Upon Further Review... UGA Football Should Feed Brock Bowers
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ATHENS - We’re watching UGA Football grow in front of our eyes. Building off a statement second half against South Carolina, many expected to see a drubbing of the Alabama-Birmingham Blazers under the lights last Saturday. While that was the end state of the Dawgs’ Week 4 opponent, the 60-minute process had ups and downs on both sides of the ball. There was, however, much less muted profanity this week.
Playing without six starters / significant contributors, Georgia looked like a team still trying to find its identity. On both sides of the ball. Before we dive into observations, however, I think it’s fair to say Kirby is using each game as a building block. Not for the following contest, mind you, but for what occurs in December. The first third of the season is done (WHAT) and with that, here are this week’s thoughts:
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Concerns for UGA Football
1. Special teams were not special - while there were no missed field goals this week, there were two fumbles (1 punt, 1 kickoff). The fumble on the punt return by Mehki Mews gave UAB a short field which they cashed in with a touchdown. Further, kickoff coverage was mediocre, if not alarming. The Dawg coverage team allowed the Blazer returner to get outside coverage on 3 of 4 kickoffs. While Georgia’s overall speed advantage negated any very long returns better teams may be able to take advantage of that.
2. Tackling / losing the edge. Kirby has said for as long as we’ve listened to him that setting the edge is critical for a great defense and that tackling is something near and dear to him. Well, I counted 9 instances where the Dawg defense lost the edge on either a running play, quarterback scramble, or a quick outside pass. Losing the edge was instrumental in UAB’s second touchdown drive prior to the end of the first half. Further, I counted 7 missed tackles while the main defense was on the field for the first two and a half quarters. Combine losing the edge with missed tackles and you’re asking for big plays against better teams.
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3. Jamon Dumas-Johnson – I love Pop. Truly. He embodies that Junkyard Dawg mentality. But he is a liability in coverage. I first caught glimpses against South Carolina. It was on full display against UAB. When a receiver crossed JDJ’s face, he was either slow to react or out of position resulting in at least three first downs and UAB’s first touchdown. It’s almost as if he’s having trouble diagnosing what’s happening in front of him on passing downs. We started to see CJ Allen in rotation with Smael Mondon more Saturday night than in previous games. A trend?
4. Dropped passes – I only counted four drops on the night, but none was bigger than Arian Smith’s drop of a beautiful bomb from Carson Beck. While it didn’t influence this game, one day it might. RaRa Thomas dropped two passes on the night as well. Bottom line – catch the damn ball! Get on the JUGS machine, do pushups, or drop holy water on your gloves. These lost plays stymie drives and leave points on the field. Drops happen. I get it. But fix it.
On the plus side of the ledger for the Dawgs
1. Mike Bobo and Carson Beck are getting closer to being on the same page of the hymnal, if they aren’t already there. Check this out – Bobo ran some sort of play action / fake on about 70% of Beck’s pass attempts. In the first half, Beck only attempted 5 straight dropback passes. The rest were all off play action.
The route layering was evident. Go look at the first play of the game – the 33-yard pass to Dominic Lovette. Check out the deep route, with Brock Bowers (more on him later) releasing late and where Lovette is placed. UAB was going to be wrong regardless of who they covered. This layering was evident all night. And Beck is starting to shed his risk aversion. He throws a very nice intermediate pass. Accurate with plenty of zip. Maybe we should give Bobo a little coaching credit for Beck’s improvement?
2. Feed #19 – 9 catches, 121 yards, 2 touchdowns. After three games of little use, Brock Bowers showed why he may be the most complete player who is draft eligible. He gets open and runs like a running back after the catch. Defenses key on him... leaving others open. Oh yeah, and he flat hurled a grown-ass man off the field in the second quarter. With one arm. Feed him. A lot.
3. Daijun Edwards is the best running back. Period. He only carried the ball 13 times for 66 yards Saturday. However, his vision and quickness in the hole gain extra yards almost every time he totes the rock. He always falls forward. He’s not 100% yet, either.
4. Red Zone - You know how to not miss field goals? Score touchdowns. Georgia was six of six in the red zone Saturday as play calling, interior blocking and focus all seemed to come together at the right time. This is how Georgia should always be in the red area. There are very few teams that can match them physically and the skill positions are replete with matchup issues. Especially that #19 fella.
5. Defensive line growth – Warren Brinson is showing signs of being “that guy”. He had Georgia’s lone sack on the night as well as several other pressures. His quickness is evident, and he holds the point of attack well. Zion Logue seems immovable. Christen Miller and Nazir Stackhouse provide steady play. But you want to know how we know the defensive line is getting better? Look at the leading tacklers. Three of the top four leading tacklers from Saturday were linebackers - just the way Kirby likes it.
A third of the way through the season and Georgia has yet to play a complete game. With youth and injuries, this team may not hit their stride until much later in the season. And that’s ok. As long as Georgia wins each game it shouldn’t matter, for now, how it’s done. Keep putting those building blocks into place. Build confidence, resilience, and depth. We’ve seen the offense make significant strides since the first drive against UT-Martin, especially without its most productive receiver. The defense shows the capability to absolutely stonewall an opponent. Each of the concerns are relatively small ones, fixable in practice. This team is growing before our eyes. Will we recognize them by season’s end?