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Kirby Smart wants Georgia to improve in these two areas. What does improvement look like?
System
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Kirby Smart wants Georgia to improve in these two areas. What does improvement look like?
Itâs why the Bulldogs, despite winning the SEC, finished with three losses during the 2024 season. The last time that happened came back in 2018.
Comments
Good analysis Connor.
And I'll dig a little deeper just looking at the games we lost last season:
Bama game: Bama 173 yards rushing, UGA 80 yards rushing
Ole Miss game: Rebels 134 yards rushing, UGA 59 yards rushing
ND game: Irish 154 yards rushing, UGA 62 yards rushing
And let's look at the (2) games we won against Texas:
1st game: UGA 141 yards rushing, TX 31 yards rushing
2nd game: UGA 108 yards rushing, TX 29 yards rushing
I will say Texas RB Wisner got about 50 yards per game in rushing in both games against the Dawgs, but the sacks and yards lost by Ewers negated much of his yardage.
So the key to this whole thing goes back to the line of scrimmage. That's pretty much the crux of most winning or losing.
Great article with stats to back up observation.
Great job.
Biggest thing we need is strong player leadership, offense and defense, both on the field and in the locker room. Beck's general toxicity and total absence of leadership torpedoed our hopes last year. Good riddance…. "People, like sheep, will mill around aimlessly until a leader emerges." Coaches can't be the only leaders.
When you think of it it is not surprising that player leadership within the UGA program is eroding. The UGA team experiences 1/3rd (?) player turnover every season with graduation and TP. Most of those players are older players who have been in the program multiple seasons. Players who have been immersed in the culture and experienced the leadership from the champions that came before them.
Those players are being replaced with freshman mostly and a few transfers. Those are players who have no exposure to the UGA culture, standard or the previous elite leaders that have moved on from the program.
Culture and leadership starts with the coaches not the QB. The QB always gets too much credit or too much blame. Putting the '24 season all on Beck is myopic.
As for the rushing problems of '24 and the prospect of rushing success in '25 let me spin it a different way. Regardless of the OL and the RB's, UGA will struggle running the football in'25 IF the '25 QB is not a passing threat. The '25 QB has to be able to throw with accuracy and stretch the field or the box will be stacked against the run in '25. That will make running the ball more difficult in '25.
UGA failed to run effectively in '24 WITH a QB known for his accuracy and success in '23. W/o a QB with some level of proficiency UGA will struggle again to run the football. Hopefully GS, with all his experience in HS and the UGA system, will prove to be a very accurate passer. We know he can stretch the field, Accuracy and command of the offense are the questions.
MontanaDawg…
"I will say Texas RB Wisner got about 50 yards per game in rushing in both games against the Dawgs, but the sacks and yards lost by Ewers negated much of his yardage."……BINGO…..1st, stop rushing advances by rushing/pressuring QB behind the line….QB pressure equals lost yardage and errant passes….the addition of Elo will only accentuate the heat brought by Raylen and CJ….I'm expecting a "Sack-tacular" 2025 season! Now onto offense…..I contend we just didn't allow enough game opportunities for Phillips, Bowen, Hearst, Mathis, Hardie, and Penn…especially when Etienne was off or injured…I'm expecting much from our previously mentioned, our remaining Robinson, Cash, Nate and MacCray……plus a more creative ruching game plan utilizing all of the RB room.
Fair post - understand where you are coming from on Beck.
But from my perspective, my dislike for him started from his very first start against UAB.
It started when he threw an interception, the fellow ran right by Beck and he made no effort to stop him. He walked off the field laughing…will never forget it.
Smart jerks him and inserts Stetson. The rest was history.
Beck finally gets his chance and redeems himself imo. He had a pretty dang good year. But his last year, I remember him laughing on the bench when we were losing several times…it reared its **** head again.
As a player, you certainly don’t want a teammate like that. I know I wouldn’t - you don’t want to give that extra effort.
I’m with the poster below, I’m glad he’s gone. Pretty sure the team wasn’t giving 100% all season - the Texas game you could see it when Gunner came in. They certainly wanted to play for him.
He gives effort and sacrifices.
He may or may not have the talent of Beck, but he definitely has the leadership. Something was definitely “rotten in Denmark” from where I sat.
Leaders win..
The author has enough true, inside info to know that Freeling will be the starting LT? I'm not so sure, and if he is it will be more of the same.
Brock Vandagriff finished the UAB game after Carson threw his pick6.
He may have taken the last snap and handed it off - honestly don't remember, but Vandergriff had no stats that day. Stetson threw 5 TD's that day after replacing Beck…speaking of the '21 game, not '23.
i checked the snap count and Vandagriff handed the ball off four times the final drive. Beck was done after his lollygag pick6.
The Georgia Women’s tennis team is playing for the national championship today and there has been not even a paragraph by DawgNation. Sad. Go Lady Dawgs!
Fair post. I do think there were a few questionable instances regarding CBeck especially in '24. But I don't believe there were more than a couple that were magnified (and misconstrued?) for a fan base looking for a scapegoat to the '24 season.
Beck sure played well (until the SECCG) in '23. For whatever reason things did not click for the UGA O in '24. I still wonder how much better and easier it would have been in '24 if guys just caught the ball.
You have to give CBeck some credit for the comeback vs AL in '24. Down big, behind Beck UGA actually took the lead late. D couldn't hold it.
The INT that Beck threw in '21 (?) vs UAB was definitely a bad look. I don't know if this is the case at UGA but some teams tell their QB's to stay out of harms way on INT's. The last thing UGA needs this year would be GS getting hurt trying to make a tackle on an INT in a game already won.
Carson lost his two best WRs in 24. Rara Thomas and then Colbie Young. Things might’ve been different had those two played. It became clear Carson and Arian weren’t going to be sending each other xmas cards.
If those two played all season, then Arian doesn’t have to carry the WR1 load and can thrive a bit more without as much attention. Run game probably opens up a bit more too.
I hope for a seriously improved offensive line this year with the experienced and new talent (with potentially improved off-season conditioning), as Carson Beck was rushed constantly and getting killed back there.
Hasn’t someone already written about this sometime this week?