Georgia Bulldog Football: Three Grades That Need To Be Improved

We are four games into the 2009 season and many questions still remain for the Georgia Bulldogs.

Will the defense find the right combinations in the secondary? Will we ever get pressure on a quarterback again? Is it really Willie Martinez’s scheme or do we just have a bunch of undisciplined defensive players?

I read a statistic recently that seemed to scream out at me from the page. While at UGA, former defensive coordinator Brian Van Gorder’s defense gave up 33 or more points on one occasion.

In the past nine games (prior to the Arizona State game), the Georgia defense under Martinez gave up an average of 33 points per game. Sorry Willie, but that is not Georgia football.

But problems are not exclusive to the defense. The offense, despite scoring 113 points in the last three games, has a few problems of their own.

Fortunately for the Dawg nation, Joe Cox ignored your whines and growls after a mediocre game one. Joe is doing his part, and is not on the list of problems we are looking at today.

However, I am disappointed in three things from the offensive side of the ball. Here are my grades for those three areas. See if you agree, and let’s fix these problems.

1) The Offensive line:  C-

Several weeks back I posted an article about this group of offensive lineman. I was really excited that they were experienced, and healthy. That has not been the case at the University of Georgia lately. Lack of depth and injury, have hurt this unit for many seasons.

If you would like to review that article you can find it by following this link.

So far this season, this group has been inconsistent. They have had their moments, but we expected better, much better.

Against Arkansas, Richard Samuel went 80 yards for a TD. The hole opened up by the line, was big enough to drive a Ford pickup through. Last week, Georgia couldn’t convert on third and short, and on fourth and short.

Joe Cox is not the tallest quarterback. So a nice solid pocket is essential for his continued success. Given time, Joe will find the open man, and most likely get the ball to him. The line must protect our quarterback. The pass protection at times has been stellar. It needs to be that way every week.

The loss of Trinton Sturdivant for the second consecutive year hurts. But this group is talented enough to make up for the loss.

If the line does its job and rises to the opportunity, Georgia could suddenly find itself in a very good place.

2) The running backs: C+

I expected Richard Samuel to step up and be the man at the running back position. Richard has certainly showed glimpses of what he can do. When he gets to the open field he can be explosive.

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