Georgia Football: Five Reasons Aaron Murray Is Not UGA's Biggest Problem
Yes, a redshirt freshman leading your team at quarterback is going to cause problems. However, the back-to-back losses cannot be put solely on Aaron Murray. The kid is going to make mistakes, but he’s fought hard and will continue to grow as the Bulldogs' leader. Here are five reasons Aaron Murray is not to blame.
1. Offensive Line
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This veteran group was supposed to support and guide the young QB with great blocking and a great run game.
However, they have brought Murray down in these two losses. The protection for the young pup breaks down, and he takes a huge hit or he’s forced to flee from the pocket and salvage a play. The month of August was not kind to the O-line as they suffered a couple injuries, but they’re healthy now and need to produce.
2. Defense
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Where is this pressure that everyone was talking about? Grantham and his 3-4 were supposed to get after the QB and disrupt plays. Somehow, the Bulldogs only managed one sack against the Razorbacks and a decent five against South Carolina. One sack against a quarterback that threw the ball 33 times: just pathetic.
Continuing with the defensive woes, Georgia just forgot how to tackle. I know they’re learning new schemes, but how can you forget the fundamentals? They teach you tackling in grade school. Wrap the guy up and take him to the ground.
It seems the Bulldogs are quite confused. It’s time to release the anger and lay the hammer down. Bring back the Junkyard Dawgs of old. Grantham is a great coach, but there’s only so much a coach can do. The players need to produce.
3. Play Calling
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Mike Bobo is terrible. He took over play calling from head coach Mark Richt a few years ago and the production of the offense has gone down. The past couple of years, he’s obsessed over the screen play. He finally got rid of it and is now in love with the play action.
Bobo, that’s great, but when the run game isn’t working, play action is useless. You’re just making it difficult on your quarterback because now his back is turned.
Sometimes it works, but against Arkansas it either resulted in a busted play with Murray scrambling for his life, or a huge hit leaving Murray on the ground. He was sacked six times, more than half because of the play action.
Another thing, just because a play is working for the other team doesn’t mean it will work for us. Time and time again Bobo calls the exact plays the opposing team is doing really well: the draw against South Carolina, or the play action against Arkansas.
I get it: You lost the guy whom your offense was built around. You need to adjust, Bobo. You can’t rely on the deep ball when AJ is not in the game. It worked a couple times with Durham, but other times Murray just scrambled aimlessly trying to make something out of nothing.
Too many times our receivers ran fly routes. Mix it up, Bobo. Or just go home and let Richt call the plays. When Mark Richt calls the plays and his defense can hold the opposing team to 20 points or less (like a REAL SEC team should) he’s 65-0. (Note: this dates back to when he called plays at FSU and Georgia) That’s downright nasty.
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4. The Run Game
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Aaron Murray thought his first season as Georgia’s quarterback was full of support: the best wide receiver in the country, a veteran o-line, and not one, but two great running backs. So far, everything has failed.
The run game was supposed to be there for Aaron Murray. So far, it’s been nonexistent. Granted, Caleb King has been out the last two games, but let’s be honest, everyone knew it was only a matter of time before King sustained some type of injury. It’s been that way for the past three years.
Washaun Ealey screwed himself over for the first game, and perhaps that messed up his flow. I don’t know for sure, but I do know that when he gets the ball, he isn’t running as hard as he used to. He approaches a defender and slows down too much trying to juke. He needs to either run right through the guy or make shifty quick moves. None of this stop-and-go crap. That gets you nowhere.
The Mississippi State game should be a bounce-back for the run game. It was believed Georgia would have the tandem of King and Ealey last week, but that didn’t happen. Richt has stated he doesn’t see any reason Caleb won’t play this weekend.
5. No Playmaker
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Murray had a confidence boost knowing his first year at quarterback he would have the best wide receiver in the nation in AJ Green. Thanks to a dumb move by AJ, the Bulldogs lost their playmaker.
There’s no excuse for Green being out. He made a mistake and he’s paying the price, even if it is a little too harsh.
Somebody has to step up for this team. Whether it be special teams, offense, or even defense, someone has to make some plays. Brandon Boykin, Tavarres King, Washaun Ealey, Orson Charles, Bacarri Rambo: time to step it up! There’s still another week without AJ—don’t let it be your excuse for another loss.
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