Season 4 Volume 2: Murray State

Intro

It was really interesting to observe the Dawg fan reaction over the past week following a 30-6 SEC win. How spoiled we are these days. While some fans groaned about red zone miscues and turnovers, I was extremely impressed by the product Georgia put out on the field in its first contest. One thing is certain this year: Georgia has the players it needs to accomplish all of its goals. Even positions deemed weak in the preseason had excellent showings. The wide receiver group showed it has true freshman playmakers as well as guys that have been stashed for a few years. The opponent wasn’t great, but they also weren’t a cupcake. I would much rather see an opener where the Dawgs come out fast and slowly take their offensive foot off the gas (while the defense pitches a TD shutout), than a slow clunky start where we get nervous and play guys that were supposed to be suspended....Roll tide. Be encouraged Dawg fans, it’s never as good as it seems and it’s never as bad as it seems...unless your roster is loaded with 5 stars and then it’s probably better than it seems.

Offensive Thoughts

I really liked James Coley’s offensive approach in the opener. I think Coley will consistently run a much more dynamic offense than Jim Chaney. Georgia opponents will have more to prepare for and more eye candy to sort through on a weekly basis. Coley used a lot of misdirection via jet motion and kept the defense off balance in defending the run game. I just want to give a shout out to our lord Jesus who I prayed to on many a night, hoping we would stop running so much singleback A and B gap runs. The lord is faithful. That is the type of stuff that gets you beat by Georgia State and Coley really moved away from it in the opener. Instead, we used a bunch of two back personnel, which is really just common sense as we have one of the most talented running back rooms in the country. Really encouraging stuff from Coley in game 1.

Defensive Thoughts

Not as much havoc as I would have hoped. I think that’s the only thing I can complain about in a contest where we only gave up 6 points. Azeez of the edge gives us the ability to rush 4 and still bring consistent pressure. His ability, along with the talent of our deep OLB room, should allow more interior pressure from the DL and blitzing inside linebackers. Safeties played really well in run support. I am still a bit nervous about our overall speed at inside linebacker. I personally don’t think Monte Rice is the answer due to speed issues but he’s definitely a solid contributor until Nakobe Dean is fully up to speed. Great start against a bad offensive opponent.

More Snaps than expected

Quay Walker- the injury of Nakobe Dean meant Walker played considerable minutes. He played very well showing side to side versatility and physicality. The inside linebacker position is always one that sees rotation so I expect to see Walker a lot this year

Eli Wolf- if this game is any indication, what a late pickup by the Dawgs. Wolf blocked very well and is the physical presence Kirby requires at TE

Ben Cleveland- it’s clear that even if Cleveland doesn’t start, he will not be kept off the field. He played well in non-starter minutes. Pittboss has a ridiculously deep group full of future NFL’ers

Nolan Smith- I knew he would play but he was in more than I expected, especially on 3rd down. He’s a special talent with a crazy motor

Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images

Less Snaps than expected

Malik Herring- Herring must be in the dawg house. Too talented to not have a single snap from what I saw. Something is up here

Kearis Jackson- Robertson took the vast majority of the reps. Dom Blaylock Will see increased playing time now that Jackson will be our several weeks with a broken hand

Tyrique McGee- McGee seems as if he has been passed on the depth chart by Mark Webb and Divaad Wilson. He should still be a meaningful special teams contributor. He’s physical but small

Nakobe Dean- an injury hampered Dean in week 1. Hopefully he will be back for Notre Dame as the true freshman backer is supposed to be a cerebral piece of this defense

Most Impressive in Week 1

Travon Walker- I don’t like to gush and fan boy over Georgia players, especially freshman. I like to tell it the way it is, putting my overwhelming Dawg bias to the side. Travon Walker is as impressive of a DL prospect as I’ve seen in college football. He will be the best player from this freshman class and an All American caliber player in a few years. He looked so twitchy. Excellent get off, really good motor, quick pass rusher, athletic enough to be on kickoff. The only place I saw room for improvement was strength in taking on blockers. Travon Walker had an outside chance to be voted the #1 player in the country last year and I can see why

Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Cade Mays- versatile to play guard and tackle and a mean finisher. He may he moved to RT for the next few weeks as Isaiah Wilson recovers from injury. Offensive line is the last position I’m worried about in terms of depth

Zamir White- That man looks Stronggggg. I thought 5 was the perfect amount of carries for him. He ran physically which is what you wanted to see out of a man that large coming off serious injuries. Got a little pumped and let ball security fall to the wayside on his long run but the ball bouncing out of bounds while giving Zeus a ball security reminder was best case scenario

Matt Landers- Landers is a big body but he looked really athletic with the ball in his hands. Seems like Coley wanted to deliberately get him the ball a few times on Saturday and that work should improve his confidence and consistency

Bucky’s Easy Money of the Week

A winning week means we are winning money. I am historically better early season before Vegas gets a full grasp on the college football landscape. Get in while the getting is good

Last Week: 3-2

Overall: 93-83-3