Like the headline says:
1. As far as grasping the offense, Aaron Murray should be ready for the opener. At least ready enough. The coaches have raved about his recall ability so far; in fact Murray has been teaching the true freshmen the offense. So the main issue will remain how ready Murray is from a competitive and ability standpoint.
2. The defense is also on schedule as far as picking up the 3-4, at least according to defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. But before we all start anticipating a huge improvement, the ability to recall schemes and plays doesn’t automatically translate to stopping a spread-option drive. So we’ll see.
3. Dexter Morant seems to be a bit indecisive.
4. The receiver picture after A.J. Green is slowly crystallizing. Rantavious Wooten’s injury may cause him to slide back a bit if he’s not ready for the opener. (He’ll miss at least a couple weeks of practice.) Logan Gray and Marlon Brown both drew raves the first week from teammates and coaches, so they’ve helped themselves.
5. Akeem Dent may not miss the opener after all. The senior inside linebacker has been dutifully biking on the side during practice, and his prognosis seems to improve by the day. Still, it remains to be seen how much Dent missing a large chunk of summer practice, if not all of it, will impact the cohesion of the defense.
6. People really don’t like the “Party in the UGA” video.
7. The guys, besides Brandon Boykin, who have a leg up in the secondary: Nick Williams, Shawn Williams, Baccari Rambo and Jakar Hamilton. And the fact they all happen to be safeties means the spot opposite Boykin could be a real issue.
8. At tailback, Caleb King and Washaun Ealey appear headed to a on-field, production-based competition for playing time. Behind them, freshman Ken Malcome has gotten a look, but doesn’t appear to yet have the full confidence of the staff.
9. The true freshmen, other than quarterbacks, who have stood out the most so far: The Ogletree brothers (S Alec and FB Alexander), CB Derek Owens and OT Kenarious Gates.
10. Overall, Richt is very happy with the team’s progress so far.
“Just when you look at the whole week in its entirety I thought it was a very, very good start,” he said after Saturday’s practice.
Not that I would expect him to come out and say, “We stink, this is hopeless, I’m gonna spend the rest of the month golfing.” (Mainly because Richt doesn’t golf.)
But he and the coaches do seem reasonably pleased with how things are going so far.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
What we learned this week
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5 comments:
Good stuff Seth.
I know there was initially some question about whether Alec Ogletree, the 4/5 star safety may make the move to LB. I'm not sure if it was a typo or something in this post, but is Alec seeing more time at LB than DB? It sounds like Alexander has been pegged to be a FB from the start so no surprise there.
Really enjoy your articles. Tough shoes to fill but you're doing a great job. And anyone who tells you different can take a hike because it's a FREE blog. I know I look forward to reading Bulldogs Blog every morning and thus far I haven't paid for the information. Keep up the great work!
While CMR isn't ever going to say "we stink", all the comments seem to indicate we are getting to where we need to be for the early games. If AM avoids injury, there is no way this offense will be shut down; just too many weapons for a defense to be totally able to dominate. That said, there is now way to evaluate the defense until they are faced with game speed from a defense they don't see every day. I think they will be better, not great and since we had poor defense last year anyway, we will be able to contend with everyone on our schedule. It's almost impossible to not improve on turnovers so more short fields for us, fewer for the bad guys. Add a ST advantage, and cautious optimism is in order.
By the way, the use of "golfing" is a dead giveaway that you are not a golfer. He is playing golf, or going to play golf; never golfing "he is golfing" or "going golfing." (Unless you are from the North and also consider cooking a steak or burgers on the grill as "barbequeing".)
As Dawg fans we need to remember this what it comes to our defense: We may not be worse this season, but we may not be any better either! The proof is in the puddin'.
Folks, I edited the Ogletree note, because yes I messed that one up. Still a bit confusing, but sorry.
I like the week in review, good segment an I hope it becomes a weekly feature, ;-)
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