Offensively Obscene

The Georgia Bulldogs' offensive problems are many. In fact, there is no dimension in the Bulldogs' offensive game that can be deemed reliable. It is time to start over.

Times like these call for getting back to basics. Re-establishing a foundation. It is time to commit ourselves to running the football.

Practice time must be devoted to the most basic of plays, the I-formation isolation play. Long a staple of the Georgia running game, it has vanished. I can only imagine the amount of time currently being devoted to these gimmicky spread plays in an attempt to get the ball in the hands of Branden Smith or Rantavious Wooten. Today, however, no such time can be spared.

Until you have mastered the basics you cannot graduate to the advanced. There is a reason academic courses have pre-requisites. Football is no different, and in football it all starts with the running game.

It appears to me, we have abandoned the power running game, opting instead to find production through fancy scheming. While coaches are paid to come up with winning schemes, the primary function must be to teach the basics. More often than not, the more fundamentally sound football team will beat the team with a good scheme without solid football fundamentals.

Sure, traditional running plays have been called, but there has been no commitment to it. We have treated the Iso play, one of the games safest, as the deep bomb. We run it, if it works great, if not, we simply resort to trickery.

Joe Cox was recently quoted as saying a Quarterback needs to develop a rhythm. Well, the running backs, and the running game as a whole, need to develop a rhythm as well. Just as Joe doesn't think it makes sense to alternate quarterbacks, it doesn't make sense to alternate offensive philosophies from series to series, play to play.

There was a time, not all that long ago, when the Iso play was a priority. If an opponent was stopping it, we did not abandon it, we simply altered our blocking strategy at the point of attack. A trap would be added from either side, the fullback would be given a different blocking assignment. Seemingly subtle changes to the blocking would be utilized until the defense would be foiled. The ISO was a must.

Defenses always force adjustments. Historically, for Georgia, those adjustments were subtle, tweaks if you will. Today, we resort to radical changes. These radical changes appear to leave our players second guessing themselves, appearing as though they really do not know what to do. The result has been three and outs, lots of them, and Drew Butler in danger of leg fatigue from punting so much.

Identities are not searched for, they are chosen, they are dictated. Despite all of the passing numbers during the Richt era, everything was predicated on the ability to run the football. We ran the football and threw it out of running formations, with or without play-action. 

This year, we have not only abandoned the running game way too early in games, we have essentially abandoned running formations. You do not have to be Monte Kiffin to know what Georgia is going to do. Given formation and personnel, the average Georgia fan can tell you what play is coming. If we can do it, I bet Vandy can do it.

I am not at practice. I cannot say what they are and are not working on. I can make an educated guess. I can guess that these fancy formations with reverses and specifically designed plays to get the ball into player "x"'s hands take a considerable amount of practice time. Practice time that should be invested in the foundation of your offense, a running game.

If we had a reliable passing game, I would temper my argument. If you are just as likely to go three and out throwing the ball, doesn't running it make more sense. You chew up clock and eliminate the interception. Yes, the running game may produce fumbles from time to time, but as we have seen, so has the passing game.

In short, the coaches need to get back to coaching the fundamentals and quit trying to be scheming wizards. You recruited this talent, now it is time to coach it up. Teach the fundamentals and force their execution. Master the basics then build off of them.

There has yet to be a press conference that has cited a "lack of execution". Well, coaches, you better get back to the basics our players are capable of executing. For, without change, the execution we are talking about this off-season may very well be your own.

Is Figgins the Answer to Running Game?

The Georgia Bulldogs are in desperate need of a running game. Much has been made of the problems the offensive line have had this year. I, for one, think a great deal of our difficulty running the ball can be laid at the feet of our tight ends and fullbacks not blocking as well as we have grown acustomed to.

Richard Samuel failed to convert a third and one on the opening drive. At least that is how the coaches reacted to it. From what I saw, the fullback was essentially blown up in the hole and his man initiated contact with Richard behind the line of scrimmage. Samuel was benched for what seemed like the next two and a half quarters.

The I-formation toss sweep, long a staple of the Georgia running game, has been dreadful. There is no corner to get to. The tight ends are getting beat and the fullback, having too many defenders to choose from, ends up blocking no one.

Bruce Figgins, a road grader of a blocking tight end with respectable hands, is coming off of his six game suspension. There has been talk of red-shirting him. Who knows how the decision will be made, will he have a say? I for one say get him in there!

Every report I have read indicates he has had a great attitude and has been working hard throughout his suspension. We need him, and we need him now. At this point, we need all the help we can get.

Three Keys to Saving the Season

The Georgia Bulldog's loss to LSU was painful, but it did not eliminate the Bulldogs from achieving their ultimate goal of a SEC Championship. In order to get back into the SEC East race, the Dawgs must eliminate three major problems.

1. Special Teams
Blair Walsh and Drew Butler have both done a fine job of kicking the football. Coverage of those kicks has been less than stellar, especially kick-off coverage which has been absolutely pathetic. While other top-level teams use premier starters on their coverage units, Coach Mark Richt and Jon Fabris continue to utilize second tier talent. Furthermore, they play with little to no discipline.

Blair Walsh is flanked by ten players when he kicks the ball. We all hope he boots it through the end-zone, but it cannot be expected everytime, especially following a penalty. We have to have players capable of getting downfield, maintaining their lanes and tackling the ball carrier.

Against South Carolina we had three great returns. Those returns may have been the difference in the game. Since that time, we have lost the special teams battle. We are losing untold yards in special teams due to our lack of returns in both the kicking and punting games due to our inability to muster returns and tackle the opponent.

The problem is not new and must be addressed. Special teams is not a time for rest.

2. Run the Football
A running game is a must. You cannot win in this league if you can't run the football. Joe Cox cannot be expected to carry us through the schedule throwing the ball. Slumps, like the first half last Saturday are going to happen. Joe rebounded well in the second half, but he must get help from a running game.

Blocking has been inadequate, but the scheme has been flawed as well. The running backs must have patience to find the hole, but the coaching staff must have patience to let the running game gel. The spread formation is not the answer. Joe Cox is not a running threat. Let's get back in the I formation and pound the football, use the play-action pass and pound the football some more.

We may not start the game on fire running it, but it will come. With more running attempts the line will block better and the backs will find a rythym. The defense will surely benefit from a ground attack that chews up clock and doesn't produce so many three and outs deep in our territory.

3. Defense Must Stop Giving Up Big Plays
The defense has played a bend but don't break style and has generally come up big at the end of games. Last Saturday the defense dominated the second and third quarters. They gave up yards in the first, but only 6 points. The big play at the end was a killer.

The big play has often been a killer this year. Okie State, Arkansas and Arizona State prior to LSU. The position is called SAFETY for a reason. We must stop allowing opponents to get behind us. IF a player refuses to play his responisiblity, get someone else in there. You cannot simply say someone is going to play more, you have to play them. Who knows, a few series on the sidelines may help to teach the player what he needs to do.

Get Back to Basics
These are all basics of sound football. Frankly, we need to get back to the basics. Let us spend less time on trick plays and new gimmicky offensive formations and get back to the basics. Hopefully, that will lead to a little more practice time for our special team's coverage units.

Bartender!

Save the Crown Royal for Special Occasions

I am still feeling the effects of the Arkansas hangover. Boy was my prediction for the game off, way off. There will be no grading of the game, we won, but boy were we ever exposed.

I defended the defense following the Carolina game. I credited Garcia with escaping pressure and throwing underneath. Saturday night we witnessed Ryan Mallett, who is about as mobile as a circus clown on stilts, escape the pressure and throw it over the top. Repeatedly! Now it is just time to accept that our defense is a liability the must be mitigated.

I have but a few pieces of advice regarding the defense, and no, one of them is not firing Willie Martinez. We are playing great against the run, so how about we coach Bryan Evans to just forget about run support. From this day forward Bryan, your only job is to be the deepest player on the field, nobody gets behind you.

Let the President rush the passer. Cornelius Washington needs more reps. He is the pass rush, at least as far as we have seen this year. A back side corner blitz may also be appropriate from time to time.

Branden and Brandon, you guys are going to be great, but you have to find the football. Prince, you ARE better than that.

The talent is there on defense, we will get better. We have to. In the mean time, we have to acknowledge our shortcomings and protect ourselves from them. As good as Joe Cox looked throwing it around to AJ Green and his understudies, we have got to play a little ball control offense.

They old adage is you have to run the ball and stop the run. I think we do both good enough to be in every ball game. I imagine getting Mike Bobo to stop throwing the ball is a kin to making a junkie go cold turkey. Neither is going to be too happy about it.

Having AJ Green on your offense is like having an unopened bottle of Crown Royal. Sometimes you have to save your best for special occasions.

We need to protect our defense. The most effective way is to keep them on the sidelines. We have to get back to running the ball and eating clock. We need to exercise some patience. I do not mean Lane Kiffin patience, we have to win the game.

Cox has a great game, no doubt about it, but there is no way we can expect that same kind of performance against Tennessee, LSU, Florida or Auburn. I do not expect it against Arizona State.

With targets like AJ, Orson Charles, Tavarres King and the reliable Michael Moore the inclination to throw the ball all over the place is great. It certainly is exciting to watch, but the goal is to win the game and the risk reward ratio just doesn't make it prudent.

By running the ball and eating clock, we wear down the opposing defense. Ultimately, this will lead to our opponent attempting to establish a running game to rest their defense. This plays into our strength, stopping the run. As talented as our offense is, getting into a shootout does not play to our strength due to our deficiencies against the pass, even if the time of possession is even.

We should deploy a smash mouth running game, with play action passing to keep the defense honest. If we continue to wear the opponent down and dictate the pace, our defense will will benefit. This has been the blue print Mark Richt has utilized throughout his time in Athens. Let's get back to it and give the defense time to rest, and improve.

Run It and Stop The Run, A new Concept

Apparently, Bobby Petrino would fit right into the Georgia Blogosphere.

Razorbacks entertained by Georgia-South Carolina | Football | OnlineAthens.com

“It was a very exciting football game,” Petrino said. “They made a tremendous amount of improvement from their first game to the second game. They executed on offense and really showed off the power of their running game. South Carolina had a lot of success throwing the ball against Georgia, but no one has been able to run on them yet.”

Saving Samuel for the Stretch

While looking ahead at the schedule we have coming up, and reflecting on Mike Bobo's play calling, it suddenly dawned on me, we must be saving Richard Samuel. Saving him for this brutal stretch that begins at Arkansas Saturday night. Saving him because the coaches know we are going to need him.

Think about it, we have Arkansas away, Arizona State, LSU, Tennessee away and Vandy before an week off. Given Calen King's ongoing hamstring issues and penchant for breaking everything to the outside, Richard is our only running back with the ability and desire to pound the rock right at the heart of the opposing defense.

The coaching staff has to know our goals for the season are not attainable if we do not start winning the time of possession war. Perhaps there is a method to Mike Bobo's madness. Sure, we would all love to see Samuel carry the ball 25 times a game, but how many games in a row can he do that?

Have the coaches outsmarted us all? Have they saved the "Crusher from Cartersville" for the games we are going to need him most?

The defense surely will not be able to stay on the field as much as the have in the first two games. Fatigue was obvious at the close of the Carolina game. Given Petrino's point scoring past, and weeks if not months to prepare for Willie Martinez's bend but don't break bunch, is this Arkansas the game we ride Richard?

It is easy to understand the staff's desire to keep feeding the likes of AJ Green, and the lightning fast Branden Smith. Especially after a 41 point performance, but the risk reward of quick strikes ultimately places your defense on the field more often than not.

A win is a win, but I cannot imagine the coaches are looking to get into another shootout in Fayettville. My prediction for this week is a lot less spread/shotgun, and a healthy dose of Samuel out of the I formation with a lot of play action passes to AJ Green, of course.