Silence Broken!

Post by Mike

You have not heard from me since the South Carolina game because I pledged to say nothing unless it was positive. Today I have to break that pledge.

Let me start with Crowell. Was this kid really worth it?

Prior to his signing with UGA I had a conversation with a friend at the Columbus Ledger. His take was that Crowell was undisciplined and too soft for the SEC.

So far the freshman has been suspended twice in nine games, or more accurately 5 quarters (considering the Vandy suspension was for the first quarter only) of 36. That is 14% of his first season.... so far!

His pass blocking skills are slow to develop, he takes himself out of games, and, as predicted by my friend in Columbus, he appears to be a bit soft. Outside the tackles he has been amazing, but the game is played in the trenches too.

Maybe this time off will motivate him and correct his attitude. Maybe he will come off suspension and throw up 180 yards on Auburn. Hope so, but I won't believe it until I see it.

Now lets get to the special teams:

This is a blog with unlimited space, but my keyboard might wear out on this one. So far we have been fooled on fake punts by South Carolina (the big one) and Ole' Miss. We gave up kick returns to Vandy and two long ones to Florida. We also let Vandy block a punt that nearly cost us the game.

Let me repeat that one for you. After a time out, we let Vandy block a punt that nearly cost us the game. AFTER A TIME OUT! I wonder what was said during that time out?

Then during the off week, we adjusted our punt formation to a spread and put three blockers in front of Butler. The result - Butler nearly kicked the ball off the ass of his protection and had the worst game of his career.

Oh and the last time I checked... the field goal unit is also a special team.

The results:

Despite some terrible performances, the Dogs are somehow 6-2 and challenging for the SEC East title, but the results are deceiving. None of the Division I teams we have beaten have winning records. The combined win-loss total of all of them is 17-23, and UGA did not beat a single one of them in decisive fashion.

The Dog defense has saved the season. Jarvis Jones in particular has been spectacular, and Grantham's system is starting to click. The unit is the one aspect of the team that is firing on all cylinders.

Maybe I am being too negative. We did, after all, hang on to beat Vandy, sleep walk through a game with Tennessee despite four straight holding calls, and just beat a Florida team with a one legged quarterback and no running backs by four points. What's not to like?

Oh yeah... and now we get to play the next game with no running backs... I forgot that one.

The drip... drip... drip... of recurring problems points to one thing... a lack of discipline. So who is to blame for that?