Sep 6, 2010
I’ve gotta say, that was one of the tastiest cupcakes I can ever remember. Yeah, I know the level of competition wasn’t anything to write home about, but there were so many positives in Georgia’s 55-7 thrashing of Louisiana (they’ve started some grassroots campaign to remove the Lafayette, so I’ll oblige them on that) that it’s impossible not to feel a bit giddy. Here’s a rundown of Saturday’s action.
The Positives:
-Aaron Murray. Everyone knows the kid has potential, but there was some question about how he would perform in his first live action as a college player. Although there were a few typical first game mistakes, Murray played extremely well overall. His final numbers were 17 for 26 for 160 yards, 3 TDs, 1 pick, and another 42 yards and a score on the ground through 3 quarters of action. His throws were on target and his running was impressive. But as for those mistakes, there were really only two to critique. He had a ball where he made the correct decision to throw it away, but it was a duck that should have been intercepted. For the record, the one pick isn’t really on him, as it was a perfect ball that the receiver bobbled. That’s a freshman mistake though, and he will learn to throw it to the sidelines in the future, so there’s no cause for concern there. The only other knock on his day was his running, which I’ll touch on below.
-The DEFENSE! It’s been about five or six years since Georgia fans have been this fired up about the D. Everything that people were getting excited about regarding new DC Todd Grantham looks to be legit so far. Georgia brought an aggressive, attacking defense that kept the offense off balance. The linebackers played better than they have in years, and the corners weren’t giving a 10 yard cushion every play. We even scored off a turnover! I had almost forgotten what that felt like. If you’re a fan of offense, please look away now because you won’t find the following very pleasant:
128 yards, 5 first downs, 14 yards rushing, 3 sacks, 3 interceptions.
No, those are not the numbers put up by Harvard against Alabama on NCAA 2011. Those are the total numbers from UL’s offense for the entire 60 minutes against Georgia’s defense. Safety Jakar Hamilton had a pick 6 in his first game as a Dawg. Linebacker Akeem Dent had 6 tackles and a sack. Sanders Commings had a fantastic, over the shoulder interception. There really wasn’t anything to complain about regarding the defense, and I for one can’t wait to see it in action over the course of the year.
-Kris Durham. A tall, reliable target, Durham was playing in his first game in over 700 days after missing all of 2009 due to injury. He responded with 5 grabs for 83 yards and a touchdown. Welcome back big guy.
-Hutson Mason. The true freshman backup QB was told by Coach Bobo earlier in the week that he would definitely get some playing time on Saturday. He came in late in the third probably expecting to do a lot of handing off. As it turns out, his first play as a collegian was a post route that went for a 26 yard touchdown. He had a chance for another one late in the game but a deep pass was dropped by the receiver. Mason looked pretty good in his first live action, and it’s nice to know that our backup at least has some game experience now.
-Special teams. About what you’d expect in a game like this, but still excellent. Blair Walsh hit field goals of 52 and 48 yards. Drew Butler averaged nearly 47 yards a punt. There were several near-blocks of UL punts that just missed. Branden Smith looked good in his new role as punt returner with 17 yards per return on 3 tries.
-Discipline. The past few years Georgia has had a knack for killing itself with late hits, false starts, and just stupid penalties in general. Saturday was a welcome change, which saw only 5 penalties for 30 yards. ZERO penalties on the defense. No, that is not a misprint. There were actually no tackles 8 yards out of bounds for once. I know, I’m shocked too. Shocked, but very pleased.
The Negatives:
-Run blocking. The Oline has been decimated in recent weeks due to ailment and injury, so there’s been a lot of missed reps among the first team. Still though, you’d like to see this unit dominate against UL. There just weren’t many holes opening up, and the interior seemed to get pushed back more than you would like to see in a game like this. The top 2 running backs rushed for only 108 yards. I feel like this will work itself out though as the unit practices more together, and getting Washaun Ealey back next week will help as well.
-Murray’s running. Well, his running itself was actually quite good, but his decision to run is what needs work. That won’t work as well against SEC defenses, and Richt has already gotten that point across to the young quarterback. There was one play where there were 8 seconds left before halftime with Georgia on the UL 16. Murray didn’t find a receiver so he took off and ended up scoring. That’s great and all, but if he gets pushed out that’s a sure 3 points taken off the board. I’ve got a feeling that just like Matt Stafford’s freshman year in 2006, Murray will learn to make better decisions as the year goes on.
Next Week
Georgia had about as good of an opening game as most fans could have hoped for. It was truly dominating on both sides of the ball, and that was without the top two receivers and number one running back. All three should be back next Saturday against South Carolina in Columbia in what is shaping up to be a pretty gigantic early season match-up in the SEC. Tennessee will be atrocious this year (don’t let their opening game against a scrub fool you too much), and Florida looked surprisingly pedestrian in game 1 post-Tebow. This game will give the winner a huge leg up in the east race, with the loser basically having to go undefeated to have any chance at the SEC title game. SC has a pretty stout defense led by Stephon Gilmore in the secondary, and QB Stephen Garcia played well in game 1. SC also has a group of huge receivers which could give Georgia’s smallish corners some problems. Overall though, I think getting AJ Green, Tavarres King, and Ealey back should help Georgia’s offense immensely, and Todd Grantham will open up the defensive playbook that was extremely basic last week. Mark Richt is 4-0 in Columbia, and I don’t see him losing there this year.
Post Tags:Aaron Murray, AJ Green, Akeem Dent, Blair Walsh, Branden Smith, Drew Butler, Georgia Bulldogs, Hutson Mason, Kris Durham, Tavarres King, Todd Grantham, Washaun Ealey
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by: philmitchell
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