Yankee Hack on Georgia Football: You're Mad at the Wrong #14

Your best source for biased and uninformed Georgia Football commentary

Do not adjust your computer, the number 14 in the picture above is not Joe Cox. 

I have instead used the power of Getty Images to bring you a picture of former Georgia QB (and current Georgia Offensive Coordinator) Mike Bobo in action. 

Less than 24 hours after a poor performance to open the season much of the Bulldog Nation have decided that Joe Cox is JT III Part II (wow… lots of Roman numerals in that one).

Not to say he had no part in Saturday’s debacle; but I am more concerned with the play selection of previous #14 than the execution of those plays by the current one.

I remember Mike Bobo being on of the few consistent parts of the Jim Donnan era.  Let me amend that... one of the few consistently positive parts (10 Bubble Screens per game, underachieving talent & annual losses to UT, UF and GT all too consistent).  He made smart decisions and kept the offense in synch throughout the game.

The offense I saw on Saturday afternoon may as well have been called by Jim Donnan and executed by Quincy Carter (small comfort we were spared seeing the Bubble Screen called 7-10 times for no gain).  There was no flow, no consistency and no feeling, at any time, that Georgia was even remotely in synch.

The first drive saw running plays that lead to passing plays.  As you establish you are going to run, the defense must watch for the run before moving on the pass.  Play action works wonderfully (as shown in the first series) when the defense is not only watching for the run, but expecting it.

Instead of building off of the success of the first drive, suddenly UGA is passing.  But not just passing, passing from the Shotgun.  Good luck getting the Strong Safety to look twice at (let alone, fall for) a play action fake from that formation.  I got the feeling that Bobo had scripted the first 20 plays instead of making calls based on the game flow.

The rest of the game had the feel of a man at the Roulette table, progressively betting more trying to make up for the losses before and getting deeper in the hole.

I suspect during halftime, Mark Richt might have asked his OC if A.J. Green would be a bigger part the second half game plan than Caleb King would.  Those plays to A.J. felt forced and did not produce much.

Joe Cox had a bad fumble, missed throws and did not show much of the leadership I have been reading about since Spring Ball began. 

That said, he was not covering the kickoff to start the Second Half, was not blocking during Prince Miller’s punt return and did not call a questionable (absurd) personal foul on Reshad Jones in the Fourth Quarter. Coach Bobo made that play calls that moved away from the running game into the shotgun.

This game was on the former #14, Mike Bobo far more than today’s #14, Joe Cox.

I am a huge supporter of Mike Bobo.  I believe he can be an exceptional Offensive Coordinator and will eventually be an excellent Head Coach.  Anyone can draw up clever plays and put together a game plan, but great Coaches make adjustments to those plays and plans based on the game they are in. This next game and the rest of this season will give Mike Bobo the chance to prove me right or wrong.