2008 College Basketball Preview Luncheon

Join the Atlanta Tipoff Club November 6th at noon as we kick off the 2008 college basketball season!

Men's and women's coaches will give their expectations for the upcoming season from University of Georgia, Kennesaw State University, Georgia Tech University, and Georiga State University.

The event will take place at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.

Please call 404.586.8470 or email epeterson@macoc.com for ticket information.

Word out of the greater Auburn Opelika area is that first year offensive coordinator, Tony Franklin has been fired.  Thousands of war tigers, and especially the team punter all let out a contented and much needed sigh of relief.  I mean, come on, this was a bad hire to begin with, seeing as how there were no true players on AU's squad ready to play Franklin's high school offense.  Two months ago Tubbs said he was married to the spread, but The honeymoon is most assuredly over and now Tubbs can't get the lingering images of Stephen Davis, Rudy Johnson, Ronny Brown, Cadillac, and Kenny Irons out of his head.  Auburn has always had that heritage as a power running team, and so I was surprised to hear so many of their fans talk like they would be unstoppable with the new system.  It's remarkable how a loss to Vanderbilt, can suddenly rekindle a fanbases' affinity with an offensive style that has identified AU pretty much from its inception.  But I think this ultimately all rolls down on Tubbs' poor decision making; if you recruit to run the ball, run the ball. Lets just hope they don't get it together by the time we play them.

GO DAWGS!  

This is a continuation of a subject that was started in another fanpost, but its something that probably needs to be discussed, dissected, and vented about. Without further ado, I give you one man's thoughts on the UGA pass defense.

The way I see it, most of our defense seems to be geared around the prevention of getting beat with a long pass. To do this, our coaches have decided to just play soft on the corners from the get go, decreasing the risk of getting beat deep. Unfortunately, this style of play opens up the ability to get dinked and dunked absolutely to death with short passes (examples such as Vandy 06 and, oh, I dont know, two weeks ago readily come to mind, though there are many, many others). Now, if there is enough of a pass rush, allowing for the QB to be hurried into making an inaccurate throw or hurrying the pass, getting the ball out than the receiver expects, this can work. It is very difficult to make a throw with a hand in your face or a defensive lineman on your back (just ask  Colt Brennan), and the mere disruption of timing on some plays can result in incompletions (this is especially true against a spread passing attack like UF). However, the Dawgs, for a variety of reasons, simply aren't capable of applying that kind of pressure. If there is no rush, however, something needs to be adjusted. The corners need to be tightened up into press coverage to compensate for the fact that the quarterback will have more time than we would like to give him. In such a situation, a team cannot leave intermediate passing routes open by continuing to play soft. Otherwise, you end up with results that do nothing more than rev the engine of the Fire Willie Martinez Bandwagon. Other than the whole losing games aspect, I have several problems with this approach.

1) It plays into the hands of pretty much any opponent.

If you have a semi-capable quarterback under center, he should be able to make the throw on a 8 yard out or a ten yard curl. If you are playing tight on the line, a corner has the ability to get a hand on the ball, disrupt the pattern (possibly buying more time for the defensive line to get in the QB's face), or even jump the route if the QB doesnt have the arm to zip a pass right in. In the SEC, you will more often than not see quarterbacks who are willing and able to devour such a defense. Playing such a defense gives any team a blueprint for moving the ball successfully on us. It doesn't matter if we are playing a run first offense, such an adjustment can, and should, be made (Alabama, again). Additionally, by playing off the line 8-10 yards and then backing off even further on the snap, you are essentially taking your cornerbacks out of the play. This relates to my second problem...

2) It takes one of our best defenders out of the game.

Asher Allen can cover like a mad fiend. He doesn't need to have a large cushion to avoid getting beat. He is talented enough to break up a short route or to stay with his man going deep. To a corner back of his talents so far off the line of scrimmage is not making the best use of our personnel. If we ran a defense that had Ellerbe and Curran start 15 yards off the line, there would be outrage. They would be entirely out of position from the outset against the run. Essentially, our defense is hindering Allen in such a way.

3) I would rather get beat by the deep ball than by short passes.

If a defense gets beat on a deep ball, it can be chalked up to many different things. A coverage was blown, a mismatch was created by motion, a perfect pass was thrown, something of that sort. Generally, it is a problem that is specific to that one play only. However, if a defense repeatedly allows short passes, thus enabling the defense to drive down the field, it is a symptom of a problem with the scheme as a whole. Repeatedly allowing similar plays to beat you means that you have a weakness and it is being exposed. It is not a problem specific to a single play, it is a problem specific to the defense that is being run. Trying to stop a low percentage, highly difficult deep ball while continually giving up a high percentage, low difficulty short pass is simply not logical. Additionally, relatively shorter, yet still effective passes keep our defense out on the field. It swings time of possession in our opponent's favor, something a team with as many injuries as the Dawgs have can't afford.

This is something that should have been fixed a long time ago. There were times in the past, with a vicious pass rush, that the Dawgs could afford to play it safe in the secondary. However, teams change. Between injuries and the loss of a key pass rusher to graduation, the Dawgs have been forced to adapt. This is a weakness that was blown open for all the world to see last week. Down 31-0 is not the time to keep playing it soft. Something has been shown to be wrong on the defensive side of the ball. It is something that needs to change.

Thoughts? Comments? Any other ideas on why the Dawgs continue to play such a defense? Anybody think no changes need to be made?

Don't really have to say anything else.  We've been flat out embarrassed against Tennessee the last couple years.  Two years ago I felt bipolar watching the game, one second cheering and the next second yelling.  Ugh, it was completely awful.  Last year wasn't as bad since we were just completely manhandled.  No beef with that, but I hated the bipolarness of the game two years ago (and yes, we got destroyed two years ago, too).

I wanna see about 49-0 and I'll be happy.

I am so sick of seeing this comment by Tech fans out there about the fanbase of the 'Dawgs.  I wish these Tech fans would just get off their high horse.  Yes, I'm a Georgia alum so I take some offense to this statement.  No doubt, the majority of supporters in Sanford Stadium have never set foot on campus other than to attend a football game or enjoy a beautiful downtown weekend in the Classic City.  I wish the Techies would just look at this from a rational point of view.   In the great history of the University of Georgia, there's approximately 250K+ alums.  In the great state of Georgia, there resides approximately 9.4 million people.  Being that UGA is the flagship university for the state, clearly not all of these people will have attended.  The same could be said about Tech.  From my hometown of Augusta, I've known many a Tech fan that never set foot on the campus except to go to football games.  I just think this is a weak argument that needs to die a quick death, just like the "you'll be working for a Tech grad" argument.  You would think people that claim to be the "finest engineers in the land" would be more rational and smarter than this.  Apparently, the inferiority complex of losing seven years in a row trumps any sense of reason. 

Hello, dawgs. 

I begin this fan post series as someone who has been a Georgia fan since the Ed Thilenius era; who obtained a law degree from UGA back in the day; and who has followed the Dawgs from a wide and wild variety of venues across the country during a couple decades of exile from my home state. 

This very year, I watched the Georgia Southern game from a sports bar in Denver; listened to the CMU game via GeorgiaDogs.com, was able to struggle through the South Cackalacki game amidst fellow Dawgs during a brief trip home to Georgia, and experienced the 'Bama disaster, dressed in black, at my current residence in central California.  

I spend much of my time as a political writer (and blogger), and my loyalties are betrayed by my handle, but I had to give up even occasional college football discussions on my current site, so here I am, shorn of any politics other than BCS lobbying. 

In posting here, I'll try to speak for the vast Bulldog Diaspora, people scattered around the globe who spend each autumn Saturday finding some way to follow the Dawgs, and wishing we were stuck in traffic going into Athens for a tailgate, and/or a lunch at Weaver D's.   I'm also a big fan of the Tall Dawgs, male and female, and understand it's especially hard to follow SEC basketball outside God's Country.  Last year I scouted out a bar in Monterey that was showing the SEC tournament, split a big order of food and drink with a Kentucky fan, and then watched the sky fall on the Georgia Dome. 

This isn’t really front page material, but, nevertheless, MaconDawg and I want to thank everyone who helped make September the best month of site traffic ever at Dawg Sports.

While we’re not pulling down Georgia Sports Blog numbers by any stretch of the imagination, we’re still pretty proud of this:

Through the end of August, our best month ever here was November 2007, when we received 66,180 visits and 101,998 page views in a single calendar month. Both of those marks were eclipsed in September 2008, which saw 77,872 visits and 123,183 page views.

Our thanks go out to all of you who stop by from time to time, particularly to those of you who make Dawg Sports a part of your regular routine, and most especially to those of you who take the time to participate in the community here through your comments and postings. It is our intention that this site be not a lecture hall, but a forum for conversation, and we are grateful to the many fine readers who take their turn at the microphone.

Thanks.

Go ‘Dawgs!

Man, I sure do...I remember sitting in my chair at the bar watching us get dismantled in that orange-filled outhouse in Knoxville...

That was our second loss...both SEC East losses, no less...

I thought, "Jeez...we still have to play Florida and Auburn...are we gonna go 8-4?"

Then we won the rest of our games and ended up as the best team in the country at the end of the season (I would have loved to play USC in the Rose Bowl)

So, perk up everybody...plenty o' football left to be played...

Go Dawgs!

After last weekend, we all know that the two places where the Dawgs can be most taken advantage of are along the offensive and defensive lines. The matchup with Alabama was one of the most unfavorable of the season, but there are things that need to be improved in order for the team to be able to handle a team like LSU or (possibly) Alabama again. Here is how I think the team can improve in both of those areas.

Offensive line

First off, I think we need to keep the lineup the same on the offensive line. This is for the sake of both consistency and out of necessity, as Kiante Tripp is now a tight end. Ending the offensive line shuffle will allow the players to settle into their positions and get adjusted to working with the same unit. The place where I feel the line can be improved the most, though, is by utilizing Tripp at his new position. This season, the tight end has been less of a passing threat for UGA. At the same time, the offensive line has struggled in pass protection and opening holes. If the Dawgs need keep the tight end in to block, Tripp should be the most effective option. Tight end has been decimated. Chandler is out, Figgins is out, White is undersized, and the coaches would prefer to redshirt Ros. Even the starting tight end on the scout team, who would be up to third string at this point, is injured. In order to get the most out of a position that has become perilously thin, Kiante Tripp should see a lot of reps in order to help out Bean Anderson on the right side, plow the road for the backs, and maybe even catching some nice, easy passes in the flat off a Stafford bootleg. Having Tripp out front as an additional blocker on a toss sweep (a play which I feel is the Dawgs' bread and butter, and one which most of the offense could be built around-another post, perhaps), for example, would make an already effective play potential lethal. Also aiding the line will be the return of Brannan Southerland. We all know how valuable he is as both a blocker and a receiving threat out of the backfield. His return will help shore up the run game between the tackles. Additionally, his added reliability as a receiver adds another threat, helping to make up for a lack of experience at tight end.

Defensive line

This is where it gets tricky. I am going to go off the reservation a bit with this one. Obviously, not having Jeff Owens to provide that big push up the middle can't be replaced just by moving people around. If we are going to get a push there, it simply comes down to Atkins, Weston, and company blowing up the line. It is for that reason that I am going to focus on getting pressure around the edges. Last year, UGA basically had a linebacker wreaking havoc on the end in the form of Marcus Howard. I know that Marcus Howard ain't walking through that door, but there is no reason why the coaches can't try to recreate the effect he had. As we face more teams that run the spread (UF, I'm looking at you), the SAM linebacker position will see fewer and fewer plays. With that in mind, why not take the 3-3-5 formation with a linebacker up at the line one step further? The team could move an potentially underutilized SAM linebacker, like Darryl Gamble or Darius Dewberry, to defensive end on passing downs. We have seen something like this work before; in the UGA/UF game last year, there were downs where UGA essentially ran a 2-4-5, with Jeff Owens clogging the middle, Rod Battle holding down one end, and Howard using his speed to bring all sorts of fury down on the GPOOE. Add in some linebackers blitzing from all angles, and we witnessed a pretty darn effective defense. The best way to beat a speed based team would be to match their speed. An attack like this could apply to more than just a spread team. The added speed around the edge could get to the quarterback on its own, and the additional space and effort needed to block a smaller, quicker player around could open up holes to blitz through.

Whew. So thats what I would do if I were pulling the strings. What do y'all think? Am I way off base here? What crazy stuff would you pull to try and shore up the lines?

My perception has always been that Alabama fans have class and Auburn fans are crass.

My perception of the former has been confirmed by the conduct of the 'Bama faithful (with a few rare exceptions) in Athens last weekend and at this weblog last week and this one.

My perception of the latter now has been confirmed, as well.

I don't like losing to Alabama, but, man, I hate Auburn!

My thanks go out to all fans of S.E.C. schools in the Yellowhammer State. As lousy as last weekend was, it's nice to know I wasn't wrong about any of you.

Go 'Dawgs!