Welp, one of the weirdest seasons for Georgia that I can recall has come to an end, and it took all of 57 second to happen. I’ll get more into that below, but I was both extremely disappointed and not very surprised with our offensive gameplan and execution last night. To go out with a whimper like that was gut-wrenching. To ruin a great defensive performance (other than a couple key errors) like that was embarrassing. Starting a backup QB with minimal experience in a big game against a talented defense did not give me high expectations for the offense, but to come out that unprepared for what was an obvious gameplan from the Notre Dame defense was negligent. The team played very hard again and mounted a now-expected comeback, but the strategy was flawed from the get-go and they didn’t have the horses to compete with a fired up and well-coached Irish squad. Fair warning about the bullets, they’re pretty negative:
- Let’s get this out of the way first. I believe that Gunner Stockton probably isn’t skilled enough to be the QB at Georgia. He’s unquestionably tough enough. Maybe in the off-season he can learn more of the offense, shorten his elongated throwing motion, see more of the field, not stare down receivers, fix his footwork, make quicker decisions, and be more accurate. But that’s a long hill to climb. I applaud his effort, think he’s got decent talent and that he could be great at a lesser program. The bar is – and should be – a lot higher at UGA.
- The offensive line play hit a nadir last night. I have nothing good to say about any of their performances. ND’s defensive line mauled them all game, they looked lost and uncoordinated, like a group that had never played together before. And they were the healthiest they had been all year. Gunner needed a real effort from them and they failed him.
- 3 more drops from the WRs, but thankfully for Bell the team still scored after his unbelievably (believably?) bad one. He did bounce back later with a beautiful catch of a slant, which was the only pass Gunner seemingly could execute on the night.
- Whither the running game, Bobo? I know the OL was poor but Frazier was tearing shit up and needed more touches, not less. After they got down 17, I could understand temporarily shelving the running game, but even after cutting the lead to 10, the runs disappeared. Duo blocks with 6 in the box worked well and should have been called more.
- I wasn’t able to hear much of the broadcast where I watched the game, but can someone explain how those hits on Miller weren’t roughing? My understanding was if the plant leg is hit that’s automatic roughing. That happened at least once, and probably twice.
- That said, ND penalties kept Dawgs in it early and that had me concerned, but still hopeful Gunner still had some second half magic. (He didn’t.)
- The DL had a terrific night and destroyed the Irish OL as I expected. I think the refs didn’t call the 40 holding penalties out of concern they were too biased against them.
- Hope Parker Jones enjoys the portal. That is all.
- Anyone else go crazy from the number and length of the commercial breaks? Almost as if they were trying to stuff more ads in because they lost prime time scheduling.
- ND clearly saw Daniel Harris for the coverage and tackling liability that he is and attacked him all night.
- The one thing our LBs could not do is allow Leonard to get loose on draw plays. Unfortunately they did and set ND up for that late first half FG. Then “end-of-half Kirby” showed up again. Calling a TO to ice the kicker when you could have 3 TOs if he missed, then calling yet another bomb without sufficient pass pro before the half to get your QB killed FOR THE THIRD GAME IN A ROW. Once is understandable, twice is stupid. Three times and without a competent backup QB? Coaching malpractice. Please note that I’m not arguing about calling a pass play, just make sure to protect your QB when you ask him to drop back for a deep one.
Then the second half kickoff return with horrendous coverage sealed the game. This team, with this OL/QB/WR combo was never coming back from that deficit. - Getting back to the front seven, they really played their hearts out and deserved better. Other than CJ Allen’s botched run fit on the TD and Jalon Walker’s offsides (that may have been induced), they were on the cusp of elite. I thought we’d give up 17 points and without the return TD it would have been 16. Almost relentless pressure on Leonard and they truly could have won the game had they stopped them in the red zone at the end of the first half.
- That said, I thought ND was limited coming in and when Love went out their options were even fewer. Why we didn’t have more plays with 7 in the box and a single-high safety and shading Daniel Harris’ guy, is over my pay grade but seems like a winning strategy.
- In terms of playcalling on the other side of the ball, why not try more screens to slow down the pass rush? Ah, well.
Absolutely ballsy call by Freeman on the punt personnel change, btw. When he turned around to call the play after 3rd down I thought it might be a fake, but this was smarter. - Another thing that occurred to me was the lost net yardage going from Thorson to Miller. There were a couple punts I thought Thorson would have pinned them deeper and limited ND’s options. Miller got better as the game went on, but for now he’s no Thunder from Down Under.
- Outside of the nice TD drive after the Bell drop, the rest of the game was just a lot of failed tail-chasing drives fizzling out.
Since I’m still in a sour mood, I’m cutting myself off for now. I know a lot of folks looked at the stat sheet after the game and said, “Gunner did fine, he’ll get better by next year!” And maybe they’re right. To me, he’s never passed the eye test for what UGA needs skill-wise. And last night didn’t change my mind about him at all. Seems like a great kid, a good leader and a decent QB. I’m expecting a heated competition in the spring though. And in the meantime, if Kirby doesn’t find an elite offensive tackle in the portal, he needs to find a coach who can develop one.
Notre Dame came in better prepared mentally. I thought the time off and good health would recharge the Dawgs. Instead they came out like it was Game 1 and had to knock off the rust in the first half. Like they did every game. I’m not ready to do a deep-dive on what comes next, but what with our absenteeism in the first portal window so far, the great recruiting class (other than at OT, sigh), coaching changes and trends in the conference, there’s a lot to get to. For now, we sulk a little and then remember that a team that dropped 4 passes a game and had no OL won the SEC. And that ain’t too bad. Go Dawgs.
(I forgot to mention this earlier, but New Orleans is my favorite city in the US, and the events from NYE were reprehensible, tragic and terribly sad. The city will rise again and already has, to an extent. My condolences to those impacted if you read this blog. Life can never be the same, and my heart aches for you all.)
Gunnar is not an elite QB.
Bobo is not an elite OC.
Coley is not an elite coach of any kind.
Searles is not an elite Oline coach.
Georgia is an elite program – hyper elite. You simply cannot work here now if you are not also elite.
Kirby needs to accept that as elite as he is, he cannot make up for multiple non-elite staff. It doesn’t matter how much he likes them from back in his student days.
When are we going to have a truly elite QB at Georgia?
It’s also been a really long time since we had a truly elite RB.
Brock was our last elite skill player, and as amazing as he was, he was just a TE.
We have tons of elite talent on defense. We might have elite talent on the Oline (we’ll see with a real coach).
This is now 2 years in a row we were honestly not really competing for the national title. That’s not horrible after back-to-back titles.
If Kirby wants to rival Saban and Georgia to rival Alabama, he absolutely needs a title this year (or at least play for one).
From 2009 to 2020, Saban/Alabama never went more than 2 seasons without a title.
This year is HUGE for Kirby’s legacy and Georgia’s legitimacy as an Alabama-like juggernaut “best program in the nation.”
ALSO: Thank god for GTP Refugees this season. I don’t know what I would have done without this very well done spiritual successor to GTP.
The people who work on this site have done an amazing job both maintaining the character and spirit of the Senator’s GTP while adding new things, more content, and their own spin/take.
Thank you so much, GTPR team. You folks are DEFINITELY elite.
We appreciate all the folks from the Senator’s site joining us here, and all the new folks too. It’s been fun and rewarding keeping his spirit alive.
I agree with most of your arguments, Muck. I do think Coley is an elite recruiter, but not coach. That used to matter more, but I still think it matters in college. As for the Bama comparison, it will be tough to make an apples-to-apples comparison since so much of the CFB earth has shifted under our feet in the last 2 years. But Kirby will make changes to the program because he wants UGA to be elite.
Gunner doesn’t have what it takes to be a UGA quarterback? Even after you rightly point out how awful the line was and how they let him down? From where I was sitting this ain’t on Gunner. I don’t know if he will the qb or not but I thought he did well under the circumstances. Kirby has a lot to figure out. Other than that New Orleans is a shit hole and a nasty town. I’ve never understood what people love about it. And whatever unique culture it once had is gone as it was taken over by Yankees and California folks a long time ago.
As we say around here, your mileage may vary. Gunner doesn’t look like an elite QB. If you look like that after 3 years in a program like UGA, I’m not sure how much better you can get. His throwing motion is elongated, his feet are all over the place, his accuracy is average, he doesn’t see the whole field, he has below average pocket awareness and as a dual threat he isn’t even that fast. I’m not saying he’s terrible, just not good enough. We’ll see how things go in the spring.
As for NOLA, I know a lot of people agree with you. I find the place charming, and never spend time in the quarter. It’s a big city, Mike.
Yeah, I thought Gunner did fine all things considered. He threw several deep balls on the money, and he never threw a pass into harm’s way. He’ll be fine as long as we get an OL that can block.
But I do see we’re already into mid-season form calling for his backup. 🤣
Just calling for a competition!
That I heartily agree with. I want a full QB competition in the spring. If Gunner gets beat out, we are better for it.
I haven’t seen enough of Gunner to know whether he’s the guy or not. He certainly had a better pedigree than SBIV entering the program. Let’s have an honest QB competition in the spring and see who wins it before throwing dirt on him. If Monken thought he was worthy of a scholarship offer, I’ll trust his judgment.
On the offensive line, we are seeing the result of the end of the Pittman era and the full bloom of the Luke era (there’s a reason not many tears were shed when he got run out of Oxford) from a talent acquisition standpoint. I admit I don’t know enough about offensive line coaching to make comments, but our tackle play sucked for much of the year due to Greene’s injury, Truss’s inconsistency and Freeling’s lack of experience.
Wide receiver … led the nation in drops and weren’t good blocking on the perimeter. As Dean Wormer would say, “That’s no way to go through life.” The transfers don’t work out, and we have to hope the incoming recruits change that.
Defense played their collective hearts out on Thursday afternoon to keep us in the game. It’s too bad they couldn’t find that level of play week in and week out. That’s all I got to say about that, and Michigan beat that Alabama team.
Gunner is a pretty good player, he broke a lot of GA HS records and his family is friends with Bobo’s and Smart’s families. That may have been enough for Monken to extend the offer for 2022. I know we looked at several others in that class higher ranked who went elsewhere. But you reiterated my point, which is that we need a true competition in the spring. I don’t think it’s Gunner’s to lose. If he wins it, terrific and I obviously hope he improves with the rest of the offense.
Now that you mention “those that went elsewhere”, I wonder how many of them still attend the school they first signed with? Any critique I would have of Gunner would come with the “running for his life” asterisk, as he rarely had more than 2-3 seconds post snap before he was getting blind-sided. Seemed like when he had a little time, he was throwing rockets. I agree that a fully open QB comp is healthy and necessary, gotta see what we have in Pug and Rashada, and ultimately play the one that gives us the best chance to win. Go Dawgs
Remember though that most QBs only get 3 seconds to get rid of the ball, so they’ve got to process what they see quickly and throw.
Soooooo, this is whut it’s come to, blame, blame, blame….blame the lack of $$$$$$$$$ and more $$$$$$$$, not sure if CKS is gonna be able to outrun the current college football horizon, he knows in his heart, 3 losses at UGA football ain’t it!…UGA football had built that custom of getting a lead on the opposition in the 1st half, then closing the deal with some serious “D” skills (forcing the opposition to plan changes) thusly, winning by double digits and then some, UGA football had the good fortune of some good student athletes, highly recruited mind you, turn into elite performers, two and three, even 4 years of that stuff gets you Back2Back trophies, current ash pile doesn’t reflect such good feelings…mind you, when you are connected to the MOST FUCKING dropped passes in the history of the forward passing game, something has gotta’ change…cause, brutha”, UGA football dropped some back breaking passes all year, some overcome, some they couldn’t recover from…how to recover/move forward, IDFK, as we all are in tune with CKS, Kirby will be on the mutha’…turnovers and penalties are part of the game, just not in Kirby’s real world view, the nd player that nailed #1 in the hole causing a fumble almost made me throw up, not excusing the fumble, just saying that was how you tackle a ball carrier….blame #14 all you want or can, if he was the only/bestest option, so be it, the “OC” and staff had a plan, it might not have been schemed for #14, once again, IDFK, nd took away the run game and forced UGA offense to throw, in turn they unleashed the hounds, once again, UGA football momentum could never get established, as it was all season long….GO DAWGS!!
I disagree with seeing the Luke era. Seareals and Bobo love big heavy lines. Monken and Luke moved to big but lighter and faster lines. Seareals and Bobo by hiring Searels and past precidents own this line. UGA’s tackles were beat with speed on the edge something SEC teams did for 2 decades of dominance.
The line recruiting was horrible under Luke. He made it on Pittman’s recruits. All of those players on those championship lines were Pittman recruits.
Statement stands with the build of the OL.
Then explain the offensive output in 2023 where we scored 40+ and averaged over 490 yards per game under the new clock rules.
OL line increased again this year and usually it takes 2 years for the change of a new coach to play out.
I guess you’re saying Kirby and Monken are idiots because Searles was hired after Luke stepped down/“retired” in 2021.
I think Monken bailed on Athens as he was fighting for influence and didn’t want to recruit which I very well know will not be proven. Monken is a professional and wants to keep his options open not burning any bridges.
With all due respect it’s hard for me to believe you understand the nuances of playing quarterback well enough to make such a judgement. So yeah my mileage does vary. I dont either. But to me his throwing motion wasn’t any weirder than Beck’s, I don’t know what his feet should have looked like when he was running for his life, and he was throwing frozen ropes. Again, he very well might not start at Georgia again. But having detailed opinions on him as a quarterback after a game where his line basically stayed in the locker room is kind of odd to me. You can have NO and all other big cities. I don’t like them. That one is especially nasty.
Mike, go look at some pocket throws from Carson and then some from Gunner. One looks like a polished thrower and the other doesn’t. I’m not counting throws while running for their lives. It doesn’t take a QB coach to see that Gunner has an elongated and slower motion. That creates opportunities for fumbles and split seconds for safeties and corners to recover in coverage. Understand I’m just talking about mechanics here, not style or grit. We’ll see how it plays out in the spring.
We’ll see I guess. To me Carson seemed like he did what you’re describing Gunner doing. I’m not down on Carson and hated how some of the fans treated him. I’ve defended him on here a lot. But the long wind up thing you describe sounds exactly like Carson to me. I say right up front that I don’t know shit about playing quarterback at any level. I just don’t see the Sugar Bowl as being about Gunner the way you seem to. If he had gotten protection worth a damn maybe I could see it but Freeling was getting his ass kicked and there was just about no running game. I don’t know how anybody watches that and comes away with Gunner Stockton just does t have what it takes to be a quarterback at Georgia.
I don’t see it as either/or, I see both as true.
Really good assessment DIA. I was on the sideline when Gunner played Thomasville his senior year, of course my T’ville Dawgs whipped Rabun’s butt. I was talking to a few of my coaching friends about his commitment to GA. and we just didn’t see it. Good athlete – yes. Hard nosed player – yes, Elite, by no means. Had a really strong arm but he’s accuracy was no where close to a D1 quarterback.
As for the OL. I can’t for the life of me figure out why OL coaches are so hell bent determined that size matters at LT. Let me explain. Yes, if you’re 6’7 and your feet are quick as hell, great. Defensive ends and OLB’s are now recruited with wingspreads and fast twitch and quick as hell. I’m not sure you have to have a 6’5, 6’6, 6’7 – 320/330 OT anymore. Does the name Isaiah Wynn pop in your head. He was 6’3 at best, 305lb and was quick as a cat and was moved from guard to tackle because of his quickness. Was a stud at our LT.
Last, I can’t understand why we can’t get the ELITE RB’s anymore. Yes, I think Nate is going to be, but hell, we should have at least two behind him that we could rotate in and never miss a beat. Never thought the Robinson boys were elite. Bowens – not Elite. When you have to go to the TP to get a running back at GA. something at right.
I’ll exit now just knowing that hey, Kirby is on the muther.
💯
At left tackle they want tall guys because those are usually the ones with the longest arms. That is a big deal playing out there for extending and keeping the edge guys pushed off their rush. That’s one of the main problems we have. We have no true tackles as far as arm length. As for running backs, two of ours can’t stay out of the training room. The Robinsons stay hurt all the time. There’s two of your stud backs right there. The portal has hurt us bad. Kirby used to stack talent and he can’t like he used to because after one or two years if they aren’t playing they transfer and keep transferring until they play. How much help would Bill Norton have been if he had still been on our DL and not starting for Texas? The only real criticism I’ll make if Kirby is he seems slow to go in the portal and our rivals are using the hell out of it.
For me if I was Kirby (and obviously I’m not), priority #1 would be to find/develop/buy/steal/kidnap a quality left tackle. If we want to recruit an elite QB out of HS or the portal, I suspect that his handlers will want to make sure that he doesn’t get killed. #2 would then be to get someone who can coach him and the rest of the line. You can’t build a house without a strong foundation.
There are a lot of things that need fixing, but that would be at the VERY TOP of my list.
Me too. It’s shocking that we don’t have a single first or second day OT in the room.
Everyone gushed over Earnest Greene after last year. What happened? Injury? Physical conditioning? Inquiring minds want to know. He was supposed to be that “next great Georgia LT” especially after how he played.
Both, IMO. And they’re interrelated, in a non-Tennessee fan kind of way.
I guess what you’re saying is that Greene has the talent, but maybe he needs to get healthy to get back into condition?
I think he’s talented, but better suited at guard. Even when healthy he struggles against speed rushers. Not sure if it’s arm length, technique or talent. But he seems to do well pulling out in space and getting to the next level. That’s more what a guard does. This year I was excited about him assuming a year of development would show more tackle skills, but they never showed up, even when healthy.
You’re a much more knowledgable observer of Kirby’s Dawgs than I, DIA, and I appreciate your observations.
This was supposed to be the year that Kirby proved that the Monken years weren’t aberrant. Instead, he proved the opposite. We ain’t getting Monken back, so we’d better find his clone. Or, honestly, anybody who can get elite results with elite talent.
On another, much sadder note, may Sonny Smart rest in peace.
Oh no, didn’t see that. Terrible news. RIP, Sonny.
I, unfortunately, will beleive Kirby let’s Bobo go when I see it. He’s not as ruthless as his mentor. I’d imagine we have more of the same next season. Taking a half to adjust to the game. Also, can’t count on any freshman playmakers. Other than KJ Bolden on defense how many freshman see the field at UGA. If those were the best WR’s on our roster and we don’t have anybody better behind them I don’t see the offense improving significantly. Gaston should be the next LT but not sure he will be ready next year.
I see Gaston as a RT, seems to not have the athleticism for a LT.
Why did we average over 40 last year and not this year? Same OC, different RB and WR coach, same QB.
We had injuries on the line of scrimmage and in the backfield. We lost 2 pass catchers who are lighting it up as rookies in the NFL (one of whom is going to the Pro Bowl – congrats, Brock – and the other has quickly become a fan favorite for the Chargers).
This team won an SEC championship after playing the most difficult SEC schedule plus 2 Power 4 OOC opponents I’ve seen in my 45+ years of following Georgia football.
Yep yep and Yep.
Kirby’s father died today from complications from his hip repair after his fall in NOLA. Maybe all of us armchair coaches should step back and realize life is more complex than we know.
Just learned about Sonny’s passing 5 mins ago. The original post was created last night and none of us knew Sonny was having post-op complications. I ache for Kirby and his family as much as anyone.
There is no way that his father’s health condition did not have an effect on Kirby on Thursday. He may have built a machine, but he is not himself a machine. As close as they were, his mind had to be wandering to his dad’s status during the game. One is important, and the other is just a game.
No question.
My post wasn’t to shame you just to give perspective that life is more than the game. We did know Sonny was having surgery and even that shakes you when your parents are older. Coaches are not robots and we as fan need to be aware of that and not demand perfection.
No question about it. I have little doubt Kirby was less than his full self at the game because of Sonny’s fall and surgery.
Good post. I like the nuance in the arguments about Gunner. Great kid, good player, lots of programs would want him and take the 9 win season. But we need truly ELITE. NFL bound. And an OC to mold an offense to that talent. Suppose we had won the Manning bidding war…Arch wins that game. Kirby doesn’t necessarily need to clean house by next week, but he does need another Monken. I don’t think Faulkner is that guy.
Just to flame everyone…wonder if Kiffen would come? /ducks shoes being thrown 🤪
So we need another stud, sure fire 1st round QB like Stetson?
We got Stetson because of a the Justin Fields mess plus injuries. Stetson was lucky to get the chance and we were lucky to have him. Would you take another Stafford or Gunner? Or save the NIL and use walk-ons until you hit the jackpot again? Read what I posted…Gunners good but we need a guy destined for the NFL as a starter from day one. That may be Rashada.
Has Gunner had enough game repetitions to be determined to be truly elite or NFL bound? People booed SBIV when he was announced as the starter for the UAB when JT got hurt the first time in 2021.
Let’s give the guy more than 1 start before we make broad conclusions about him.
Let’s at least wait until we see G-Day QBRs before we throw dirt on him.
See above. Stetson was a unicorn no one saw coming. That’s luck not a recruiting strategy.
Stetson didn’t inspire confidence throughout the 2020 season where he started most of the games. My point is that Stockton can’t be judged on 2 games … 1 of which he was thrust into and the other his first start in a playoff game.
As someone who was in Nawlins in 1980/81, this game had a weird reverse vibe to that first game. We moved the ball on ND but couldn’t score, and two mistakes doomed us.
Just like we did to ND in 1981. But that resulted in national championship so screw the Irish.
I noted in the game day thread, a kickoff mistake made the difference. Karma’s a bitch.
NEWS: Alabama starting OT Elijah Pritchett plans to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal, @Hayesfawcett3 reports.
Pritchett originally committed to the Crimson Tide as a five-star prospect. He was ranked as the No. 4 offensive tackle and No. 31 overall player in the nation, per 247Sports.
The 6-foot-6 athlete was heavily recruited by powerhouse programs across the country, such as Florida State, Georgia, Oregon and South Carolina.
Now let’s see if UGA is ready to go head-to-head for a position of dire need.
Interesting. He hasn’t been great at Bama but he’s got terrific size and good athleticism.