This post will look at the special teams play for Georgia in 2011.
The special teams were greatly improved in 2010, thanks largely in part to the change in coaching. It's been my understanding that Scott Lakatos is the ST coach, but let's be honest, not having Fabris and his affinity for pouch kick offs and liberal fair catch-calling-policy was the biggest reason for the improvement.
In 2010, Georgia ranked #4 in the nation in Net Punting, #2 in the SEC (only behind the team that must not be named). Without question, the good coverage played a big part in a great year, but let's be honest, this awesome performance was due almost entirely to the fabulous leg of Drew Butler.
Butler is probably the best punter Georgia has had in two decades. I'd argue he's had the strongest leg of any college punter in the past two years, and it should be a bit stronger this year. That leg power would be enough, but Butler also has superb touch and control, often dropping punts inside the 10. But that's not all, either. Most punters with Butler's strength kick the occasional line drive bullet that allows the returner to get a head start on the coverage. Butler's Net Punting numbers clearly show he doesn't have this problem.
Like Butler, Blair Walsh won the top award for his position after the 2009 season. Unlike Butler, Walsh dropped off a bit from his '09 numbers in 2010. I really can't think of a reason why this would be, so I won't offer an explanation. Kickers are notoriously finicky, and the margin for error is so slim that I won't entertain the argument that kickers aren't athletes because let me tell you, Bob, the amount of focus required to wrestle away the pressure in order to hit a tough kick is unlike most endeavors in sports. My guess is that Walsh will return to his '09 form this year.
However, the one thing that has always perplexed me is Walsh's occasional inability to send kickoffs into the endzone. In '09, I blamed it on Fabris who inexplicably preferred to pouch kick sometimes two times a game. '10 was better in that regard, but sometimes Walsh just seems like he can't get it back there, and I don't know what to make of that. He has a big leg, I've seen him hit 60 yd field goals in warm ups.
Our punt returning and kick returning continues to be underwhelming. Georgia ranked 31st overall in Punt Returning (5th in the SEC) and 74th overall in Kick Returning (9th in the SEC). I'm not sure if there's a good reason, but Richt has never seemed to put much stock in the return game. It's really a shame. One great return can be the turning point in a game, and Georgia has always had the athletes to produce (paging Branden Smith).
Even more inexplicable has been our penchant for foregoing our dangerous playmakers in favor of the 3rd string QB (thank God I'll never have to watch Logan Gray fair catch another punt) or instead trying to placate our superstars who are great but have no business catching punts (AJ Green).
All that being said, Brandon Boykin is a serious threat to take back any kick off, so I feel good about having him back there next year. I'd love to see him on punt returns more often, but he isn't as shifty as he is fast, which leads us to this: Where in the world has Branden Smith been?!
Smith is the fastest player on the team, and probably the best athlete though he hasn't put on the muscle that I thought he would. But if you are skeptical of his ability to make a big play, just watch some of those reverses we've ran with him the past two years. Though he's a bit indecisive (maybe why he hasn't returned more), when he turns up field he is an absolute blur. Every defender takes the wrong angle because of his unbelievable speed. He was dinged up a bit last year, but it'll virtually be a crime if we don't get him 4 touches a game in 2011. He make swing and miss on three, but all it will take is one huge play to swing the game in our favor.
We have some freaky talent coming in this fall, but a special teams mistake can kill your momentum. That's why I'd love to see Boykin and Smith, side by side on the goal line this year on kick returns. And if I had to pick between the two, I'd like to see Smith return punts. It's possible that the coaches have found that he doesn't have the hands to do it, but his speed requires a second look. I've never been a football coach, but if I had a guy that ran a sub 4.3 40, I'd have to give him a shot or two at a punt.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Georgia Bulldogs in 2011
Ok, I'm having serious college football withdrawals, so this will be the first in a series of musings that I will post during the offseason. I'll probably post infrequently, as there's only so much you can postulate. But it should be fun and a good reference point for when the season is in swing. I'll see if I was right with my predictions and/or if Georgia is able to address the things my admittedly non-football savvy mind can identify. Lezgo!
Topic #1 - Will Georgia's offense be consistent in 2011 because of/in spite of Coach Bobo?
Studying Georgia's offensive production in 2010 is a prime example of how simple statistics can be misleading. Georgia ranked in the top 40 in most offensive statistical categories, whether it was yards per game or points per game. Many people cited this as support for Bobo and the offense, and reverted to the "give Grantham and the D another year to develop" argument. Look a little closer, and you'll find that we ran the score up on bad teams and didn't do squat against the good ones. Stats can be useful, but primarily subscribe to the "eye ball test." Simply put, we didn't pass that test.
Much has been said about our S&C issues, and for good reason, but I think the major issue was schematic. For the majority of Bobo's tenure, we've been predictable and relatively unwilling to adapt to our personnel.
Being predictable is never good, and I don't think I have to pen much in support of that argument. You can't fool the defense on every play, but if they know where you're going, they have a better chance at stopping you than you do beating them. There are a host of things that have to go right on every single play for an offense to be successful, but all the defense has to do is have one guy be in the right place to blow up the play.
Adapting to personell is more complicated issue. Good teams have identities, and it's smart to stick to what you do best. But there in lies the rub, if you want to stick to your identity, you have to recruit players that excel in that role. If you don't have those players, you have to implement a scheme that utilizes their strengths. Unfortunately, Georgia has done neither.
2008 appears to disprove Bobo's schematic flaw, but the truth is that team had a veteran defense that created turnovers and often gave the offense a short field.
Looking ahead to 2011, there are many reasons to be skeptical. Murray returns and, if he improves, will be the best QB in the SEC. Crowell, even if he struggles at times, will be an improvement at RB and will give us the big play threat at that position that we haven't had since Moreno.
But the offensive line will have new additions, and even if those are improvements as well, for some time now the O-line hasn't been the kind of force that you need to win 10 games.
Clearly, the biggest lose will be AJ Green. For the past two years, we've had only one player that legitimately scared D coordinators, and now that player is gone.
Marlon Brown should step up (I think the notion that he was lost in Green's shadow has some merit), but even if he does, Green is a once in a generation talent that can't be easily replaced.
If you concede the point that Bobo hasn't been great in his time as OC, then the major question is this: can Bobo develop as an OC?
The offense has to be more balanced and unpredictable. In addition to that, it has to start winning the line of scrimmage on 85% of the plays. Too often in the past two years has our QB had to evade pressure or our RB get hit either at the line or only a few yards past it. If Georgia's offense is to succeed (And I fear that while the D will improve, it will still experience hiccups. More on that later.), then it will have to do the aforementioned things.
My gut tells me that even with the loss of Green, Bobo will make changes, Richt will influence the scheme, and the new S&C program will be evident in many ways. However, while I do think 2011 will reveal a better offense, I still think we'll struggle at times against the better defenses.
We'll see two of those quite early. How the offense performs against Boise St. and South Carolina will be indicative of what the rest of the season holds. Impress in those games, and 2011 could follow the "Dream Team" with a dream season. But if we see the same old predictability and schematic deficiencies, then we'll finish 8-4 at best.
Topic #1 - Will Georgia's offense be consistent in 2011 because of/in spite of Coach Bobo?
Studying Georgia's offensive production in 2010 is a prime example of how simple statistics can be misleading. Georgia ranked in the top 40 in most offensive statistical categories, whether it was yards per game or points per game. Many people cited this as support for Bobo and the offense, and reverted to the "give Grantham and the D another year to develop" argument. Look a little closer, and you'll find that we ran the score up on bad teams and didn't do squat against the good ones. Stats can be useful, but primarily subscribe to the "eye ball test." Simply put, we didn't pass that test.
Much has been said about our S&C issues, and for good reason, but I think the major issue was schematic. For the majority of Bobo's tenure, we've been predictable and relatively unwilling to adapt to our personnel.
Being predictable is never good, and I don't think I have to pen much in support of that argument. You can't fool the defense on every play, but if they know where you're going, they have a better chance at stopping you than you do beating them. There are a host of things that have to go right on every single play for an offense to be successful, but all the defense has to do is have one guy be in the right place to blow up the play.
Adapting to personell is more complicated issue. Good teams have identities, and it's smart to stick to what you do best. But there in lies the rub, if you want to stick to your identity, you have to recruit players that excel in that role. If you don't have those players, you have to implement a scheme that utilizes their strengths. Unfortunately, Georgia has done neither.
2008 appears to disprove Bobo's schematic flaw, but the truth is that team had a veteran defense that created turnovers and often gave the offense a short field.
Looking ahead to 2011, there are many reasons to be skeptical. Murray returns and, if he improves, will be the best QB in the SEC. Crowell, even if he struggles at times, will be an improvement at RB and will give us the big play threat at that position that we haven't had since Moreno.
But the offensive line will have new additions, and even if those are improvements as well, for some time now the O-line hasn't been the kind of force that you need to win 10 games.
Clearly, the biggest lose will be AJ Green. For the past two years, we've had only one player that legitimately scared D coordinators, and now that player is gone.
Marlon Brown should step up (I think the notion that he was lost in Green's shadow has some merit), but even if he does, Green is a once in a generation talent that can't be easily replaced.
If you concede the point that Bobo hasn't been great in his time as OC, then the major question is this: can Bobo develop as an OC?
The offense has to be more balanced and unpredictable. In addition to that, it has to start winning the line of scrimmage on 85% of the plays. Too often in the past two years has our QB had to evade pressure or our RB get hit either at the line or only a few yards past it. If Georgia's offense is to succeed (And I fear that while the D will improve, it will still experience hiccups. More on that later.), then it will have to do the aforementioned things.
My gut tells me that even with the loss of Green, Bobo will make changes, Richt will influence the scheme, and the new S&C program will be evident in many ways. However, while I do think 2011 will reveal a better offense, I still think we'll struggle at times against the better defenses.
We'll see two of those quite early. How the offense performs against Boise St. and South Carolina will be indicative of what the rest of the season holds. Impress in those games, and 2011 could follow the "Dream Team" with a dream season. But if we see the same old predictability and schematic deficiencies, then we'll finish 8-4 at best.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
5 Best Songs of 2010
2010 was a pretty good year for music, and as promised, I'm reprising my "Top 5 Songs" and in lieu of the Grammys. Without further ado ...
5. Eminem (Ft. Rihanna) - "Love The Way You Lie"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uelHwf8o7_U
Welcome back, Marshall Mathers.
Eminem once rhymed that the world feels empty without him, and I gotta say he's right. "Recovery" was a better album than "Relapse" in my opinion. Eminem is a different person now than he was in the late 90s and early Aughts, so to wait around for more songs like those is just a waste of time. Younger Eminem was probably better than Mature Eminem, but I think he's made peace with the things that made him so shockingly edgy and profane, and so his music was sure to change.
I think he's the best rapper of his generation, and I've always thought he was fantastic. This song is full of the volcanic anger and hunger for a second chance at making things right that made his earlier work so tremendous.
4. The National - "Bloodbuzz Ohio"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfySK7CLEEg&feature=player_embedded#at=16
I remember the first time I heard The National. It was freshman year, a time of awakening both of self and of music. The National sounded like nothing I had ever heard before, Matt Berninger's tender baritone reciting words of unmistakeable meaning (isn't that refreshing?), a collection of skilled musicians (they all have advanced degrees in music), a confidence it what kind of band they are instead of just one with a lot of skill but no sense of direction.
The rub lies in what they actually are, or at least in what their songs are meant to accomplish. Their songs are about white collar numbness, about the moment when your youthful hopefulness realizes it's been sold empty promises, about coming to terms that there are some problems age and wisdom will never solve.
"Bloodbuzz Ohio" is no different, and it's one of The National's best efforts. We get the notion of a failed relationship, one in which the fact it was your fault is clear. Whether you messed it up somehow or you got stuck with someone you didn't love any more, time is terrible in how it only allows you to remember the times when it was good when you take stock of why you were the reason it ended. No matter your reasons at the time, second guessing is always easier when it was you who made the choice. It's worse when you grow to think of a place and that person in the same way.
John Greenleaf Whittier wrote: "Of all the sad words to flow from tongue or pen, the saddest are these: It might have been."
3. Mumford and Sons - "The Cave"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KkUeRPjc-Y
If you haven't ridden with your friends with the windows down, blaring "Little Lion Man" and trying to scream the lyrics over the speakers and sounds of the freeway, well then what in the world have you been waiting for!?
"The Cave", on the other hand, is the best song of their seminal album and earns that acclaim in more ways that one. The lyrics, song beautifully by Marcus Mumford, are better than most poetry these days. The rhythm makes you want to get up and stomp out a dance or go sprinting into the day (either are appropriate). The banjo just shreds. There's a banjo for goodness sakes!
This young band's star shines brighter than most.
2. Temper Trap - "Sweet Disposition"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C8e7nNLZNs
I know, I know. "Sweet Disposition" was loosed upon planet Earth in 2008, but it took two years before it truly made its way to the States. And did it ever. I think I lost count of how many movies, TV shows, and commercials felt compelled to use this tune. It is as awesome as it was ubiquitous, and that's hard to attain. (I'm looking at you, Lady Antebellum. I guess just being ubiquitous will win you a Grammy since actually being awesome has apparently become optional.)
There's absolutely not one misstep in this entire track. Dougy Mandagi's falsetto lifts us up into somewhere in the stratosphere, and it's then that we realize that the lyrics could just as easily be about a man deceiving himself into thinking his "young blood" will let him never surrender as it is about a young man with lightning flowing through his veins. The dueling drums and bass are what truly drive the song from start to finish, and it's rare that the rhythm section is the poison and not the needle. It's also a nearly foolproof indication that you're listening to a band of musicians, instead of performers.
As glorious as it is, I've often wondered if the band has realized they'll probably never write a more perfect song.
1. Arcade Fire - "We Used to Wait"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nTjn1yJp0w
I still know many people who have never even heard of Arcade Fire, and I guess that's understandable. Their debut album, "Funeral," of a few years ago was probably the best debut album of the past 15 years. Nonetheless, it came in the midst of the indie rock explosion, and while it was certainly a primary player in that movement, many other worthy indie albums were taking up air time and ear space.
And then came this year's "The Suburbs." It won't win album of the year at the Grammys, but make no mistake, "The Suburbs" is the best of them all. True to the album's concept (and Arcade Fire's overarching theme), "We Used to Wait" is about suffocating in suburban sprawl, somewhere in between the grandeur of the city and the allure of the wilderness.
The repetitively tapping piano creates a building crescendo that Win Butler's perfectly thin voice matches step for step until they both explode into drums and oooo's telling us "we used wait."
Butler tells us that sometimes what we waited for never came, that we end up just stuck moving through the days. Our lives can seem to change fast when we aren't ready, and probably in spite or ourselves. Because the tragic part is most of the waiting on something was only made possible by the catalyst that was our own failure to put the lives we longed for into motion, to send the letters we wrote.
If you haven't listened to this band, you're only doing yourself a disservice. Because if they didn't announce themselves before, consider this album their formal greeting. They're here to stay.
5. Eminem (Ft. Rihanna) - "Love The Way You Lie"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uelHwf8o7_U
Welcome back, Marshall Mathers.
Eminem once rhymed that the world feels empty without him, and I gotta say he's right. "Recovery" was a better album than "Relapse" in my opinion. Eminem is a different person now than he was in the late 90s and early Aughts, so to wait around for more songs like those is just a waste of time. Younger Eminem was probably better than Mature Eminem, but I think he's made peace with the things that made him so shockingly edgy and profane, and so his music was sure to change.
I think he's the best rapper of his generation, and I've always thought he was fantastic. This song is full of the volcanic anger and hunger for a second chance at making things right that made his earlier work so tremendous.
4. The National - "Bloodbuzz Ohio"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfySK7CLEEg&feature=player_embedded#at=16
I remember the first time I heard The National. It was freshman year, a time of awakening both of self and of music. The National sounded like nothing I had ever heard before, Matt Berninger's tender baritone reciting words of unmistakeable meaning (isn't that refreshing?), a collection of skilled musicians (they all have advanced degrees in music), a confidence it what kind of band they are instead of just one with a lot of skill but no sense of direction.
The rub lies in what they actually are, or at least in what their songs are meant to accomplish. Their songs are about white collar numbness, about the moment when your youthful hopefulness realizes it's been sold empty promises, about coming to terms that there are some problems age and wisdom will never solve.
"Bloodbuzz Ohio" is no different, and it's one of The National's best efforts. We get the notion of a failed relationship, one in which the fact it was your fault is clear. Whether you messed it up somehow or you got stuck with someone you didn't love any more, time is terrible in how it only allows you to remember the times when it was good when you take stock of why you were the reason it ended. No matter your reasons at the time, second guessing is always easier when it was you who made the choice. It's worse when you grow to think of a place and that person in the same way.
John Greenleaf Whittier wrote: "Of all the sad words to flow from tongue or pen, the saddest are these: It might have been."
3. Mumford and Sons - "The Cave"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KkUeRPjc-Y
If you haven't ridden with your friends with the windows down, blaring "Little Lion Man" and trying to scream the lyrics over the speakers and sounds of the freeway, well then what in the world have you been waiting for!?
"The Cave", on the other hand, is the best song of their seminal album and earns that acclaim in more ways that one. The lyrics, song beautifully by Marcus Mumford, are better than most poetry these days. The rhythm makes you want to get up and stomp out a dance or go sprinting into the day (either are appropriate). The banjo just shreds. There's a banjo for goodness sakes!
This young band's star shines brighter than most.
2. Temper Trap - "Sweet Disposition"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C8e7nNLZNs
I know, I know. "Sweet Disposition" was loosed upon planet Earth in 2008, but it took two years before it truly made its way to the States. And did it ever. I think I lost count of how many movies, TV shows, and commercials felt compelled to use this tune. It is as awesome as it was ubiquitous, and that's hard to attain. (I'm looking at you, Lady Antebellum. I guess just being ubiquitous will win you a Grammy since actually being awesome has apparently become optional.)
There's absolutely not one misstep in this entire track. Dougy Mandagi's falsetto lifts us up into somewhere in the stratosphere, and it's then that we realize that the lyrics could just as easily be about a man deceiving himself into thinking his "young blood" will let him never surrender as it is about a young man with lightning flowing through his veins. The dueling drums and bass are what truly drive the song from start to finish, and it's rare that the rhythm section is the poison and not the needle. It's also a nearly foolproof indication that you're listening to a band of musicians, instead of performers.
As glorious as it is, I've often wondered if the band has realized they'll probably never write a more perfect song.
1. Arcade Fire - "We Used to Wait"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nTjn1yJp0w
I still know many people who have never even heard of Arcade Fire, and I guess that's understandable. Their debut album, "Funeral," of a few years ago was probably the best debut album of the past 15 years. Nonetheless, it came in the midst of the indie rock explosion, and while it was certainly a primary player in that movement, many other worthy indie albums were taking up air time and ear space.
And then came this year's "The Suburbs." It won't win album of the year at the Grammys, but make no mistake, "The Suburbs" is the best of them all. True to the album's concept (and Arcade Fire's overarching theme), "We Used to Wait" is about suffocating in suburban sprawl, somewhere in between the grandeur of the city and the allure of the wilderness.
The repetitively tapping piano creates a building crescendo that Win Butler's perfectly thin voice matches step for step until they both explode into drums and oooo's telling us "we used wait."
Butler tells us that sometimes what we waited for never came, that we end up just stuck moving through the days. Our lives can seem to change fast when we aren't ready, and probably in spite or ourselves. Because the tragic part is most of the waiting on something was only made possible by the catalyst that was our own failure to put the lives we longed for into motion, to send the letters we wrote.
If you haven't listened to this band, you're only doing yourself a disservice. Because if they didn't announce themselves before, consider this album their formal greeting. They're here to stay.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)