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Georgia football ‘RBU’ status in question through two games
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Posts: 10,461 admin
Georgia football ‘RBU’ status in question through two games
ATHENS — Is it RIP for RBU?
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Kirby had a running game with Richt's recruits but he hasn't had much success with his own.
I’m frustrated with comments like: not being strong enough (for UAB…really?), not finishing blocks and lacking attention to detail. Those are not things you expect to hear regarding 5-star players. Go Dawgs and let’s start opening some big holes for our RBs.
Man, I know Mike likes to be provocative, likes to challenge readers, but he’s got me feeling sorry for Kirby, million dollars salary, dream job, and all. He can’t hardly win. When we were a run first team, everyone said where’s the explosive passing game. He goes out and hires an air raid OC. Now everyone complaining about the lack of rushing yards. Seems like whatever he does a good portion of dawgnation will lament the fact that he’s not doing the opposite. Great read, Mike, btw.
It will be interesting to see how many rushing yards we get against SC compared to the rushing yards BAMA gets in the swamp against a more formidable team in the Gators. I'm not saying we have to run for 200 yards to win, as long as we have explosive pass plays, but maybe not even so much how many total yards we get but can we pick up chunks when we need to or is every RB going to have to shook-and-jive at the line of scrimmage to avoid a TFL?
Oh, and you're welcome, Mike.
It is hard to find a balance that makes all the pundits happy. When you are pass happy and productive the run suffers and so on. My only comment has been and still is, it would be nice to know that you can get that tough yard for a first down when you need to. Not yet convinced that we are there.
I cannot dispute this claim because Georgia has been struggling running the ball for quite some time now. Not just these past two games. I haven't seen to many break away runs like the ones Gurley, Mitchell, Chubb, and Swift have had during their time in the red and black. We supposedly have some good offensive linemen, but it is not showing. Was Sam Pittman that good as a offensively linemen coach? Greatly so, since Matt Luke cannot seem to get things going.
Oh, Lordy. Enough already. 2 games and MG trying to stir the running back room pot. You know why you play football? To WIN. No true DAWG fan cares how we win, we just want W's. Through the air. On the ground. With stout defense or pure luck, win and you are in. My prediction. Well over 200 yards gained on the ground tomorrow night. Shhhh.
So, South Carolina has the #23 ranked rushing defense?
Their opponents so far this year are an FCS team (Eastern Illinois) currently ranked last in their conference at 0-3 and a mid-major team (East Carolina) who is currently tied for 8th in the AAC at 0-2.
East Carolina through two games is averaging less than 100 yards rushing. Eastern Illinois is averaging less than 90 yards per game through three games.
So, is SC's rushing defense statistical ranking a product of their personnel and scheme, or a product of their competition?
They churned out a string of first downs over about a 5 minute span to clinch a huge win against one of he best defensive fronts in the country. That's pretty much the definition of getting it when you need to, is it not?
It's important to be balanced (to some degree). I mean you can get away with being one dimensional against inferior opponents where you don't have to run if you're marching down the field through the air every series, but who thinks that will fly against BAMA? Maybe not against Auburn and Arkansas.
I'd rather go into a game knowing I have options, that have been proven to work, rather than depending on only one aspect of the offense in order to win.
Imagine if our defense was horrible, but our offense was so good we kept winning? And so some commenters talk about how we need to improve the defense and then someone saying , "what does it matter, we're winning?" -LOL!
Five cannot block eight. Until we consistently show opposing defenses we can torch them over the top, they are going to continue to stack the box. The running game can open up the passing game if it forces the D to bring extra defenders up to stop the run. However, if the D already has the defenders up, then it’s the passing game that opens up the running game. Coach Clark of UAB said as much. They sold out to stop the run, Bennett lit them up like Chinese fireworks! Let SC choose their poison. Should they spread their defense to cover the field, our running game will be just fine.
Just Win !! And keep on winning !! I imagine if our beloved Dawgs win the whole thing and bring home the coveted Ntl. Title Trophy nobody will give a hoot How it was done as long as they played straight up no cheating. The Wins will prevail over technique or game plan in the vast majority of fans minds I’m confident. Go Dawgs !!
I'll agree when I see a commitment to running the ball. There was not much of a commitment in the Clemson game until the final possession and it seems to me the running game closed it out. Against UAB, exactly why would you insist on running the ball when Bennett is dropping bombs left and right? Our backs are more than talented enough to break explosive runs. If anything, I question our O-line's ability to move people. As the late Al Davis once said, Just Win Baby!!
Of the 5 5*'s Griffin mentioned, one is injured (Ratledge), 1 is a true freshman (and hurt - Mims). 1 is a RS freshman working into the starting line up (BJones), 1 is starting and playing well (Salyer) and 1 has not panned out yet (Webb). So "five 5*'s " is a little misleading. Which is par for the course with Mike Griffin. So UGA has an OL coach STARTING his 2nd season (after a pandemic year), a shuffled OL due to injury, and a young developing group of OL. And Mike Griffin is wondering why UGA struggled to run against a Clemson D returning 10 starters with 4 5* DL and against a UAB team that stacked the box against what they thought was a back up QB? On top of that you are implementing a new O system which has been instructed to emphasize more passing. Does this guy subscribe to the theory that writing for reactions is what passes for journalism these days? Or is this a subliminal attempt to get his pet cat (Milton - who I love as RB2 or 3 this season) more PT? I am liking this guy less and less with each article. I challenge Dawgnation.com to do better.
I don't always agree with Mike but in this case, why are folks attacking him? Kirby Smart himself has said that our running attack is underperforming and MUST get better for us to go where we want to go. The fact that they keep tinkering with the lineup (and not just because of Ratledge) is an indication that things are not right. It's not just the fact that we're trying to pass the ball more, it's that WHEN we run the ball, we have difficulty. With the talent and size of our linemen, you would expect that our RB's could consistently go 3-4 yards past the line of scrimmage without being touched. And again, folks, don't just think of the two games this year. Go back and look at our running game in 2018, 19, and 20. Even under Sam Pittman, it just hasn't been spectacular of late. When we had Chubb, Michel and Swift, one of those guys ROUTINELY had 100-yard games. Now, we think 75 yards is a great day.
First of all who is Mike Griffin? Secondly, he can’t win for losing with some of you. If he’s not hard enough, he’s a homer. If he’s too hard, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Now I am hardly an expert, but I have seen a ton of reporters, site facilitators, recruiting “experts”, etc…and Mike GriffiTH is one of the best.
Maybe Kirby is just too nice and informative when it comes to the media. As we fans all know, it's all about Kirby playing his favorite players and handing playing time to certain guys to keep them from going in to the portal. Now, his game planning is destroying Mark Richt's reputation, along with Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. My God....we need a total rebuild!
You don't lose in 2 games, something that took years of great RB's to build. Gone are the days of a RB carrying the ball 25-35 times a game. Doesn't mean after 2 games that status as RBU should even be addressed as being in jeopardy.. Ridiculous! So,.. Say Alabama loses 2 games this season, does that mean the Alabama dynasty is in danger also? There would be No difference in the 2, according to this logic.
The HEADLINE doesn't cover years, only 2 games. I totally agree with your assessment of the running game over the past few seasons. It has declined noticeably. But to say RBU status is in jeopardy after 2 games is absurd. DAWGS run too much, open up the offense and pass more..now they don't run enough, go figure. Seems the running game was good enough to put the game away against Clemson when it was needed. And Clemson, supposedly has 1 of the best defenses in the country, according to the "experts".