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FIVE TAKEAWAYS FROM THE GAME I'M HOPING TO TAKEBACK DURING THE SEASON
1. Okay, okay, I'm wrong for many reasons. Defending a player just coming off a major injury was a bit premature on my part, but I would like to chalk that one up to optimism and hope more than calling a sure thing. I was also rooting for an individual who is clearly a person of great character who has done nothing but positive things for the Georgia program and worked extensively hard in the offseason for a chance to come back and play the first game of the season against Oklahoma State. My apologies to Trinton Sturdivant after his second ACL tear in his left knee. I know it's devastating to be lost for the season once again, but I speak for the rest of the Bulldawg Nation when I say that I can't wait to see you come back from this and suit up next year. Good luck!!
2. I played golf with a friend on Sunday and he didn't seem too upset about losing to Oklahoma State. I personally don't know how that feels since I take each loss a little too hard (Good for him...I guess). Anyway, he said he was so impressed with Richard Samuel - breaking tackles, getting to the outside, and hitting holes. "Really? Did we watch the same game?" I asked. Here is a running back who was receiving all sorts of hype including yet another tag as the next Hershel Walker. He has a similar build, matching speed, but he apparently doesn't have his strength. The offensive line opened many holes for Samuel, giving him one-on-one matchups with defenders and yet, he couldn't shake anyone of them. Look at the tape. He never broke one tackle that I saw (although a friend said he broke a tackle late in the third when I got up to get another "beverage" from the fridge). When he got to the outside, cornerbacks were one arm tackling him, too. It was almost laughable watching how easily he would go down on the lightest of touches. He does have potential but again, he's still running upright leaving him vulnerable for an easy tackle. That is why I'm still pulling for Caleb King's return. He's elusive enough to make the first defender miss and I think he's hungry to start.
3. I've said it before and I'll say it again, you don't need a Matt Stafford arm to be successful on the collegiate level. HOWEVER, you better be extremely accurate and what I saw on Saturday was a quarterback who couldn't even make an accurate screen pass. If Joe Cox can't throw the ball at least forty yards down the field, it may be time to stop the nice guy attitude for a fifth year senior and start opening the competition up to a few quarterbacks who can. I'm not saying I'm ready to give up on Joe Cox but throwing the ball no further than five yards past the line of scrimmage isn't exactly going to keep the defense honest. The big play to Orson Charles in the first half was a nice play but the pass sat in the air so long that it should have been an extra ten yards had the ball been given any zip. I'm rooting for Mr. Cox but he's got to play with a sense of passion. I thought we were getting a leader who would do anything to win. What I saw was a QB who played as if the starter got hurt in the first quarter.
4. Zero sacks in the game! We knew this would be an issue but it is clear to me that it's going to another huge issue in 2009. Zac Robinson never smelled a QB hurry and eventually OSU's offensive line wore us out in the fourth quarter due to very untimely turnovers on our end. The Cowboys played like we hoped Georgia would and that is running the ball until the defense started breathing heavy. Eventually, they broke us and ran the football with relative ease at the end. Personally, I think the defensive tackles did a decent job but our defensive ends just can't move the tackles off the line and make a play. Very disappointed and although the collective efforts of the defense were solid, our inability to get any pressure on the quarterback is going to haunt us all year unless someone can step up.
5. Georgia desperately needs an impact player on defense. Like I said in the last paragraph, Georgia's defense was pretty good in this game but they could have been better. Maybe it was the first game jitters or the rust from an eight-month layoff, but the cornerbacks had many chances to make an interception and once again, they failed to do so. The Dawgs did a good job of shutting down Dez Bryant but he did have two touchdowns on only a few catches. I really thought this was the year Rennie Curran separates himself from the rest of the country as the top linebacker. What I'm realizing is he may not have the "impact" abilities in order to stake that claim. I never debate his talent for making tackles, even though he wasn't as prevalent as I thought he would be in the ballgame, but he hasn't been a player who blitzes the quarterback, creates a huge fumble, or steps back in coverage and snatches a key interception. I'm beginning to think he's just going to be a nice compliment to a defense but he won't be the figurehead of it. We need a surefire leader who puts his energy and talents together to create big plays when we need them. So far, I see eleven guys who could be that type of player but I haven't seen one step up.
2. I played golf with a friend on Sunday and he didn't seem too upset about losing to Oklahoma State. I personally don't know how that feels since I take each loss a little too hard (Good for him...I guess). Anyway, he said he was so impressed with Richard Samuel - breaking tackles, getting to the outside, and hitting holes. "Really? Did we watch the same game?" I asked. Here is a running back who was receiving all sorts of hype including yet another tag as the next Hershel Walker. He has a similar build, matching speed, but he apparently doesn't have his strength. The offensive line opened many holes for Samuel, giving him one-on-one matchups with defenders and yet, he couldn't shake anyone of them. Look at the tape. He never broke one tackle that I saw (although a friend said he broke a tackle late in the third when I got up to get another "beverage" from the fridge). When he got to the outside, cornerbacks were one arm tackling him, too. It was almost laughable watching how easily he would go down on the lightest of touches. He does have potential but again, he's still running upright leaving him vulnerable for an easy tackle. That is why I'm still pulling for Caleb King's return. He's elusive enough to make the first defender miss and I think he's hungry to start.
3. I've said it before and I'll say it again, you don't need a Matt Stafford arm to be successful on the collegiate level. HOWEVER, you better be extremely accurate and what I saw on Saturday was a quarterback who couldn't even make an accurate screen pass. If Joe Cox can't throw the ball at least forty yards down the field, it may be time to stop the nice guy attitude for a fifth year senior and start opening the competition up to a few quarterbacks who can. I'm not saying I'm ready to give up on Joe Cox but throwing the ball no further than five yards past the line of scrimmage isn't exactly going to keep the defense honest. The big play to Orson Charles in the first half was a nice play but the pass sat in the air so long that it should have been an extra ten yards had the ball been given any zip. I'm rooting for Mr. Cox but he's got to play with a sense of passion. I thought we were getting a leader who would do anything to win. What I saw was a QB who played as if the starter got hurt in the first quarter.
4. Zero sacks in the game! We knew this would be an issue but it is clear to me that it's going to another huge issue in 2009. Zac Robinson never smelled a QB hurry and eventually OSU's offensive line wore us out in the fourth quarter due to very untimely turnovers on our end. The Cowboys played like we hoped Georgia would and that is running the ball until the defense started breathing heavy. Eventually, they broke us and ran the football with relative ease at the end. Personally, I think the defensive tackles did a decent job but our defensive ends just can't move the tackles off the line and make a play. Very disappointed and although the collective efforts of the defense were solid, our inability to get any pressure on the quarterback is going to haunt us all year unless someone can step up.
5. Georgia desperately needs an impact player on defense. Like I said in the last paragraph, Georgia's defense was pretty good in this game but they could have been better. Maybe it was the first game jitters or the rust from an eight-month layoff, but the cornerbacks had many chances to make an interception and once again, they failed to do so. The Dawgs did a good job of shutting down Dez Bryant but he did have two touchdowns on only a few catches. I really thought this was the year Rennie Curran separates himself from the rest of the country as the top linebacker. What I'm realizing is he may not have the "impact" abilities in order to stake that claim. I never debate his talent for making tackles, even though he wasn't as prevalent as I thought he would be in the ballgame, but he hasn't been a player who blitzes the quarterback, creates a huge fumble, or steps back in coverage and snatches a key interception. I'm beginning to think he's just going to be a nice compliment to a defense but he won't be the figurehead of it. We need a surefire leader who puts his energy and talents together to create big plays when we need them. So far, I see eleven guys who could be that type of player but I haven't seen one step up.