Online Now 1749

The Junkyard

Where Dawg fans hunker down

On this Board 1329
Record: 3373 (4/23/2012)

Online now 1745
Record: 3990 (6/13/2012)

Reply

UGA's Underappreciated Running Game

  • FIrst, some perspective.
    I am hard on our running game. I've been critical all season of our ability to "run when we need to". Early in the season, we were almost guaranteed to find success on third and short and in goalline situations by taking the ball to the air. We've had moderate improvement over the course of the season. But the quality of opposition is a sticking point.
    A lot of our struggles stem from our offensive line's inability to keep defenders out of the backfield, imo.

    With all of that already on the table... our running game is underappreciated.

    http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2011/11/30/1840358/ye-olde-sec-championship-mailbag.html

    Seth Emerson mailbag compares UGA's offense to Arkansas. Particularly with how LSU will defend and find success against us. That's horse poop.
    Comparing the Bulldawgs to the Hawgs is like comparing Mike Malarky to Andy Reid. Bobby's Petrino's biggest fault is that he doesn't run the football enough. And that is why his absolute best will never get him better than third in the SEC West.

    http://www.cfbstats.com/2011/leader/911/team/offense/split07/category01/sort04.html
    Above is the case in point. UGA leads the conference in rush attempts in conference play. Arkansas is 11th. Despite the fact that we aren't at LSU or Bama's level running the football, we are absolutely running the football.

    And that will pay dividends in protecting Aaron Murray and keeping the LSU defense just a hair slower reading the play.

    Despite my grievances with our OL and punching the ball into the endzone, I absolutely believe that we can have moderate success running the ball on first and second down against the Bengal Tigers. Crowell will have a chance to surpass MIchael Dyer's freshman running totals despite playing fewer games. He's that good. And despite who isn't playing at tailback for the Bulldawgs, we're still the third best team in conference play for rushing yards per game.

    Someone needs to tell Seth (hint, hint) that he needs to take another look at the working parts of UGA's offense. We're not smashmouth. But we're not Andy Reid. We're exactly what Aaron Murray needs to be successful.

    This post was edited by meansonny on 11/30/2011 at 6:38 PM

    meansonny

  • Meansonny, good blog. I dont read Seth anymore. He is not overly positive about Georgia. I dont like his smartass comments.

    BAKE24

  • Our explosive plays come through the air and I think our passing game has been our strength this season, but we ALWAYS set up the passing game through play action, which means we have to run the rock.

    ATLienDawg

  • BAKE24 said...

    Meansonny, good blog. I dont read Seth anymore. He is not overly positive about Georgia. I dont like his smartass comments.

    He's good journalism. Fair and objective (right or wrong, I do not see a hidden agenda).
    And he's transparent with where he's coming from. He explains his opinions instead of just stating them.

    But you're right. He can come off as too objective and missing some of the obvious workings of the very team he covers on a daily basis (ie. comparing UGA's offense to Arkansas and that weasel Petrino. in case you haven't picked up on it... I have agendas. but I try to be transparent about them).

    meansonny

  • BAKE24 said...

    Meansonny, good blog. I dont read Seth anymore. He is not overly positive about Georgia. I dont like his smartass comments.

    Yeah, I miss David Hale. David was the perfect blend of objectivity and homerism.

    I pay attention to how the other dude casts his AP vote. He gets no more love from me. I no longer read anything he writes for the reasons meansonny mentioned.

    GeorgiaBoy

  • This wasn't intended to be a shot at Seth.
    I am still a loyal reader of his.

    I feel that many with a media voice get flippant with UGA when asked about LSU facing a pocket passer as good as Aaron Murray. That's when the Arkansas comparison comes up.

    Plus, I. Always jump at the chance to disparage Bobby The Weasel Petrino. I look forward to an impending Houston Nutt treatment out in Fayetteville.

    meansonny

  • I actually think we will have a decent shot running the ball. My concern on O is with the right side of our line on passing downs. Also, I don't expect LSU to use a lot of run blitzes like our more recent opponents have used. And contrary to what most people believe, I have no problem sending Thomas up the middle between the tackles, even when it doesn't work. It still makes the safety a step slower on play action passes. And some of Crowell's and Thomas' biggest runs have come on runs up the middle.

    However, when you look at LSU's D, what stands out to me is the number of tackles their DL has! Most good/great D's have linebackers that lead the way in tackles. That's true of LSU too. But their DL is not far behind. It's amazing how many tackles those guys have.

    jubilee ●

Georgia
247Sports
Features
Resources
Connect

247Sports In partnership with CBS Sports