Notes from UT vs UGA - Defense

We took a look at the offense from the Georgia game here Breathe If You Love Football: Notes from UT vs UGA - Offense http://breatheifyoulovefootball.blogspot.com/2012/10/notes-from-ut-vs-uga-offense.html?spref=tw. Now let's turn to the defensive side and see how the Volunteers fared.

Let's start with the defensive line, primarily the nose tackle position where the "competition" seems to be between Darrington Sentimore and Daniel McCullers. Sentimore, at 6' 2" and 288 isn't the physically demanding presence of McCullers at 6' 8" and 360 but he is getting the bulk of the snaps and in my opinion rightfully so. Sentimore is just the better athlete with better technique. Having said that, I don't mind seeing McCullers get more snaps as I believe there is clearly room for both to play and play well.

Individual statistics are readily available for college players but I did pay close attention to their play against Georgia. One thing that sticks out in my mind is that McCullers was the nose tackle on the quarterback sneak on 3rd and about half a yard. Murray gained a yard for the first down and they scored a play later. Finally, the left side of the defense seemed to struggle in this game. Most of the long runs came from that side.

Our linebackers remain an enigma to me. After a good start in my opinion the play has become questionable. I am struggling to determine the root cause be it personnel or scheme or both. I don't think there is any doubt that Herman Lathers is our best linebacker. He had a sack that forced a fumble and was generally a force.

I love AJ Johnson and I think the guy is a beast. I just wonder if he is suited for the MLB role in our new defense. He gets taken out of the play a lot and sometimes I question his ball awareness. A middle linebacker needs to be a ball hawk and have good awareness of where the ball is located.

Furthermore, our defensive scheme creates a soft spot between the middle linebacker and the defensive backfield which Georgia exploited several times and it led to at least one touchdown. Johnson wasn't able to cover the receiver and the safety ended having to try and contain from a mile away. Its just a recipe for disaster that has to be corrected and let's hope it can be corrected.

I apologize for the poor quality of these photo's but I think you see the problem.

Likewise with Curt Maggitt. I lost count how many times you saw him chase Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall on their way to a long run for a touchdown. Also, the linebackers seemed to bite a lot on play action and generally had poor recognition in this game.

For the record, Georgia rushed for 282 yards and Marshall was the leading rusher with 164 yards on 10 carries and 2 touchdowns. He had a long run of 75 yards. Gurley added 130 yards on 24 attempts and 3 TD's with a long run of 51 yards. Our defensive backfield, particularly the safeties, were simply unable to stop him. Our linebackers were also completely unable to stop the sweep and that killed us early in the game. Byron Moore was the only defensive back with any success taking Georgia's backs down and even he struggled.

Again, I have no access to snap counts but every time I see Willie Bohannon in the game the guy is making a big play. I really do not understand why he doesn't get more playing time.

Finally, the defensive backfield is full of young talented guys who I believe can play much better. Again, I wonder if our scheme has a lot to do with the struggles you see there. Easily our best DB is Byron Moore who intercepted an Aaron Murray pass and returned it for pick six.

He is an athletic guy with good coverage skills and you have to love a lot about his game. Which is why I hate to seem like I am picking on him but he needs to tackle better. Its really the only flaw you see in his game.

This is how you do it baby

You also would like to see him challenge the receiver more often and I wonder if that is simply coaching/scheme versus player. In fact, none of our defensive backs seem to challenge the wide receivers very much. One final note on Moore he missed a block on special teams that led to a blocked punt and didn't even seem aware that he had created a problem. Now, I think he is a great player and could be elite but elite players don't make those mistakes.

Brent Brewer struggled early on but he settled down a bit. The TD play was the linebacker's responsibility but you would like to see Brewer make that tackle and prevent the touchdown. Brian Randolph made a really nice play late in the game to help force a punt.

A lot of these issues can be fixed simply with better fundamentals. I think also players are still adjusting to the new scheme and Georgia is the best offense this defense has faced to date. You have to like a lot about what you saw and just hope that the problems are able to be fixed. There is a long way to go and we are too talented to continue to give up so many plays and points. This defense has mental toughness and fight which goes a long way.

Notes from UT vs UGA - Offense

Coming off a rather baffling Akron game and a troubling loss at home to Florida where many questioned the Volunteers effort and fortitude, eyes were on the team as they traveled to Athens, Georgia to face the number #5 ranked Bulldogs. Not all those questions were answered, particularly regarding a defense that oftentimes fails to execute fundamentals. Could the Volunteers find a successful running game? How would often criticized junior quarterback Tyler Bray respond to a troubling Florida loss? Let's dive in and look for answers, starting with the offensive side of the ball.

Let's start with Tyler Bray who really had a better game than he is getting credited. Bray finished the day 24 of 45 and 281 yards of passing with 2 TD's and 3 INT's. There were two dropped passes that should have gone for touchdowns however.

Bray and Hunter also seemed to have some communication issues early on the pass where he threw a tad bit behind Hunter I think was more an issue of lack of Hunter continuing to come back from an ACL and Bray misreading his speed coming out of the break. Hunter really came off fast, much faster than I have seen this year. Another pass to Hunter was incomplete because the defensive back slipped but managed to trip Hunter up just enough to throw off the timing. One thing is for certain, despite complaints of locking onto receivers, he is not afraid to spread it around,  hitting 8 different receivers in this game for positive yards.

Furthermore, while the offensive line has made significant process particularly in the run game, Bray was under pressure most of the night.

A lot has been made of Bray's mechanics but really he throws a beautiful football and generally his mechanics are pretty sound. The only real issue I have is that sometimes he does have a tendency to throw low. A lot has also been made of his decision making but in my review of the game he only made two really bad decisions one of which was early in the game and insignificant and the other which happened late in the game which really hurt.

This throw to Bartholemew was incomplete when he had Cordarrelle Patterson wide open to the side on a screen didn't affect the outcome.

He threw a bad interception with 5:57 left to play in the game which was just a bad decision, but again the only one that was a game changer.

Finally, Bray needs to work on protecting the football. You can tell he wants so badly to make a play and lead his team but he can't fumble the football like this play at the end of the game.

Overall, his performance was actually good and he was clearly not the reason why this game was lost.

Despite the drop, Cordarrelle Patterson rebounded I thought pretty well from a lackluster Florida performance. I love the way we are creative and use him too. He finished the game with 3 rushes for 55 yards and a touchdown. He had 2 receptions for 31 yards.

Zach Rogers had a really fabulous game as well. He finished the day with 6 receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown pass. He is fast becoming a go to guy in the receiving corp and a good compliment to Hunter and Patterson.

Finally, Mychal Rivera is simply an intimidating force and a nightmare matchup in most situations and we simply must get him the ball more.

Officially listed at 6' 3" and 244 lbs he plays far bigger than advertised. He was also the leading receiver in the game finishing with 3 receptions for 82 yards.

I have to give a ton of credit to how much this offensive line has improved particularly in the run game. James Stone I thought had a very good game as did our tackles against a very tough Georgia defense. Having said that, Rajon Neal deserves volumes of credit for the work he has put in and how much he has improved and if forced to choose he would get my game ball.

He finished the game with 23 rushes for 104 yards and a touchdown. It was his second 100 yard rushing game having rushed for over 100 against Florida. He was also a force in the passing game with 5 catches for 53 yards and a touchdown.

What a solid and reliable guy he is becoming and it is a pleasure to watch. Marlin Lane and Devrin Young are nice compliments and also had some good plays. Most importantly there were no fumbles among any of the running backs.

The kicking game continues to be an area of concern. We simply must get it fixed or it could be a very long season in conference play.

Michael Palardy now only does kickoffs and and was called upon once to hit an extra point which was successful. Derrick Brodus is a great story but he missed a relatively easy field goal and an extra point. He hit one field goal of 34 yards and was 4 of 5 on extra points.

Overall, there is a lot to like about the offensive performance in this game and the areas of concern appear to be fixable. One thing you cannot question is the team effort and the desire to win this hard fought battle.

Mark Richt Does the Carl Edwards

Tempertures in Athens Thursday afternoon soared to over 103 degrees. After an A.M. practice in full pads the Georgia Bulldog football team was told that due to the heat, they were going to practice inside the student center on the basketball courts for the afternoon practice. But when they arrived, it was not at the gymnasium. It was the back door of the complex that led to the Gabrielsen Natatorium and it's Olympic-size pool. Perched on the top of the 33 foot high dive board was a chair, and in that chair sat Georgia Bulldog head coach Mark Richt.

Richt stood as his players entered the pool area stripping their jerseys off, taking off shoes and socks anticipating a cool respite from the sweltering heat of the dog days of summer. While his players were jubilantly stripping down, Richt proceeded to execute a perfect back flip into the pool. By the time he hit the water, his players were going crazy and diving in wherever they could.

UGA Head Coach Mark Richt executes a perfect back flip

QB Matthew Stafford show off his Kegger