Good morning, y’all. Reporting once again from the water soaked mountains of North Georgia. We had a bit of clearing which gave us high hopes for a game day that wouldn’t be a sloggy mess. We were doing fine for a while but then the skies opened up and deluged the area once again. It looked like the grounds crew had done a fine job of protecting the field over in Athens until that last outburst. In spite of the wet conditions, the Dawgs were able to run free against the Wildcats of Kentucky.
In a week that has been highlighted by acrimony, the Dawgs got it together well enough to put a 27-3 pasting on Kentucky. Now when I say acrimony, I’m not talking about your usual, “Mark Richt is sitting on a hot seat” kind of criticism. I’m talking about Mark Richt taking to the Twitter to tell folks that his defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt is still the defensive coordinator. In fact, Coach Richt added that Coach Pruitt was, “in his office working on the defensive game plan”, even as Mark Richt Tweeted. I can say for sure that this is the first time I’ve ever see a Georgia coach do this.
Rumors still abound, not the least of which is that coach Pruitt is leaving for sure at the end of the season. The story line is that coach Pruitt is too abrasive and confrontational with folks. Geez, Louise, I though that’s what defensive coordinators were supposed to do. No one ever accused Erk Russel of being a shy wallflower, and Erk is the gold standard to me in terms of defensive coaches. If the rumor is true, I will be greatly saddened. I don’t know coach Pruitt, and he may be a real son of a gun, but it looks like he can coach, and more important, it looks like he cares about not being defeated.
I don’t know when the fire went out in Coach Richt, but it is clearly not there unless his back is against the wall. That is a totally BS way to coach, or to live. I’m not saying you have to be a rabid foaming at the mouth attack dog 24-7, but coaches don’t have the luxury of going into sleep mode during the season. Certainly not if they’re getting paid four million plus a year to make their team the best it can be. That’s just offensive to everyone, but particularly the fans who pour their hard earned dollars into the program and have the right to expect a 100% effort every game from the coaches. I’m naive enough to think that the kid’s are always doing the best their coaching allows. This weeks coaching looked like this:
Offense:
Greyson Lambert shared duties with Bryce Ramsey, Sony Michel and Terry Godwin at quarterback. The group was 10 of 19 for 90 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Greyson appears to be afraid to be hit, and Ramsey likes to hit, the opposing defenders with his passes. Who is responsible for this mess?
Sony Michel continues to try to fill Nick Chubb’s monstrous shoes, in spite of suffering a hand injury himself. He finished the day with 165 yards rushing on 24 attempts and one touchdown.
Keith Marshall looked a bit like the Keith of old, it was great to see some of that old speed on the field. Keith finished the day with 60 yards rushing on 13 attempts. Keith added another 10 yards in the air, the pass resulting in a nifty touchdown. I hope he continues to develop into what he could have been.
Malcolm Mitchell contributed 52 yards receiving, on just 4 receptions. Malcolm continues to show his Senior leadership by leading the blocking on plays where he is not the receiver. He is a DGD.
Terry Godwin, a Freshman, was the game’s hero by scoring our first touchdown in three games on a busted play where he lined up in the “Wild Dawg” formation. Terry gained 26 yards rushing on just 4 attempts. Terry added 9 yards on punt returns in conjunction with Isiah McKenzie. Terry gives us hope for the future.
Defense:
Again, I was very impressed with the Freshmen play. If the hierarchy in Athens does anything to disrupt the trajectory of this unit I will say that they have lost their minds. The Georgia defense was dominant, and that’s what all of us fans expect, and apparently our offensive coordinators rely on. Losing Coach Pruitt and his staff would be a huge blow. Hat’s off to Dominick Sander’s for his two interceptions. Hat’s off to the team for staying focused.
Special teams:
Were not a liability for a change. Marshall Morgan was 2 of 3 in the field goal department, and made his 3 extra points. Freshman Kirby Choates returned two kickoffs for 36 yards and looked good while doing it. Brice Ramsey shared kicking duties with Collin Barber and combined for a 46.8 year average. We looked great on punt returns, less so on kickoff returns. An adequate effort, which I guess is the best we can ever hope for from special teams.
Time of possession was tilted in our favor, 37.5 minutes to 22.5. Glad the coaches got my memo.
Watching Alabama vs LSU was a treat. Is there a better team than Alabama anywhere?