Mr. Hale Asks, BUI Attempts to Answer

On the 17th day of our Lord, 2010, David Hale poses five questions regarding Mark Richt’s 10th Georgia Bulldog squad. Still nursing the lower half of the finest gift BUI has received in days, and an empty house, I attempt to answer young Hale’s reasoned questions.
Five questions: Georgia football – University Of Georgia – Macon.com

Georgia is just three weeks into its off-season, but it already HAS been a wild run. With players leaving early for the NFL and new coaches arriving from the pros, there are plenty of questions facing the 2010 Bulldogs. Here are five that might well define how far Georgia can go in the coming season.

David does a great job of setting up the questions, please be sure to click through.

1. Can Georgia close strong on the recruiting trail?

David brings up the loss of BJ Butler. I am planning on a post about Mr. Butler, criticizing his decision. I do not know what effect the Willie firing had on Butler, nor do I care. The reality is, the firing of Willie, the down season, and the muckrakers are bound to effect recruiting. Honestly, we can handle a year below our normal recruiting prowess.

We will probably still be in the top 20 unless we experience defections Ray Goff never encountered. The cupboard is nowhere near bare. We are stocked with young, all be it inexperienced talent at one pivotal position, talent. If we take a hit, it will be on the defensive side of the ball. I am a homer, but if they don’t want to be Dawgs, or if Charlie Strong being a head coach makes a difference, good riddance.

Grantham is bringing a defense that allows players to make plays. Our defense still plays in the SEC on CBS. Charlie Strong and BJ Butler will be relegated to Thursdays on a Big East reclamation project. 2009 was an aberration for Georgia, 8-5 is a goal for Louisville. Intelligent recruits will receive and understand that message.

2. Does Georgia have the personnel for a 3-4 defense?

I am not concerned at all with personnel. Georgia has always run a 4-3. Georgia has always supplied the NFL with 3-4 personnel. We have them on campus now, we have the recruiting grounds to stock the future. This is a non-issue for me. Our only challenge in the near term is the learning curve.

3. Who’s playing quarterback?

I have all the confidence in the world in both of the youngsters. If Aaron Murray is not the man, that means that Zach Mettenberger is. I have never seen Murray play. I have read a lot about his high school career and was left impressed. I have watched his body language during games and seen last year’s G-day game. I am impressed. He appears to have made his claim to the job and is going to force someone to take it away from him. If Zach is able to do so, we will be fine. My money is firmly on Aaron at this point.

4. Can the Bulldogs turn two divergent halves of 2009 into a complete performance in 2010?

I place the answer to this question firmly in Mike Bobo’s lap. As y’all know, I am a Bobo fan, however I was none too happy with his play calling in the first half of last year. His infatuation with “balance” for the sake of balance was just terrible. Furthermore, leave the spread to mobile quarterbacks. I may regret saying that due to Murray’s athleticism, but we didn’t change our identity because Shockley was a capable runner.

Our goal should be to run first, but take what the defense is giving us. Our goal should never be to let the stat sheet dictate our next offensive series or play call.

If we are committed to establishing the running game as the foundation of our offense, the running game will thrive and AJ Green will flourish as well. If everybody in the stadium knows our goal is to get the ball to AJ, we are going to have problems.

If we get cute and try to out-scheme the other coaches by having a new identity every week out dependent upon the defense we are opposing, we are going to have problems.

If we do what we do, and do it with conviction, we will run the ball well and be fine. Running the ball well will open up the air attack and everybody will get their numbers. Balance will ultimately be achieved over the course of the season. Balance over the course of a quarter, or a possession, is a fruitless endeavor.

Having said that (h/t Larry David), I trust Bobo will be committed to the run and we will excel at it.

5. Will the numerous changes at Georgia mean a better Bulldogs team or just a different one?

Apparently David Hale ranked these questions inversely, #5 is the money question and the toughest. I really don’t know the answer. I do believe a floor has been placed under next season. I do believe the potential is limited only by our quarterback play.

Todd Grantham is not a panacea for problems beyond his control. I expect the defense will be vastly improved. I expect the defense will improve for years to come and next year will only be a glimpse of what the future holds. I am not sure we will be playing championship caliber defense in Grantham’s first year.

I do expect the defense to be the more consistent squad when compared to the offense. Breaking in a new quarterback and a new defense at the same time is going to be something. Both units are going to have their WTF moments. Grantham’s gang is going to make more positive plays than our new quarterbacks arm. All the confusion our defenders will endure learning their new system will amount to nothing when compared to what our opponents are having to deal with.

The majority of production we get out of the new QB is going to be due to AJ awesomeness, not the QB’s talent. All I want from the QB is to protect the ball, make a few third down conversions and not get us beat. I am content to live and die with our running game and our defense.

Sorry, AJ, I love you and all, but the teams success has to come before your numbers. Stick around for another year and let a more seasoned quarterback throw the ball to you and you can shatter all kinds of records.

I don’t know what we are capable of, but I know the window is open as far as the SEC East is concerned. Great defense can win a championship almost by itself. An adequate defense and a strong running game is a lethal combination. If our quarterback can convert some third and sixes at a decent clip and our defense can hold the other team under 25 a game, we can visit the Georgia Dome again.

Win lose or draw, recruiting will not be a problem if that happens.

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