Hit the road jack...

GatorinGA wrote:

wlayton wrote:

... Take UF's D for example, when they played FSU last weekend, they turned the ball over 3 times inside their 25 (?) and one was around the 10 (approx) and FSU managed to get only 3 field goals out of those turnovers..

Dude, it was one turnover at the 14 yd. line.
The first one was a long kickoff return by FSU to start in the Gator's red zone.
I understand your point, just playing \"Gator-truth monitor\".

I didn't know you could legally put Gator and truth in the same sentence. lol

OUCH.....(that's a good one flyindawg!!)

UGAUSFENGDAWG-

Defend Willie Martinez all you want, and I respect your opinion. But let's do the math here. You say that Our players werent as good as predicted. Our offense shot itself in the foot just as much as the defense struggled in our games against fla and bama.. I hardly think our offense, which averaged 31.75ppg this season can be classified as an offense that \"shoots itself in the foot.\" If we, in the SEC East, are putting up ~32ppg, then there is no reason why we shouldn't be winning those games. Where does the problem lie? Not with the offense.

I specifically mention the games against florida and alabama. However, if you are going to throw out facts, make sure they are correct. Against SEC EAST opponents, UK-42, Fla-10, UV-24, UT-26, USC-14, the bulldogs are averaging 23.2 ppg. My original point has nothing to do with the yearly production of the offense; in the games against bama and fla they struggled just as much as our defense. In the game against fla, fla’s offense scored 21 points off uga turnovers. They failed to convert in the red zone and our first team offense didn’t score. In the game against bama, our offense scored 0 points in 5 drives in the first half. They turned the ball over on a fumble and an interception on two of those drives. The uga defense was on the field for 20 min in the 1st half because our offense couldn’t sustain a drive (avg drive length 1:49). I am not trying to bash the offense, because they have been outstanding in most of our games this year. Our defense is broken like I have stated before. They are the reason for the loss against tech and for the close game at uk. But, in the bama and fla game, our offense struggled too.

I have to disagree with you, prozack. All of the faults you listed with the D are the responsibility of the DC. He should make sure they are tackling, covering people, beating blocks to get pressure on the QB, etc. The defense blows and that is the DC's responsibility. And this stuff about most people wouldn't know a cover 2,3,4 or whatever simply doesn't hold water. I may not know how to build a clock, but I can tell time. By the same token, I may not know the name of every defensive coverage, but I can tell when a defense isn't very good.

I like the explanation. When looking at our team, anyone with any knowledge what so ever can tell that our defense is struggling. Using the clock example, a person can know nothing about a clock and tell that it is not working. But, that person can’t be sure whether or not the blame should be given to the clock maker (Defensive Coordinator) or malfunctioning pieces (players) within the frame work of the clock. It is easy to lay blame with the DC, because the defense is not working. My point is that without knowing the principles of different coverage’s, it is difficult to make an accurate opinion on whether the problem lies with the coaching staff, or with the players. Like I have said in another post, I think it is a mixture of the two.

Prozack,

I think, after reading your last post, that we may be arguing the same point with a different source of the problem. I was taking total ppg over the course of the season, not against SEC East teams.

The two games you mentioned, Fla & Alabama, I agree with you. Our offense struggled. I was at the Fl/Ga game and witnessed it in person. We couldn't tie our shoes in the 1st half of the game. Anytime your time of possesion is low, your defense is getting worn out. Florida, and I'm not using this as a scapegoat, got away with several penalties that changed the momentum of the game in their favor. That does not, however, exonerate the lackluster performance of the team as a whole. To me the biggest disparity in that game was that Florida came to play and Georgia didn't, and that I lay at the feet of Coach Richt. Stone me to death if you wish, but that's just my opinion and it's worth what you paid for it.

Our failures to convert in the redzone killed us. The whole situation just stunk to high heaven.

The issue I have here is this: we realize things are broken defensively. Okay, if I say it's CWM and you say it isn't, it doesn't matter. The main issue that we need to address is HOW IS IT GOING TO GET FIXED? Frankly, I don't think you fix a failing system by keeping on the person that has been running it for the last four years. When CMR brought Martinez on, in 2005, the Dawg's finished with the 8th ranked defense in the nation. That's great, however, part of being a good coach is making the adjustments to stay ahead of the curve when the opponents make adjustments to your defensive scheme. I haven't seen that out of him. I've seen the same old tired, predictable defense in every game.

But let's grant you that Martinez stays (as Richt says he will). What will be different next year? Gauging by his track record, what possibly will we see different out of Martinez's defensive game plans that we didn't see this year that will translate into success for the Dawgs in 09'?

prozack, I still think the DC is ultimately responsible for an underperforming defense, whether it's his schemes or the players not performing, but I can see what you're saying.