So that sucked a lot. I’ve been beating up on college football analysts all year for not knowing anything, and now it’s my turn for some harsh, self-criticism. Apparently, I don’t know sh*t about anything either. I was positive we’d get a great version of Bama, and we did. I was also certain we’d get a great version of Georgia, which we did not. I’ve only watched the game once (and that’s the last time I’ll ever watch it) so I’m sure to miss some things on these grades, but I’ll slog through and get this painful experience behind us.

Quarterback: B-

• I didn’t think Gunner played that bad…wasn’t the best version of himself, but didn’t feel like he was the reason we lost. The not so good…he threw a couple of balls in some questionable spots that could have been picked (somehow doesn’t have any interceptions through 4 games) and nearly got Delp put in the ICU on one ball. On an early 3^rd down in the 1st quarter, he opted to take a deep shot to Branch on a low percentage throw, when he could have easily run for the 1st down. In general, I’d like to see him use the legs more, but maybe coaches are trying to limit hits on him. The good…no doubt how tough the dude is. He completed 65% of his passes, no turnovers and converted some important third downs. His ball to Taylor was perfect and should have been a touchdown. My take, I feel like Gunner is the good soldier who executes the game plan given to him. Outside of a few questionable decisions in the heat of the moment, I thought he was solid.          

Running Back: B-

• Step right up and feel free to take your shots. I’ve been Nate Frazier’s biggest apologist since the Clemson game last year. Coming into the season I thought he was easily our best RB option and I’ve been quietly upset he hasn’t been getting the ball more. I know he’s not trying to fumble, but facts are facts…this dude drops the ball in big games and I’m betting coaches have lost faith that he can be counted on. Cash Jones had a game I’m sure he’d like to erase from his memory (some of it not his fault). Dwight Lightning was a non-factor. McCray is nearly impossible to bring down on first contact. The brightest spot…I’m guessing we found a new #1 RB. Chauncey Bowens looked outstanding. I’m the first to admit I wasn’t seeing what coaches were seeing with him. To me, he looked like a solid guy without any specific, elite skill to be a #1 RB option. He proved me wrong big time on Saturday night…great vision, decisive, showed a little speed, broke some tackles and averaged nearly 10 YPC. If this is a sign of things to come, I’ll take it all day. If you look at rushing statistics alone for the overall RB group, this looks like a better grade…but can’t do more than a B- with the two Cash Jones touches being a disaster and Frazier fumbling on our 10-yard line, which gifted Bama 3 points (how much did we lose by again?).    

Offensive Line – B

• If we can take one win away from this game, the OL was one of the bright spots of the team, as opposed to its stronghold on the most underperforming unit of the team. When the team rushes for 227 yards, averaging nearly 7 YPC, scoring 2 TD’s on the ground…the OL has to be doing something right. I think Gunner had time on most passing attempts. Hughley didn’t make me look great with two penalties in the first half, but the right side of the line did play a lot better overall. We did give up a sack and Bama had 6 total TFL’s, so we weren’t perfect, but more good than bad. I really hope we turned a corner with this group because if we’re able to consistently run for 200+ yards a game in conference play, I like our chances in those games. Good OL play travels well.   

Receivers (WR’s + TE’s) – B-

• Colbie Young had another productive night with a touchdown catch. Dillon Bell had a great 43-yard run (really well executed fake). Branch caught a huge third down ball where he looked to levitate while getting hit from three different defenders. Other than that…not a lot to talk about. There were only 9 catches from WR’s on the evening and for the second time this season, 0 catches from the TE unit. I’m not one of those people that cares how we get yards or which player gets them…the only thing I care about is moving the ball and being effective as an offense. That said, we have 4 active TE’s on the roster (Barbour is out) who could/should be difference makers or matchup problems…I guess coaches just aren’t seeing those opportunities. Same with Noah Thomas…I assumed he’d be a difference maker this year, no catches through 4 games. Anyone else as surprised as me that we’re not getting a lot of receiving production out of these guys? Oh yeah, the Taylor drop on a perfect ball can’t happen. I know he’s not aiming to drop it, but that falls in the “God hates us” drop category. What happens if he catches that for a touchdown? I’ve got to move on before I go into a downward spiral on this.        

Defensive Line – C+

• I was wrong about this unit as well. After the first couple of games, I thought DL was going to be a strength of the team. We limited the rushing yardage overall, but hated watching us give up 7 yards on a basic 1^st down run during Bama’s final possession. When it came to passing downs, our DL just didn’t get pressure or make Simpson very uncomfortable (13 third down conversions). We need at least one DL to be able to play dominant football and get some pressure. For two straight contests, we have made opposing QB’s look like Heisman Trophy finalists to start the 1^st quarter. I’m not a big believer that the DL needs to accumulate stats to be effective, but I am a big believer they need to get pressure on the QB on obvious passing downs and take time/rhythm away. Bama may have not beaten us with their running game, but it doesn’t matter if we give their QB plenty of time to find open receivers on critical third downs.      

Linebackers – B-        

• There were some good individual plays here and there. Quintavious Johnson got the big 4^th down stop. CJ Allen was typically solid, as was Raylen Wilson. Justin Williams had a nice stick on one play. Chris Cole picked up his third sack of the season and contributed with another 5 tackles. Some criticism for this group, Quintavious Johnson got flagged for an obvious horse collar, which didn’t help our cause. When we blitzed an inside backer, none of them could get home or really disrupt Simpson. It’s unfair to compare anyone to Roquan or Nakobe, but they were elite at getting to the quarterback on inside blitzes…Mondon was also pretty good at this. It could be those guys just had a better DL to open up gaps, I don’t know. I think most agree this should be our most effective position group, would have liked to see a little more disruption from these guys in a game this big.  

Defensive Backs – C-

• I wavered on going lower than this but settled on the C+ for a final grade. Ellis Robinson wins the “WTF were you thinking?” award for jumping on the pile to get a personal foul penalty. It didn’t make a difference in the final outcome, but horrible discipline. The touchdown he gave up on the slant looked WAY too easy…was he expecting inside help? We gave up 13 third downs, which is easily the worst for Kirby Smart and the most Georgia has given up in the last 30 years. I know I speak for all Dawg fans when I say how painful it is to watch teams EASILY pick up 3^rd and long against us time after time after time. Even Todd Grantham would have considered that poor 3^rd down defense. I don’t know where most of the fault lies on the 3^rd down woes…is it poor defensive coaching strategy on 3^rd down, is it lack of DL ability to get pressure, is it the other team out scheming us, or is it bad coverage in the secondary? I really don’t know…all I know is Simpson had copious amounts of time to find receivers who were not tightly covered. Anyone else realize we have 4 DB’s (Everette, Bolden, Robinson, Aguero) that started for us that were 5-star recruits? We shouldn’t have a talent problem. Kyron Jones had another game where he didn’t remind me of some of our best Safeties in the Smart era. I guess if we’re looking for some silver linings…play got better in the second half. Demello Jones came in and played well. Robinson did break up a TD pass attempt with great coverage. KJ Bolden almost had a pick, which would’ve been a huge momentum play at the time. I know Donte Williams can’t be feeling too good about this group…DB’s are not playing near the standard of Smart coached teams, and talent is not the issue.  

Special Teams – INC

• We punted 4 times with no returns, kicked 3 XP’s and all kickoffs were touchbacks. No game changers, but no opportunities for game changers. Moving on.          

Coaching – C-

• If I had to put a majority of blame somewhere, I’d put it on the coaching staff. I’ll start with the good before we get to the bad. I don’t think this loss was a Bobo issue. The running game was more than enough to win, showed a nice wrinkle on the Dillon Bell run, a designed run for Stockton on a big 3^rd down was nice, we moved the ball reasonably well after the first quarter and the play to Taylor should have been a TD. At minimum, we should have had 28 points in this game, with a good opportunity to go over 30. Searles deserves some credit for the best OL showing of the year (even though I hope Pittman has already been called). The defense improved in the 2^nd half and we didn’t surrender any points for the final 30 minutes. Now, on to the not so good…and there’s a lot to cover so grab a snack. THE SLOW STARTS HAVE GOT TO BE FIXED. GTP Refugee stalwart, jpmcdonough posted a great piece yesterday on how bad the starts have been the past two years…give it a check if you haven’t already…it perfectly explains how bad we are at getting out of the gate. It’s not just offense, it’s defense too. We’re making every QB look like a 1^st round pick, and that’s not a coincidence. For all of Kirby’s talk about being the hunter and not the hunted, having FPE, etc. we come out of the gate like we’ve dropped a cylinder. It’s like we’re fine letting other teams dictate what they want to do, and we decide to react to it after a couple of offensive and defensive drives. I didn’t understand the clock management on the final drive…when it’s third and inches, they’re almost certainly going to get it, so why waste the timeout? Against Tennessee, we looked to have a beautiful, scripted first offensive series…guess we didn’t feel like doing that for Bama. For all the talent we recruit on defense, we apparently can’t figure out a way to consistently get pressure on opposing QB’s or effectively cover downfield. Allowing Bama to get a TD in 1:34 to end the first half, it was horribly painful. Alright, the 4^th down disaster…I’ve got a few criticisms. I’ve heard Kirby’s statement about already being committed to go for it with tempo if we picked up anything on 3^rd down, fine. But, when we were that close to getting it on 3^rd down (and I have no clue how close it was because ESPN’s coverage of that play and the aftermath was absolute shit), that calls for a change in plans in my opinion…at least give them a chance to review the play because maybe we got it. I’m even OK if we don’t want to take the points and go for it on 4^th down, but we have not been a very good tempo team post Stetson Bennett, so didn’t feel like a smart decision. Not trying to pick on Jones, but if we’re inches away from a first down, why on earth would we not take the time to substitute in McCray for Jones, who is almost impossible to stop for no gain? I get commitment to a plan, but that doesn’t mean you can’t change it if the circumstances dictate a better option. That’s part of great gameday coaching. Everything was set up for our team to win this game…Bama no longer has Saban, our talent is comparable, we finally got them on our home field with what looked to be an incredible atmosphere…and we spot them a 14-0 lead without putting up much of a fight. Bottom line, Bama looked ready to play from the first snap and we didn’t look ready to play until some time after we spotted them a 14-point lead.                

Bama Glazing – A+

• If I didn’t know any better, I would assume Kirk Herbstreit played QB for Alabama, makes annual 7-digit donations to their program and had a cool million riding on the outcome of the game. This was Gary Danielson / Tim Tebow level worship for Ty Simpson. I’m not a Herbstreit hater, but it was getting pretty gross on Saturday night.

Let’s level set…play was not good enough and coaching was definitely not good enough for a game of this caliber. I think it’s safe to say the Crimson and White have our regular season number until we do something different to alter this series. If we don’t figure out these starts, there is easily another loss or two on the schedule. The good, we got better on the OL and Bowens could be a great every down back. We have shown we can play good defense against a good team, we just need to figure out how to do it in the first half. All goals still in front of us, even if the margin for error has been reduced. On to Kentucky.

Go Dawgs!