What a difference a couple of weeks makes in the collective opinions of our ‘Dawg fans souls. Two weeks ago, Bobo was the problem, defense needed to get better. Flash forward to Saturday, and we’re now collectively gnashing teeth about the defense.
I’m sure either way, Kirby’s not happy about the product in the field, or the results outside of the first weekend of the season. We know defense is his bread and butter, and his emotions and dissatisfaction showed in his now famed bump with Van Buren on the sideline.
However, we are in a different era of football, where teams can add and subtract rapidly through the portal and NIL, and consistency can be a bitch, to say the least, in todays free market of college football. We have to consider a few things:
Tykee Smith, Javon Bullard, and Kamari Lassiter are all STARTING on Sundays. Nearly of the Philadelphia Eagle’s defense consists of former ‘Dawgs. Jamon Dumas-Johnson is starting for Kentucky. Fran Brown is the head coach of Syracuse. Also:
As much as people tout “next man up”, it’s hard to say the next man up is going to be a step up. We could similarly look to the other side of the ‘Dawgs ball and say the same things…three receivers gone, two running backs, a generational tight end who just caught 9 of his 10 targets in Las Vegas for the Raiders, linemen, and a host of coaches who moved on to the NFL or to head up other college programs.
The talent gap is real, and in our current state it’s challenging to find continuity and maintain a level of elite that Kirby has prided himself on for so long, and what made the 2021 and 2022 teams so special. They may be the last of their kind that we see for a while, and Michigan is likely the last *champion that will feature super seniors and long-haulers in today’s evolving sport.
I’m all for parity, but the truth is that the very thing that pushed Saban from the game isn’t just a place where a coach tires of the evolution, but the evolution might systemically tire out the coach. We thought Kirby was immune to it, and I personally snarked about Dabo’s stubbornness to stick to his plan and way of doing things, and right not it’s a push to see which one is currently doing better than the other right now.
It’s not to say having the deepest NIL dollars wins it all. Take Ohio State for example, with what many believe is the richest NIL roster out there, to have just lost to Oregon, who may be a close second with deep pockets. Texas isn’t far behind…and guess who is high up in the CFP conversation as you read this.
As always, I trust Kirby will know what to do when the time comes, especially if this season finds the program in the outside looking in when it’s all said and done. It’s different, and that’s an understatement. Entertaining? Yes. Frustrating? Yes. Truer to the purity of the sport? Honestly, kind of hard to say. Just when you think you’ve got the magic formula in recruiting and the facilities wars, here comes the portal and NIL. Exhausting for a coach? Abso-effing-lutely.
But hey, at least we’re not Florida State.
Kirby (and others – not just head coaches) are paid a lot of money to figure it out. Other than Dan Jackson, there isn’t a single player in the secondary that wasn’t a blue chip recruit. Similarly, on the defensive line, every one of those guys came in with a lot of fanfare. Did we miss on that many evaluations or have we been spoiled by the riches of talent we have had in the d-line?
Several years ago, Kirby (and Saban) could recruit the top kids in the country to come to Georgia, practice their ass off for a couple of years, and then shine when it was their turn. Yes…everyone other than Dan Jackson in that secondary was a blue chip. The difference is that with the portal and NIL kids of that ilk aren’t coming to Athens to sit and work their ass off in the shadows and bide their time. They are going elsewhere to play immediately. So the depth is terrible and the young guys are getting on the field and doing young guy things. Nothing evidences the effect of the portal and NIL like the drop off in production when starters get hurt. Georgia’s OL is a prime example. This team can’t run the ball efficiently or effectively for long stretches. Nate Frazier looks like a future stud, but him being in the game on third and long is asking for your QB to get killed by a kid who isn’t ready to pick up the pass rush. The secondary is very talented, I’m sure, but they make mistakes routinely that set up huge plays for the opponents.
We do not have a disrupter on the DL currently, but at the same time we have a solid players there. I think the biggest issue is depth due to injuries preventing us from rotating those guys keeping them fresh. I think if Jordan Hall and Mikel get healthy we will see better production from the defensive front and that will help the DBs if we create more pressure on the QB. Unfortunately, I don’t think that will happen by this Saturday so winning a shoot out is probably route to a victory. Maybe by Tennessee or Ole Miss those big Dawgs will be back. Thankfully The Vols’ tackles are terrible at pass blocking so getting to Nico might be easier.
Yeah, we lost some talent but we’ve also stockpiled talent on the current team. The secondary in particular has several top recruits that aren’t playing like top recruits. I’m thinking the coaching carousel has caught up to Kirby. I’m also hoping he gives the carousel another spin this off-season for some upgrades.
It caught up to Saban from time to time, so no reason to think Kirby is immune.
Kirby is having to play too many freshmen and sophomores.
The DL is under preforming because of injury and lack of motivation.
The OL has the same problems as the DL, too many injuries and playing freshmen and sophomores that are just not ready for the big time.
Come on DAWGS you can do better.
When we win this wkd in Austin, I can’t wait to read how we won in spite of Bobo or our suddenly inept coaching staff. Getting our dudes back healthy should make all of these dumbass coaches that we have look ‘smart’ again.
If we can stay away from the turnovers and get on the positive side of it, I am fully confident that we can win out and have a championship level team.
I agree. I think we have an positive outlier performance in us and I think we will see it in Austin.
That doesn’t mean we are this year what we have been but there is more parity across football this season. Kirby will get the most out of what we have and we will be in the running at the end of the season.
Should the view of the horizon be true, playing time for skilled /younger age/less experienced student athletes be the norm due to the nil/transport port-o-let, here today, gone tomorrow, unless, unless the process gets their attention for the long haul picture…if we recall those hoops bluebloods that play/played freshman all the time, coaches were/are forced to….GO DAWGS!!
I have to agree, I think the matchup is more favorable than against Bama or Tennessee, tbh. Ewers is not inherently a dual threat unless he wants to go back to the IR, and having the combo of dual threat and a softer rush from the DL has been our poison. We have an opportunity to worry more about the secondary play and less focus on containing a running QB, so I hope that it gives the defense the opportunity to improve and shine. Texas’s defense hasn’t been tested against a serviceable offense yet, so they may have the deer in headlights moment and not us. We’ve seen this honestly, so I hope the rough road has prepared us for this moment.
Bobo is not the problem (which I think you agree). He is a good offensive coordinator. We don’t have the pass catching play makers we have had the past few years and the OL isn’t playing well especially in the run game. Despite all this, Bobo is still has a Top 30 offense in yards, top 35 in scoring, and Top 10 passing offense. Until the o-line improves the run game is going to continue to struggle.
If this is any other team and you wanted to bring in a coach to fix it, the pick would be Kirby Smart. I trust he will get the most out of this team he can and accept that the youth, injuries and staff changes are hurting our chances of going from very good to elite. Given what’s happened through week 7 we are a Top 5 team thus far…pretty good upon reflection.
So many great points on here that at least 2 of them have to be right. I like coaching carousel and lack of veteran leadership on the defense. Maybe the stars just aren’t aligned this year.
I have to admit, I love being the underdog again. Maybe, just maybe, we will all be pleasantly surprised this weekend. 🤷
D as in Dawg’s point about being the underdog is a good one. I like that, but, to be honest, I don’t like this team. No Nolan Smiths or Nakobe Deans or SBIVs or Brock Bowerses. Nate Frazier is fun to watch and he’s a Georgia boy, but he’s hardly played after a dominant second half vs. Clemson. WTF? Go Dawgs. Beat Texas.
I am guessing his pass blocking has prevented him from moving further up the depth chart. I have also read/heard he isn’t the receiving threat the other backs are. Branson looks to be be out again so he will be getting more touches either way.
The coaches don’t trust Frazier in pass rush and Etienne is far better in the passing game (both blocking and receiving). Considering that Georgia is throwing the ball at a considerably higher rate than normal under Kirby (e.g., last week passing nearly twice the amount of runs), it makes sense for Etienne to be in the game more than Frazier.
While past performance is not an absolute predictor, it’s no stretch to say Dawgs face long odds this week. Maybe this team will bow up with their backs up against it. It bears reemphasizing that an extra tough schedule was made even more challenging based on all the new players, injuries to established stars and yes, new coaches. No time to season the new players in winnable games. I think this team was saddled from the get-go with unreasonable expectations, especially on the defensive side. The defensive unit has been leaking oil since the dirty hit on Mykel in game one. I do expect these coaches to step up and help their players perform better, however they do it. For me I’ve adjusted my expectations and and want to see our guys play smarter and cleaner. I still think we’ll be a helluva tough out as the season progresses. Nothing would silence all this doubt more than beginning the four game gauntlet with a dub over the insufferable Texans!