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Kirby Smart: Offensive personality on hold, Georgia football sorting through players
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Kirby Smart: Offensive personality on hold, Georgia football sorting through players
ATHENS — This Georgia offense was going to have to change no matter who was running it.
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I'm old enough to remember this past season, after the Kent State and Missouri games and then after the KY game, people were asking what the matter was with Georgia's offense.
@Oldddawg76 Boom -- great point!
Guilty myself. I smote Monken with an invisible rod. Twelve games later.....well. I had the answer.
Call me crazy but I was sort of hoping that last season would have pretty much determined who your starter for this season would be. You know with who looked best in practices and who was the first guy off the bench ? But I know he wants to keep 3 scholarship qbs.
The skill level, "strength & conditoning" and athleticism, can improve or diminish rapidly, in 18 to 22 year old players, over a 6 month to one year period of time. What looked good last September...may not be your best option, this September. Especially at UGA, where inexperienced Freshmen and Sophmores get a lot of backup-duty and intense personal training throughout the season (and offseason).
I think you'll see, generally the same play-makers, this year...less the obvious few...with a couple of new and improved faces. Like Lovett (WR). I think Lovett has the capability to make an enormous impact in the passing game. He could actually have as big an effect as Williamson did for BAMA in '21, when he transferred from OSU.
That being said...blocking and setting up blocks, is a "team function". It always has been...but, there's not a lot of hype, to it...so, not many people focus on that part of the game. I like the emphasis Kirby puts on "The not-so-little things". It's one of the reasons he's on top of "The Game". Lol
Personally...I think the Dawgs are gonna do a lot of the things they did last year, with a few extra wrinkles in the deep passing game. And, you know...Bobo loves that perimeter game, with the pitch -out and screen. If Bobo can't generate a ground game with the players he has in stock...which are "top-to-bottom better" than the ones he had in 2012 (IMO, with exception of the RB position)...he may have to go to BVG or Gunner Stockton to open up the QB Run option.
UGA has all the toys they need, to beat the other kids in the sandbox. Lol...it's gon' be fun.
Still, it’s a safe bet that at some point in the first quarter of the opening game against Ball State some basement blogger will trigger a piping hot thread: “That’s not Monken’s offense!”
Monken was the offensive coordinator in 2020 when UGA wasn't nearly as good on the OL or TE as they were in 2021 and especially 2022 (although they were actually better at WR) and the offense frequently looked brutal, even in some of the games they won. Don't get me wrong. I am not bashing Monken. At all. But UGA was at their best on offense in years like 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022 when they had superior talent: the pair of 1000 yard rushers in 17-18, the great OL and TE play in 21-22. Folks who are pretending as if the coaching was the problem just don't want to acknowledge that it is elite players who actually win games, despite the fact that Kirby Smart himself is the first one to say this.
2023 should be a great year on offense because UGA will have three #1 picks (at minimum) in Mims, Van Pran and Bowers. Complimenting them will be Truss and Tate (who along with Van Pran will be the best interior OL in college football by some margin) as well as McConkey and the transfers at WR. And that isn't even including the running game, which honestly wasn't a big factor in the Monken era but Bobo has a completely different mindset.
"And that isn't even including the running game, which honestly wasn't a big factor in the Monken era but Bobo has a completely different mindset."______
Gotta disagree with you there. The running game and defense helped UGA put a number of games away, in the 4th qtr...including the 2021 Natty. James Cook broke on a long run to start the fire. It was used more as a clock-management tool over the last couple of years, with big bruising backs like Z. White. .
In fact, that's been Kirby's signature backfield....One big bowling ball back, such as Chubb, White and K-Mil/B-Rob, to block and get the short yardage...and, one Sony Michel, James Cook or K-Mac, to block and run routes. This year, they don't have a fleet-footed receiver with a great set of hands, at RB.
At least...not yet. I think they'll find their new Cook/McIntosh, before the first game. We'll see. Every year, UGA puts one or two playmakers on the field, that nobody thought of...and, they wind up balling out. That's the beauty of recruiting at the level of the Dawgs, Tide and Bucknuts. UGA had more talent on their bench, than most of the teams, in CFB. Lol
IMO...The "running game" and "deep ball" are gonna make a big come back in the "Bobo Era". They don't have "that guy" at RB, yet. I fully expect Smart and Bobo, will go to the "TP Wishing Well" as soon as the next transfer window opens...IF...there's a player like GT's Jamyre Gibbs available...and IF...they still need hands and speed at RB.
BEck-been in the program longer than any other UGA current QB,what about 4 years?-check. BEck knows the system, the right plays to be in, where eveyone should be-check, beck-has NFL prototypical arm/size-check. BEck- first off the bench in relief of Bennet last season-check. BEck alot more real game experience than any other UGA QB-check.
Yet, CKS doesn't know at this point who his next starting QB will be? Does anyone see a problem here besides me? Kirby, who is your next QB? "Hum, that's a really good question." I just don't know at this point, I haven't seen enough of Carson to know if he is the guy." "We've got 3 realy good possibilities."
Either Carson hasn't done enough or shown what it takes by now. And if so, then CKS just needs to pick the next guy who has the next most experience and with the greatest skillset,assumably BVG. If Kirby isn't completely comfortable with him running the show then what do you really have? A redshirt FR.
This is all about keeping as many scholarshipped QB's on the team as they can. ANything else is a little disconcerning that a guy everyone thought would take over the reins by now apparently hasn't distinguished himself enough in his coaches' minds. Or is it just Kirby not wanting anyone to become "complacent". You tell me which makes more sense.
@BigDawg61
There is a difference between "not being a big factor" and not being a factor at all. You would agree that the passing game wasn't a big factor at UGA, Auburn and Alabama during the Vince Dooley, Pat Dye and Gene Stalling eras right? What Buck Belue did for UGA in the early 1980s pretty much describes UGA tailbacks under the Monken era. And no, you are not going to get a big time tailback to transfer to UGA to get 8-10 carries a game and be a 4th or 6th round draft pick like Monken's starting tailbacks. UGA is going to have to start increasing the RB roles in the offense so they can put up bigger numbers and get drafted higher if they are regularly going to land the top guys out of high school or the portal. That is one of the benefits of the switch to Bobo. It could be said that Chaney and Coley ran too much - though people who say that should consider that UGA didn't have elite talent at QB, WR or TE back then ... I guess people have finally silently acknowledged that Jake Fromm was never another Tom Brady or Drew Brees being held back by the playcalling after all - and Monken ran too little. Bobo will be great for reintroducing balance to the offense. Yes, you can still have a great passing game this way. Anyone who disagrees should check out Clemson in 2018, LSU in 2019 and Alabama in 2020: first round draft picks at both QB and RB on those teams. No reason why UGA can't do the same.
@reddawg1
A. G-Day is April 15.
B. The transfer portal opens on May 1.
Say Kirby Smart were to announce Beck as the clear leader, or even to tip his hand by giving Beck the most snaps during practices and/or G-Day. Result? BVG hits the portal 2 weeks later. The same is true the other way around. It is simple as that. Smart wants to win a title in 2023. Whether Beck or BVG is the starter, CKS doesn't want the backup options to be Stockton and a bunch of walk-ons. Had UGA chosen not to put all their eggs in the Arch Manning basket then yes one of those guys would be getting the majority of reps by now and would get the longest look in the spring game. And yes, a bigger effort would be made to get Stockton some experience because Smart and everyone else would know that Stockton was going to be the #2 QB as of May 1 and not the loser of the BVG/Beck competition.
It'll say a lot...if Kirby takes one of the 3 prospective QB's to "SEC Media Days", in July. We'll know who the leader is.
He took Daniels to "Media Days", in 2021...and, Daniels took the 1st snap. According to Smart...there was NOT a consensus, among the coaches, on which QB should start against Clemson. Some thought Bennett gave them a better chance against some of the teams on their 2021 schedule. Turned out...those Coaches were right.
If my memory serves...Smart didn't take a QB to "Media Days", in 2022. I think He learned a lesson, in 2021, with locking himself into 1 QB. He wound up answering questions about Daniels & "The UGA QB Situation", every week....right up to the Championship Game.
Lol...the Media and Fans couldn't take a hint. Bennett was The Guy all along. Welllll...as long as he continued to improve and WIN. That will be "The Standard" this year, as well. Can one overtake the other? That competition will continue into 2024, until one of them drops out of the race. Then a new competition begins.
I don't think any of these guys are going anywhere, this year. With Riaola coming in...next year, is a different animal.