The Mark Richt Victory Watch

…good game. You guys made the plays when you had to. Now go beat Tennessee and Florida, please.

Did anyone hear Blackledge & the other announcer state that Erin Andrews (oooh did Erin make me crazy in her little school girl glasses! WOW!) anyway she stated that CWM’s comment " all they’re (Arkansas) doing is throwing grenades!" What the hell is that all about?? Those “grenades” were sometimes bombs to wide open receivers!! Not only did Petrino take advantage of the over the middle 5-7 yard passes but also took full advantage of the 15-20 yard deep passes b/t CBs (which Boykin made numerous mistakes) & our Safeties (can someone find a home for Evans?!)… I said this last week-and I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir-but it really gets me that CWM does not adjust his 2-deep zone when offenses start picking us apart!!
On a couple of those scores it looked as if CMR was glaring at Willie (but it was probably me thinking-he needs to go slap Willie in the head!) as if to say man you gotta do something about that!!

I was focused on the Carolina game at espn360, then W Va/Auburn after Mallett wussed out and slid at the 5. Are they the anti-Vols, doomed to be on the wrong end of 40-30 shootouts all season?

I’m starting to think our offensive output in Athens was not a fluke. At the very least, I think we can light up the scoreboard against bad to average defenses. I’ll have a more definitive answer this week, but I’m cautiously optimistic our returning DT’s and new offensive strategy of “scoring” could see us to a big win.

I still don’t know the Dawgs’ ceiling, but Cox’s Week 1 illness seems more and more serious with each passing week. A couple more performances like his last two, and I’m going to assume he was getting organ transplants at the half in Stillwater.

First off, let me say congratulations to the Georgia Bulldogs. They played a great game, and while it might have not been pretty the whole time, they got it done when it counted, and came away with the ‘W’. Our Dawgs are currently alone atop the SEC East, and the only SEC team at 2-0 in conference play. Great job Dawgs.

Secondly, let’s all give a hearty congratulations to Joe Cox, who was named National Offensive Player of the week by the Walter Camp Football Foundation. That is truly a special accomplishment and we should all be proud of how Joe C has played and carried the Dawgs to 2-0 in SEC play. I think both Bulldawg nation and the rest of the football world are starting to recognize that while Joe might not be the gunslinger that Matthew Stafford was, Joe doesn’t have to just be a game manager. He has enough talent himself and enough weapons around him to run a pretty special offense.

Now for the bad news. We all know the issues. Our defense has looked pedestrian at times. In Athens, we always expect our defense to be prolific, and stop all opponents with 3 and outs all game long, or maybe even create turnovers (huh, there’s a concept!). However, for whatever reason, that hasn’t been the case this year. I think it’s a combination of scheme (maybe) and execution (probably), as well as youth (definitely).

We can all dissect the last game ‘til the cows come home, but I’d like to look at the upcoming game against Arizona State. Now, I don’t think it’s going to be the cakewalk that a lot of my cohorts seem to think it’s going to be. We may very well blow ASU out, but let’s take an objective look at some ASU national team rankings of their stats so far (2-0 vs. Idaho State and Louisiana-Monroe).

ASU statistical team rankings, nationally:
Points per game: #9, 44 ppg
Rushing yards per game: #9, 250.5 ypg
Passing defense per game: #2, 84 ypg
Points allowed per game: #5, 8.5 ppg
Total yards allowed per game: #1, 149.5 ypg
Passing efficiency defense per game: #1, 64.4 passer rating
Turnover Margin: #1, 8 turnovers created, 0 turnovers committed

Now it doesn’t take a British theoretical physicist, known for his contributions to the fields of cosmology and quantum gravity, especially in the context of black holes (Stephen Hawking, ahem) to figure out what the Dawgs are going to need to spend some time working on going forward, especially this week. As you can see above, ASU is #1 nationally in turnover margin, having created 8 turnovers (6 INT, 2 fumbles gained), and have not turned the ball over once offensively. On the other hand, our mighty Dawgs have turned the ball over 9 times (3 INT, 6 fumbles lost) while forcing only 2 turnovers by their opponents (1 INT, 1 fumble). That just won’t cut it.

Our Bulldawgs might be able to get by ASU while losing the turnover battle. But we all know that when the games are against LSU, Tennessee, and Florida, the Dawgs are going to have to win the turnover battle to win those games. That’s just a fact of life (er, football). And I’m sure that the coaching staff will work this week to figure it out. ASU is the last real chance for the Classic City Canines (as Sir Kyle so eloquently calls them) to get a tune up against what many believe is an inferior opponent.

Turnovers come in bunches, and once a team gets a taste of interceptions and fumble recoveries they’re going to get and cause a lot more. Let’s all hope they spend plenty of time this week preparing for the perfect storm we all know as SEC play. Just don’t look too far ahead. Don’t forget about those stats earlier! ASU cannot be overlooked.

I bleed Red and Black, and I have faith that Coach Mark Richt, Coach Martinez, Coach Bobo, and the rest of the coaching staff in Athens are the right men for the job. They do their jobs well, and they do it the right way.

Let’s stay focused and give an MVP performance (as fans) for our Dawgs this Saturday night under the lights. Stay classy this week and let’s welcome those fine west coasters to the greatest college town in the land!

Go Dawgs! Sick ‘em! Woof woof woof woof woof!

Danny