Monday, September 26, 2011

Looking Back at Ole Miss

What the hell, Georgia fans? Why is it that everywhere I go, people seemed to be upset about the outcome of the game this past Saturday. Why? Was the game perfect, certainly not. But it was a solid victory over an SEC team on the road. Here are my thoughts on Saturday's victory and what it means going forward.
  • First things first, the defense was dominant. Holding a team to under 200 yards of offense, whether it is Ole Miss or Soutwestern Prairie View State means you had a solid effort from your defensive squad. Coach Grantham's guys are finally starting to figure things out and it shows. And my counter argument to, it was only Ole Miss, is that they still did not have 200 yards even with a trick play that went for almost 40. Take out the drive where they scored their only offensive TD, and the Rebels gained around 130 yards. That's awesome.
  • Crowell is becoming the feature back we thought. He had big run after big run in the first. And even though he was clearly winded in the second, he still made some nice cuts to pick up extra yards. Samuel is serviceable, if he would just learn to stay on his feet. And Carlton Thomas is slowly but surely making me a believer.
  • Hello Aron White. Glad to see our other tight end finally make an impact.
  • Offensive play calling was much better, but I did not understand the reasoning for going so conservative when the lead was only 11.
  • Justin Anderson is not good, but unfortunately he is all we have got right now.
  • Murray looked better this week than he did against Coastal Carolina. Too bad Bobo won't let him take more shots down field. The interception was on OC, not Murray. The only bad 'lock on' moment I saw was the 4th and goal when he tried to pass to Crowell. But the pass interference was called, so it doesn't really matter.
  • Special teams is really struggling right now. Part of it is players (Walsh-what the hell) and a lot of it is coaching. After great games against the Carolina school, Brandon Boykin had a bad day on kick returns. Drew Butler continues to kick well, however.
  • Shawn Williams is a beast. I can't wait to see him and Olgetree back in the same lineup. Remember that the defense did all this on Saturday without Ogletree and Christian Robinson.
  • What is the biggest difference in Georgia's pass defense now vs. 2 years ago? Now, the corners and safeties actually play the ball instead of the crap Willie used to have them do. I saw at least three break ups that could have been catches if the players had not watched the ball and knocked it down.
So, at the end of the day, it was a horrible Ole Miss team that we let hang around a little too much. But was the final outcome ever really in doubt? I don't think so. This game reminded me a lot of the 2008 game at Arizona State. If the Dawgs defense can continue the momentum this week against a Mississippi State team that needed OT to beat Louisiana Tech, the Dawgs could have a winning record for the first time since opening day in 2010.

4 comments:

Gov Milledge said...

I agree with the sentiments elsewhere from watching the game at Vaught-Hemmingway: the game was never in doubt and felt we played vintage Richt football.

People are looking at the scoreboard and wondering why the margin couldn't have been higher when complaining. I guarantee had Blair hit 2/3 of the missed ones, not a gripe to be heard.

I mean, we held them to 183 total yards and ran the ball solidly, with ~45 carries. If we have a byline like that after each game, we're going to win 99/100 games.

Color me content with those results

Anonymous said...

Why? Because it's vintage Richt mediocrity. It's tiresome.

We dominated Ole Miss statistically and walked away with only 27 points. Missed field goals galore and continual offensive drives that burn out. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

If you can't punch it in the endzone you are not going to beat the best in the SEC. That performance won't beat MSU's option, or Florida, or Auburn, or Georgia Tech.

Maybe my perspective is colored by the fact that I watched that game & then went inside Bryant-Denny to watch Bama destroy Arkansas. But I'm sick of mediocrity. I'm sick of recruiting all this top talent and sitting at .500

Hope we can beat MSU's option.

Anonymous said...

Pardon me if I'm wrong but didn't "vintage Richt mediocrity" win 2 SEC championships? I'll take that kind of mediocrity any day.

Anonymous said...

Anon: Let me explain a little Richt history for you. A few years in his 11 year tenure were pretty great, when Florida & Bama were sucking.

The rest has been beyond mediocre. Not sure where you've been the last 5-6 years, but it hasn't been competitive. THAT is vintage Richt mediocrity.

But I'm so happy you're tickled pink about the state of UGA's program & how the Bulldogs are playing as of late....