Hoping you guys will allow me this. Promise it is not being hostile, just asking a question or two that I think is relevant.
While I enjoy cars of the past, big engines, shifting gears, the roar, how does that play out this day and time with advanced electronics, and every major improvement that can be imagined with body weight, and there is no end to "progress". If we go to the drag strip, the rails and funny cars are nothing like they were not that far back. That is called progress.
Gus Malzahn comes back to the SEC and in his first year takes Auburn to the National Championship. How did that happen? This same group of players could not win a SEC game in 2012. See where this is leading?
Some on this board say that we are a pro style offense and that is what we do best. Well, if that is all we have done for X number of years, guess it is what we do best.
Try this on.
In Athens we have a group of running backs that most agree are as a whole the best in the country. Whatever, we do have a lot of very talented running backs. Just how many of the young players will get snaps . . . . 5, 10 or so snaps a game?
How is it that a "high school coach" came to the SEC and kicked butt? He did, whether any of us like it or not. Took that "nothing" team to Pasadena.
Now I see a young defensive coach that has been given the title of Defensive Coordinator. If we look at what he is trying to do, does not take long to see that another recent "high school coach" is changing the way UGA is going to play defense.
We have talked about speed on this board when referring to our players. That talk did not start last year, was way before that. What we will see under this Defensive Coordinator is "speed" like you and I have not seen in Athens.
grantham had to have that "big guy" in the middle, and for the most part on the defensive line. Won't call names but I watched the "big guys" sucking air soon after the second quarter in a lot of games.
Go back to the offensive side. Looked over some talk on this board that goes back 4 or so years ago. Was mentioned that we should look at more "options" that were met with, should not do that. What has happened in the NFL, seeing more and more of the "college game" being incorporated, the same game that the colleges copied the high schools game plans.
I could take this subject on for hours, will give it this shot.
All of the running backs that Richt said he wanted, injuries and such demanded a certain style of recruiting and play calling. When the hell have we seen something new coming from our offense? Is it a good thing to have great young high schoolers come to Athens and wait for an injury or whatever?
Here is the other side of that coin. There are many that point to the amount of points that UGA has scored using this system (pro style). My question is simply this . . . . where has it gotten us? Not where Gus Malzahn has been in a short time. Not where Nick Saban has been recently. Saban running the same system, but we must remember that he has stronger recruiting classes than we do, year after year.
Will be interesting to see what happens when Auburn comes to Athens in 2014. I don't like Auburn, but I see a team that has less overall talent on the offense than does UGA.
Summation . . . . don't like seeing young players with great talent not being used. grantham and Garner did that on the defensive side. How long have we been in the pro set? When was the last time in the past 13 years that we participated in the National Championship? Close does not count.
Would I change some things with the talent that I see in Athens, yep.
If you take this as being ugly . . . . you are too damn thin skinned.