Now, we're ready!! 
- WOOF! That was a stinker. We had a nice 4-game run that we hadn't seen in 24 months and it was a lot of fun!! We were then faced with a little adversity and were beaten by a lesser foe. However, UGA was the better team on Saturday and the score probably should've been worse. They've had some injuries as well but somehow managed to win a game while dealing with them. What an idea.
- As an aside (and maybe a rant), we may be perfectly fine as a football program. My personal feeling is that everything that encompasses our football complex is somewhat soft... and has been that way since this experiment began 8 seasons ago. It's a group that seems to be lacking in grit and tenacity; intelligence and some logic. When things are going well, it's all good. We can run the table with the best of 'em! When we have a bump, we tend to go straight to the fetal position as we have no backup plan. We punched UGA, they counter-punched (yes, other teams are allowed to hit us), and we folded.
- With that, the next 3 games will be telling regarding the maturation of this administration. If we finish the season 9-4, it'll be a nice, tidy, top-15 year. A definite improvement and a game or so better than what was projected. Hell, from a loss perspective, it'll be our 3rd-best season since Tubs left (though 2014 was better due to SOS). But if we pull a 2014, feel sorry for ourselves over one loss, and lose to everyone that's not 1-AA, it won't bode well for the program. 6 out of 8 years with five+ losses doesn't paint a warm-n-fuzzy picture for the future.
- The big thing that reared it's ugly head again on Saturday is that this program just absolutely cannot be trusted (for better or worse). This group has no clue if their team will be better in Year 5 than in Year 4. They really don't know from one game to the next. My personal expectations are rather conservative and I have no deep-seeded hatred for UGA, so I don't think this is coming from some irrational land of frustration simply because I have the keyboard.
More power to you folks who thought we were going to run the table or think we'll go 11-1 next year. I admire you. If I asked Gus Malzahn his plan to field a team that has the potential to win 10+ games next year, he'd be unable to give me a cohesive answer. There is no strategic plan. It's all tactical. It's nearly impossible to be consistently solid with that approach. With that, I can only root well. I'll always predict, but I've learned it's like throwing darts... which is basically what our fball complex does from season-to-season. Can they grow and improve? Sure! I'll be rooting for them but I won't bet on it until there is some hint of a solid, strategic plan.
- But the season if far from over and 9-4 would be really good!
Injuries
- Offense: Sean White (I guess), Kam Pettway (out), Kerryon Johnson (not 100% but not far), Marcus Davis (done), Stanton Truitt, Chandler Cox, Nate Craig-Meyers.
- Defense: Andrew Williams (played sparingly), Tre Williams (ankle still an issue as evidenced by sporadic PT), Carlton Davis (didn't make it back in for final 2 possession after reports of injury). It appeared the others finished the game ok (Holsey, Roberts, etc., who were reported injured during the game).
Offense
- The QB play was the difference. Theirs was better than ours. Sean White obviously played the worst game of his career. He has a shoulder issue but the replay shows something else: When he stepped into throws (as basically every good QB naturally does), they were generally solid and on-target (the exception being the wounded duck to Stevens on the final play). When he fell backwards while throwing (with or without pressure), they were generally terrible.
- One difference early on: Eason throws a ball 49 yards for a completion (called back for holding) just as he's being nailed by Holland/Adams. He steps into the throw and takes his medicine. He was hit exactly 2 seconds after taking the snap. On the next possession, SW throws a ball 12 yards to a WR 14 yards away just as he's being nailed by a 200lb DB. He's falling away long before the DB makes contact and thus the under throw. The DB could've stopped and SW still would've bit the dust. As it was, he was also hit exactly two seconds after taking the snap.
- On 3rd-n-2 in the 3rd quarter, we had an easy first down to Eli Stove in the flats. A 5-7 yard throw-and-catch. SW has no defender around him but still flails onto the ground as he's making the throw. Just falls over as he's throwing. It's nowhere near Stove.
- Point being I don't know what was caused by his shoulder and what is simply horrendous habits/mechanics (like the terrible next-to-last toss to Marcus Davis on an out that hit MD's fingertips and evidently is viewed as a drop). When throwing, he sometimes looks like the 6-year-old who wants to see how dirty he can get on the soccer field and falls down/does flips while the action is 10 yards away from him.
- So that has to be cleaned up as the decision to throw more in the 2nd half was not as asinine as it seemed. The few times he threw the ball like a QB, the balls were magically well thrown. But he was all out-of-whack. The two really bad drops - Ryan Davis and Kam Martin on 3rd downs - were bad, unforeseen, and really cost us. So the plan wasn't really that bad, especially when Kerryon is an ok-but-not-yet-really good featured back. The execution was simply JV level.
- Sean White is by far our best QB but I'm not sure where we go if he's only effective when 100% (and he's fun to watch when 100%). He was hurt late Oct 2015 in a game that he never missed a snap but it took him 2 months to recover. He was hurt late Oct 2016 in a game that he never missed a snap but I have to assume he may be fully healed for the bowl game. Can we afford to perform that dance again in 2017 and 2018 as well?
- He was sacked twice but one was a designed QB Draw (thus not technically a sack) and the other was in a clean pocket that slightly condensed, causing him to panic and run himself into that sack.
- The coaching staff needs to improve its roster management if it wants to survive.
We have guys on scholly that, just today, we had mentioned as walk-ons in articles. Josh Shockley and Keenan Sweeney are both Sophs counting against our 85 (possibly for the next 3 years??) yet we have no backup QB on the roster who can be counted on to lead us to 14 points in 10 possessions against a decent-ish UGA D.
We have former walk-ons on scholly at DB and DL who will almost definitely never play. But we've had to put stopgaps at RB due to a thin supply. And unless everything falls perfectly, the DL will be in the same shape next season.
- Injuries/Attrition occur; see TAMU's QB situation over the last 12 months or Chad Kelly. But you need the depth to compensate instead of going overboard by having ~10 guys who will never contribute.
Defense
- 6 points in 10 possessions is fantastic!
- If anything, we did have a bit of a bend-but-don't-break day and, therefore, our O never had good field position (our own 32 yard line was the best all day).
- We still gave up very few points but we did concede at least 35 yards on half of UGA's drives.
- Monty Adams played outstanding up front. Based on the replay, I thought he had both sacks but the stats gave one to him and one to Carl Lawson. Both did well at pressuring the QB but Monty was the bell cow.
- Jeff Holland seemed to be blocked out of many plays by UGA's freshman TE. Rarely a lineman on him. He's quick but will need to improve his strength/technique to be a difference-maker next season. Saturday wasn't his best.
- Deshaun Davis played really well! He made a few fit errors but he's fun to watch and plays to win. He should be a good one over the next 2 seasons.
- Tre Williams was still hindered which hurt us a bit at LB. Hopefully, he'll be near 100% for Bama.
- The DBs played well when they needed to but the UGA Freshman Ridley was better than anything we had on Saturday. The no flag early was a blessing as it was an absolutely horrible missed call. Rudy Ford has turned into somewhat of a bit player which seems odd all of a sudden for a guy who's played well and is viewed as a definite draft pick in May. But 6 points is 6 points so can't really argue. He played more due to Holsey/Roberts in-game injuries/cramps.
Alabama A&M Game
- If we were playing a decent 1-AA team, an upset would definitely be the cool call. But Alabama A&M is hot garbage.
- If played 3 weeks ago, we'd win 73-3 with 10 passes. Now, we probably win 24-7 in a "my eyes are bleeding" game that'll be less exciting than A-Day.
- I assume we'll hold anyone out who's wearing a band-aid today and hope we can make magic in two weeks.
- One positive for Gus: He is the least punked-out coach of anyone when it comes to facing Saban. Guys like Bielema concede the game before they step off the bus but Gus does give him fits.
WAR EAGLE!!!
Total Plays: 76 (35 in 4-3... 30 in Nickel... 9 in Dime... 2 in Goal-Line)
DT
M. Adams - 55
D. Russell - 45
D. Lawrence - 23
M. Swain - 14
An. Williams - 7
DE
C. Lawson - 55
M. Davidson - 55
J. Holland - 31
D. Brown - 14 (all at DE)
B. Cowart - 7
LB
D. Davis - 66
D. Williams - 64
Tr. Williams - 21
Mon. Atkinson - 16
TJ Neal - 11
C. Toney - 2
CB
C. Davis - 54
J. Holsey - 53
J. Davis - 50
S
Tr. Matthews - 76
St. Roberts - 55
R. Ford - 33
N. Ruffin - 19
M. Boston - 10
- WOOF! That was a stinker. We had a nice 4-game run that we hadn't seen in 24 months and it was a lot of fun!! We were then faced with a little adversity and were beaten by a lesser foe. However, UGA was the better team on Saturday and the score probably should've been worse. They've had some injuries as well but somehow managed to win a game while dealing with them. What an idea.
- As an aside (and maybe a rant), we may be perfectly fine as a football program. My personal feeling is that everything that encompasses our football complex is somewhat soft... and has been that way since this experiment began 8 seasons ago. It's a group that seems to be lacking in grit and tenacity; intelligence and some logic. When things are going well, it's all good. We can run the table with the best of 'em! When we have a bump, we tend to go straight to the fetal position as we have no backup plan. We punched UGA, they counter-punched (yes, other teams are allowed to hit us), and we folded.
- With that, the next 3 games will be telling regarding the maturation of this administration. If we finish the season 9-4, it'll be a nice, tidy, top-15 year. A definite improvement and a game or so better than what was projected. Hell, from a loss perspective, it'll be our 3rd-best season since Tubs left (though 2014 was better due to SOS). But if we pull a 2014, feel sorry for ourselves over one loss, and lose to everyone that's not 1-AA, it won't bode well for the program. 6 out of 8 years with five+ losses doesn't paint a warm-n-fuzzy picture for the future.
- The big thing that reared it's ugly head again on Saturday is that this program just absolutely cannot be trusted (for better or worse). This group has no clue if their team will be better in Year 5 than in Year 4. They really don't know from one game to the next. My personal expectations are rather conservative and I have no deep-seeded hatred for UGA, so I don't think this is coming from some irrational land of frustration simply because I have the keyboard.
More power to you folks who thought we were going to run the table or think we'll go 11-1 next year. I admire you. If I asked Gus Malzahn his plan to field a team that has the potential to win 10+ games next year, he'd be unable to give me a cohesive answer. There is no strategic plan. It's all tactical. It's nearly impossible to be consistently solid with that approach. With that, I can only root well. I'll always predict, but I've learned it's like throwing darts... which is basically what our fball complex does from season-to-season. Can they grow and improve? Sure! I'll be rooting for them but I won't bet on it until there is some hint of a solid, strategic plan.
- But the season if far from over and 9-4 would be really good!
Injuries
- Offense: Sean White (I guess), Kam Pettway (out), Kerryon Johnson (not 100% but not far), Marcus Davis (done), Stanton Truitt, Chandler Cox, Nate Craig-Meyers.
- Defense: Andrew Williams (played sparingly), Tre Williams (ankle still an issue as evidenced by sporadic PT), Carlton Davis (didn't make it back in for final 2 possession after reports of injury). It appeared the others finished the game ok (Holsey, Roberts, etc., who were reported injured during the game).
Offense
- The QB play was the difference. Theirs was better than ours. Sean White obviously played the worst game of his career. He has a shoulder issue but the replay shows something else: When he stepped into throws (as basically every good QB naturally does), they were generally solid and on-target (the exception being the wounded duck to Stevens on the final play). When he fell backwards while throwing (with or without pressure), they were generally terrible.
- One difference early on: Eason throws a ball 49 yards for a completion (called back for holding) just as he's being nailed by Holland/Adams. He steps into the throw and takes his medicine. He was hit exactly 2 seconds after taking the snap. On the next possession, SW throws a ball 12 yards to a WR 14 yards away just as he's being nailed by a 200lb DB. He's falling away long before the DB makes contact and thus the under throw. The DB could've stopped and SW still would've bit the dust. As it was, he was also hit exactly two seconds after taking the snap.
- On 3rd-n-2 in the 3rd quarter, we had an easy first down to Eli Stove in the flats. A 5-7 yard throw-and-catch. SW has no defender around him but still flails onto the ground as he's making the throw. Just falls over as he's throwing. It's nowhere near Stove.
- Point being I don't know what was caused by his shoulder and what is simply horrendous habits/mechanics (like the terrible next-to-last toss to Marcus Davis on an out that hit MD's fingertips and evidently is viewed as a drop). When throwing, he sometimes looks like the 6-year-old who wants to see how dirty he can get on the soccer field and falls down/does flips while the action is 10 yards away from him.
- So that has to be cleaned up as the decision to throw more in the 2nd half was not as asinine as it seemed. The few times he threw the ball like a QB, the balls were magically well thrown. But he was all out-of-whack. The two really bad drops - Ryan Davis and Kam Martin on 3rd downs - were bad, unforeseen, and really cost us. So the plan wasn't really that bad, especially when Kerryon is an ok-but-not-yet-really good featured back. The execution was simply JV level.
- Sean White is by far our best QB but I'm not sure where we go if he's only effective when 100% (and he's fun to watch when 100%). He was hurt late Oct 2015 in a game that he never missed a snap but it took him 2 months to recover. He was hurt late Oct 2016 in a game that he never missed a snap but I have to assume he may be fully healed for the bowl game. Can we afford to perform that dance again in 2017 and 2018 as well?
- He was sacked twice but one was a designed QB Draw (thus not technically a sack) and the other was in a clean pocket that slightly condensed, causing him to panic and run himself into that sack.
- The coaching staff needs to improve its roster management if it wants to survive.
We have guys on scholly that, just today, we had mentioned as walk-ons in articles. Josh Shockley and Keenan Sweeney are both Sophs counting against our 85 (possibly for the next 3 years??) yet we have no backup QB on the roster who can be counted on to lead us to 14 points in 10 possessions against a decent-ish UGA D.
We have former walk-ons on scholly at DB and DL who will almost definitely never play. But we've had to put stopgaps at RB due to a thin supply. And unless everything falls perfectly, the DL will be in the same shape next season.
- Injuries/Attrition occur; see TAMU's QB situation over the last 12 months or Chad Kelly. But you need the depth to compensate instead of going overboard by having ~10 guys who will never contribute.
Defense
- 6 points in 10 possessions is fantastic!
- If anything, we did have a bit of a bend-but-don't-break day and, therefore, our O never had good field position (our own 32 yard line was the best all day).
- We still gave up very few points but we did concede at least 35 yards on half of UGA's drives.
- Monty Adams played outstanding up front. Based on the replay, I thought he had both sacks but the stats gave one to him and one to Carl Lawson. Both did well at pressuring the QB but Monty was the bell cow.
- Jeff Holland seemed to be blocked out of many plays by UGA's freshman TE. Rarely a lineman on him. He's quick but will need to improve his strength/technique to be a difference-maker next season. Saturday wasn't his best.
- Deshaun Davis played really well! He made a few fit errors but he's fun to watch and plays to win. He should be a good one over the next 2 seasons.
- Tre Williams was still hindered which hurt us a bit at LB. Hopefully, he'll be near 100% for Bama.
- The DBs played well when they needed to but the UGA Freshman Ridley was better than anything we had on Saturday. The no flag early was a blessing as it was an absolutely horrible missed call. Rudy Ford has turned into somewhat of a bit player which seems odd all of a sudden for a guy who's played well and is viewed as a definite draft pick in May. But 6 points is 6 points so can't really argue. He played more due to Holsey/Roberts in-game injuries/cramps.
Alabama A&M Game
- If we were playing a decent 1-AA team, an upset would definitely be the cool call. But Alabama A&M is hot garbage.
- If played 3 weeks ago, we'd win 73-3 with 10 passes. Now, we probably win 24-7 in a "my eyes are bleeding" game that'll be less exciting than A-Day.
- I assume we'll hold anyone out who's wearing a band-aid today and hope we can make magic in two weeks.
- One positive for Gus: He is the least punked-out coach of anyone when it comes to facing Saban. Guys like Bielema concede the game before they step off the bus but Gus does give him fits.
WAR EAGLE!!!
Total Plays: 76 (35 in 4-3... 30 in Nickel... 9 in Dime... 2 in Goal-Line)
DT
M. Adams - 55
D. Russell - 45
D. Lawrence - 23
M. Swain - 14
An. Williams - 7
DE
C. Lawson - 55
M. Davidson - 55
J. Holland - 31
D. Brown - 14 (all at DE)
B. Cowart - 7
LB
D. Davis - 66
D. Williams - 64
Tr. Williams - 21
Mon. Atkinson - 16
TJ Neal - 11
C. Toney - 2
CB
C. Davis - 54
J. Holsey - 53
J. Davis - 50
S
Tr. Matthews - 76
St. Roberts - 55
R. Ford - 33
N. Ruffin - 19
M. Boston - 10
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