Talking points: what's up with the Georgia Bulldogs edition

by Joel on Oct 8, 2008 7:33 AM EDT in Rocky Top Talking Points Comment 11 comments

Huh. Funny how I found this in the Georgia 'sphere, but Georgia Sports Blog says that there's a rumor that coach Fulmer yanked the reigns out of Dave Clawson's hands and called the plays for the Vols at about the 12:00 minute mark of the 4th quarter of the Northern Illinois game, that point where we ran eight consecutive rushing plays for 45 yards before getting sacked and missing a field goal. Paul Westerdawg thinks this is bad news for Georgia: "A greater, Fulmer-driven emphasis on pounding the rock could be troublesome for the Dawgs without a healthy Ellerbe to clog the middle."
That would be Dannell Ellerbe, the Dawgs' preseason All-SEC linebacker who suffered a knee injury against Alabama. He's 50-50 for Saturday's game, and he's only one of five injured linebackers (there are only nine LBs on the roster) for Georgia.
Linebacker's not the only position at which the Bulldogs are less than healthy. The practical equivalent of an entire recruiting class will miss significant playing time this season, mostly due to injuries. It is looking like senior fullback Brannan Southerland will return this week after a six-month rehab of a broken foot, so there's that for them.
The Dawgs also appear to still be struggling along the offensive line. The starting lineup will mostly remain the same as it has for the past two games with the exception of left guard, which is "up for grabs." Most telling is coach Richt's quote suggesting that not too long ago they were having "four out of five [offensive lineman] blowing it" apparently at the same time. Troubling, though, is his outlook that "any game now, we might really put a strong performance together."
Georgia is the most-frequently penalized team in the nation, averaging 10.6 penalties for 87.4 yards per game this season. Only Florida State has been penalized more yards per game (90.0). The race is on! Can our offense gain more yards than they're given this week?
All of that plus the Alabama loss two weeks ago has somewhat tempered Georgia fans' expectations for the season. Doug from Hey Jenny Slater:
Again, with Georgia's weaknesses on both lines having been demonstrated to be rather more serious than we thought, it's a lot harder for me to see the Dawgs as a serious national-title contender now than I did in the preseason. A BCS bowl isn't out of the question, but there might be one or even two more losses waiting down the road for the Dawgs if the offensive-line situation doesn't improve. With that in mind, I think a bid to the Capital One or even the Cotton Bowl would be a decent reward at the end of the season, but anything lower than that would be kind of a bummer.
The MSM is in fact projecting a Cotton Bowl invite for Georgia at this time. The expectations have fallen quite a bit from the preseason No. 1 ranking.
None of that, of course, is to suggest that Georgia's at all concerned about Tennessee this weekend. Dawg Sports appears, and rightly so, to be more concerned about Vanderbilt coming to Athens than this Saturday's visit from the Vols. But you wouldn't know that from listening to Mark Richt, who has nothing but good things to say about Tennessee. Richt says that the Vols "very easily could be 4-1 and could be a top 15, top 10-team right now." He says that if Lennon Creer is Tennessee's third-teamer, then that necessarily means that "they got two great backs I can promise you because Creer has tremendous talent." (Um, not necessarily, coach.) He says that the Tennessee defense has done an exceptional job of handling "sudden change situations, where the defense had to jump back on the field immediately," giving up only 19 points in those situations.
Yeah, okay. Uh-huh. But . . . keep in mind that championship teams are often among the most-penalized teams of that season. Keep in mind that although Georgia's been fiddling with their punt returners all season, Prince Miller ran one back 92 yards against Alabama two weeks ago. Even with all of the revolving-door stuff, the Bulldogs lead the SEC and are third nationally with a 21.7-yard average. Oh, and don't forget this: Georgia has a walk-on who has blocked punts against Arizona State and Alabama this season. That sure doesn't sound good, does it?

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Hmmm...

It sounds like other people are starting to jump onboard the wagon that Joel started driving long before the season began. That doesn’t mean UT should be favored by any stretch, but it is sounding more plausible than before.

A quick observation about the first bullet.
Obviously, I’d really like to have some confirmation on that rumor. Not only does it coincide with a nice opportunity to run out the clock – something that Clawson may very well have latched onto as well – but the shift doesn’t actually deviate from anything Clawson’s been doing. In fact, their analysis of the situation is completely off. At this point in time, it’s safe to say that Clawson’s offense is not a Spread. Also, a lot of continued frustration in Vol-land is precisely because things haven’t been opened up, not the reverse. Lastly, the Vols are not at all pass-whacky as the post suggests, but even more run-heavy than they’ve been in a long, long time.

I’d find the rumor far more plausible in the context of Fulmer trying to get Foster some yards (i.e. leaving Foster in rather than bringing in the fresh ‘backs – which has been the normal m.o.). But the logic given for the rumor doesn’t jive.

And that’s alright; if I tried to make suppositions about a rumor about Georgia, I would undoubtedly screw the whole thing up myself. It’s no biggie, but it should be noted.

by Hooper on Oct 8, 2008 7:56 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I should add one more thing:

“A greater, Fulmer-driven emphasis on pounding the rock could be troublesome for the Dawgs without a healthy Ellerbe to clog the middle.”

I’ve had the feeling that an “emphasis on pounding the rock” would mean that Hardesty would see more carries, but that “Fulmer-driven” would mean that Foster would see more carries. I don’t mean to be piling onto a down program or anything, but it just doesn’t add up to me.

by Hooper on Oct 8, 2008 9:35 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Against my better judgment

I bought tickets for this game. Am I a masochist?

"Florida didnt win their first SEC title until 1991 and now they think they invented football."
-Ron Zook

by rustytanton on Oct 8, 2008 9:47 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

No

I fought off a deep urge. I think it will be a fun game. I just hope we wiiiiiin.

by rblakeh on Oct 8, 2008 10:18 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

But, but...

We’ve got Colquitt back!

And a new quarterback!

And a pterodactyl at running back!

I’m sensing a win :).

And, I hope Georgia’s players are looking passed us as much as their fans. But, based on what’s happened the last two years + Mark Richt’s comments, sadly I don’t think that’s the case.

If we win this game on Saturday, and in particular if Foster has a big game, I think the fans need to yell “Veek! Veek! Veek!” when they announce him in the starting lineup next week. Or maybe every time he carries.

Ok, I’m getting ahead of myself here.

Go Vols Beat Georgia!

by rblakeh on Oct 8, 2008 10:22 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Perhaps the pterodactyls went extinct because they kept dropping their eggs on the ground…

;-)

by Hooper on Oct 8, 2008 12:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Zing!

by rblakeh on Oct 8, 2008 1:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Overlooking UT, Forgetaboutit

I can tell you that no UGA fan is overlooking UT and doubt very seriously that the players and coaches are. Most of the bs you see on the Georgia sites are some fans taking shots a UT because of the record compared to Vandy’s. Y’all may be in a rough patch right now but you’re still the University of Tennessee. You’ve still got talent and depth throughout your lineup. If you do win the game, and believe me you can, it will not be because we’re looking ahead to Vandy.

Hooper,
If you look at PWD comments in the link you provide you’ll see he lists 3 goals we need to meet to get to the NC game. The first one we have met with AJ Green. The other 2 we have not, yet. I’m not making excuses, though it will sound like I am, but I don’t know many teams that could sustain the injuries we have and still live up to those expectations. A couple of injuries here-n-there, yes, we should be able to maintain but the slew of injuries we’ve had is really mind boggling. Anyway most logical UGA fans, yes we do have a couple, saw 2 losses on our schedule in the preseason. Though I don’t think many would have said Alabama was one of them.

Nevertheless, here’s to hoping you guys don’t figure “it” out until the Miss. St. game.

by deanpat92 on Oct 8, 2008 10:59 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree with PWD on those points, and that's perhaps my point as well.

It’s a MSM tendency to overhype their favorite, which is why so many were practically reserving Georgia’s hotel rooms for the MNC game before the season even began. But there were legitimate questions being overlooked in the program that needed to be answered. A young O-line is always a big concern (just ask Clemson) until they prove otherwise. I wasn’t referring to the people who were actually looking at UGA’s incoming team (as opposed to those who were projecting only by the end of last year), though I should have stated that better. It was more a comment targeted at those who were so stone-cold certain that UGA couldn’t possibly be beaten and are now ready to place UGA at about 5th in the SEC. Over-action, then over-reaction. (And I’ve had good luck with UGA fans so far; I wasn’t worried about them. The outsiders were the problem.)

But you’re right about the injuries; those are killers at the moment. No team could plausibly sustain that without difficulties.

But this is concerning:

If you do win the game, and believe me you can, it will not be because we’re looking ahead to Vandy.

The thought of somebody overlooking UT for their Vanderbilt matchup? Ouch. True, but ouch.

by Hooper on Oct 8, 2008 12:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I aslo should have added

That the (linked) post was accurate in describing the winning streak and the teams involved. Furthermore playing and beating the snot out of Hawaii was probably not the best thing for the team (in hindsight). It gave everybody a false sense of accomplishment and was misleading as to the strength of this current team. We all got caught up in the hype and for the most part overlooked glaring deficiencies. Stacy Searles (o-line coach) did an amazing job last year with a relatively young o-line. Most of us thought he was going to be able to do it again and he still may but we forgot about (or ignored) the importance of having 2 senior leaders on that line.

Lately I’ve been thinking that maybe this Georgia team is similar to the ‘03 Auburn team. That year Auburn came out preseason top 3, maybe even # 1, but ended up something like 7-4. However we all remember (because no Auburn fan will let us forget) how they fared the next year. Now I’m not saying we’re going to lose 4 games (God forbid) or that we’ll go undefeated next year. But I’m of the opinion if Stafford and Moreno (or one of the two) stay we’ll be a much better team next year. Geeez. I’m babbling now I’ll stop.

One last thing; good day to all and best of luck Saturday.

by deanpat92 on Oct 8, 2008 1:10 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for swinging through, btw.

Georgia’s a good team; that’s beyond question. It was a matter of degree, and I think the "pundits’ " habit of talking in superlatives skewed expectations a little high. Heck, we did the exact same thing over the summer with our team (and probably to a greater degree). But Georgia will be in great shape. You might have another loss on the schedule, but I doubt it’ll be Florida, which is still probably your biggest concern.

And yes, here’s hoping for a great game with no injuries.

by Hooper on Oct 8, 2008 2:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs