Five things that are going to continue to bite us that are apparent through 4 games....
1) We are really, really soft up the middle. I don't know how much of it is White, but I am pretty sure we don't have much in the way of Defensive Tackle. When teams run successfully on us, they are doing it between the guards. We need Carmon to find his feet quickly. I think Cox should probably slim down and play end, but what do I know? This is going to kill us against Bama.
2) We are not getting enough pressure on the qb. We are still missing an end opposite McPhee that can make plays. Several times the other night, we would send extra guys and still not get to Murray, which led to one on one coverage or guys finding soft spots in a zone. If you are going to send somebody, you've got to get there at some point. This is a big reason why we couldn't get them off the field on third downs, and why are a bend/not break defense. We are a pretty salty defense that gets in plenty of 3rd and longs, but we are not closing the door on teams.
3) Our receivers have regressed. Bumphis and Berry were absolutely better last year. I don't know what is going on with them. Bumphis is not really very sure-handed, and for whatever reason, he is not as "electric" when he gets it.
4) Kickoffs, with the exception of the big wind the other night are still bad. After the opening kick, the one kick that didn't go into the endzone saw a huge return for UGA. Also, we're not even getting back to the 20 when we are fielding kicks. Did the rule change that outlawed the wedge screw us up this much? I have no hope of anything happening on a kickoff anymore. Last year, you held your breath every time because you knew Berry was going to break one.
5) I think most agree that we are better off with the gameplan that we used the other night. And if that is the case, we are missing a dominant, big running back to compliment Relf. I really wish Conner had not quit the team, because I think he could've been that guy in time. He looked good in the spring game. I think Mullen was convinced that we were going to be about 50/50 running and throwing before the season started. The problem is that we have made too many mistakes in the passing game - interceptions, drops, failure to protect, and he realized that we had to win the other night and went to the bread and butter of running Relf. If that's what we are going to do all year, then we are the same offense minus a big back that everybody fears. We've got to figure out how to get the ball to Perkins more outside of the tackles. I think Bumphis needs more touches somehow, maybe out of the backfield. Running that offense without Dixon is a big reason why we had 10 points late in the game. Got to be creative without taking big risks.
1) We are really, really soft up the middle. I don't know how much of it is White, but I am pretty sure we don't have much in the way of Defensive Tackle. When teams run successfully on us, they are doing it between the guards. We need Carmon to find his feet quickly. I think Cox should probably slim down and play end, but what do I know? This is going to kill us against Bama.
2) We are not getting enough pressure on the qb. We are still missing an end opposite McPhee that can make plays. Several times the other night, we would send extra guys and still not get to Murray, which led to one on one coverage or guys finding soft spots in a zone. If you are going to send somebody, you've got to get there at some point. This is a big reason why we couldn't get them off the field on third downs, and why are a bend/not break defense. We are a pretty salty defense that gets in plenty of 3rd and longs, but we are not closing the door on teams.
3) Our receivers have regressed. Bumphis and Berry were absolutely better last year. I don't know what is going on with them. Bumphis is not really very sure-handed, and for whatever reason, he is not as "electric" when he gets it.
4) Kickoffs, with the exception of the big wind the other night are still bad. After the opening kick, the one kick that didn't go into the endzone saw a huge return for UGA. Also, we're not even getting back to the 20 when we are fielding kicks. Did the rule change that outlawed the wedge screw us up this much? I have no hope of anything happening on a kickoff anymore. Last year, you held your breath every time because you knew Berry was going to break one.
5) I think most agree that we are better off with the gameplan that we used the other night. And if that is the case, we are missing a dominant, big running back to compliment Relf. I really wish Conner had not quit the team, because I think he could've been that guy in time. He looked good in the spring game. I think Mullen was convinced that we were going to be about 50/50 running and throwing before the season started. The problem is that we have made too many mistakes in the passing game - interceptions, drops, failure to protect, and he realized that we had to win the other night and went to the bread and butter of running Relf. If that's what we are going to do all year, then we are the same offense minus a big back that everybody fears. We've got to figure out how to get the ball to Perkins more outside of the tackles. I think Bumphis needs more touches somehow, maybe out of the backfield. Running that offense without Dixon is a big reason why we had 10 points late in the game. Got to be creative without taking big risks.
