times prior to that, losing to a bad SC team at home.  Yes, I know we had looked good against Ok State, Bama and Ole Miss but that doesn’t fit my analogy.  We limped into Nashville, some freshman named Knowshon ran all over everywhere, and we still needed a late fumble from Vandy and a last-second FG from Coutu to pull out a 3-point win.  It was the last close game we played that year, going on a roll that saw us win our last 7 games by double digits and finish with a top 3 ranking.  While the 2009 team has some serious questions at two of the strengths of the 2007 positions (QB and RB), college football is too weird to truly say the season is done.

That 2007 Vandy game was really no different in terms of meaning.  I felt we were going to come out motivated and steamroll a team that was way outmatched from a talent perspective and show just how much the embarrassment of the UT game was behind us.  Instead we struggled mightily and barely hung on to win.  It wasn’t until the explosion in Jacksonville that we really gelled.  I’m hoping we get that kick-started a game earlier this year.  We need for Cox to step his play back up to the level we saw in Arkansas.  This season can still have some good moments.  Sure it won’t likely end with a top 10 finish but there is potential there.  This team has talent.  They just need to channel it and the coaches, well, the coaches just have to get better, same as the players.

Positional Notes

• Joe Cox has to work on his progressions.  He doesn’t appear to make any.
• We need to get Akeem Dent back.  I know he won’t make everything perfect on our D but he’ll improve it.  Looks like we’ll have to wait another week before we get him though.  Did they have to reattach his hamstring?  He’s been out about 4 times as long as Caleb King and that kid broke his jaw.
• Nice to see Marlon Brown make his first catch.  Would’ve been nicer had he held onto that slant pass earlier in the game though.
• Baccari Rambo just seems to be one of those right places right time guys.  We need more of those.
• Vance Cuff is suspended for this one on a suspended license/scooter problem.  That’s not a joke.  We have to lead the country in scooter related incidents.
• Was it just me or did Logan Gray look really small?  If we’re going to use him at QB, I hope we use his mobility more like UT used Crompton and less like GT uses Dwyer.  I’m a big proponent of bootlegs, run-pass options and such but our runs with Gray seem to be designed zone read things.
• Drew Butler is leading the country in punting.  That’s awesome.  It’s not awesome that we get to see him so much.

Random Thoughts

• Given the turn the season has taken, I don’t mind saying that there is a part of me that’s really looking forward to January.  Not because the football season will be over then.  More because the best show on TV will be coming back on for its final season.  That’s right…Lost.  As confusing as this football season has been, it holds not a candle to the confusion and mind-scramble that is Lost.  Only that confusion is more fun and entertaining than depressing.
• How is it exactly that they waved off the flag for helmet-to-helmet contact against UT when Marlon Brown dropped that pass?  I mean, correct me if I’m wrong, but the contact did occur. Right?  I know the play was dead but does that mean folks can just run around drilling people on incomplete passes?
• Sam Bradford won a Heisman.  Sam Bradford was injured in week 1.  I’m guessing ESPN spent more time on Tebow in the 2 weeks he was potentially out than they have in the 5 weeks Bradford was out, and it’s probably not even close.
• That explosion from the Falcons out in San Fran last weekend was unexpected.  A little much if you ask me.  Maybe I’m just saying that because I had San Fran’s defense starting for me in a fantasy league.  Do 49er fans feel like UGA fans this week?  Do pro fans feel pain like college fans?  Not you Pottsie, I know you do, I mean average NFL fans.  Is there such a thing as an average/normal SEC fan?  I think we’re all crazy.
• How hard are the jumbotron folks going to have to work to come up with highlights to show from these last 2 weeks?  You can’t really show AJ’s TD against LSU because of what happened after that.  It’s just too painful.  Maybe we could just show Tebow’s concussion.  It’s fine to say that now since he’s OK, right?
• The more the Dolphins have success with the Wildcat in the NFL, the greater the likelihood some NFL Owner/GM comes after Urban Meyer at some point.  If it’s Daniel Snyder in Washington wouldn’t that be interesting (remember he took Spurrier)?  If you missed it, Miami used 4 different “QBs” on their winning drive.  “Real” QB Chad Henne, a couple of RBs in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown and rookie Pat White from WVU.  I’m not saying I’m scared of Urban Meyer, I’m just saying if he wasn’t at UF I’d be happier about playing them, that’s all.
• I’m not kidding when I say that if Notre Dame wins Saturday over USC that Jimmy Clausen will more than likely be a Heisman finalist and they will play in a BCS game.  Seriously.  Fight on, Trojans, Fight on.
• I won’t be so homer-ish as to say every single TD celebration I saw was more egregious than AJ’s infamous one against LSU but I will say the majority were at least the equivalent.
• Tulsa, who has yet to beat a FBS team with a winning record, was giving Boise State all it could handle as I typed this.  They lost by 7, 28-21.  That is your #5 team in the country?  Oklahoma beat Tulsa 45-0 without their starting QB.
• Hopefully the next one of these I write is under more pleasant circumstances.  These depressing games make for poor writing conditions.

As always,

Have a safe weekend,

Jody

Viewfrom336.com

OK, let’s just purge last week from our collective minds. Can we get someone on that?

Oh well, maybe Vandy’s just what the doctor ordered.

Donwload Vandy Writeup