Why Saturday should determine James Coley's future at Georgia
Win or go home.
That should be the mindset for Florida and Georgia when they square off Saturday in Jacksonville in what’s essentially a de facto SEC East Championship.
And it should also be the mindset for Georgia offensive coordinator James Coley.
Kirby Smart isn’t going to come out and say it, so I will — Coley should be coaching for his job against Florida.
Does that mean he’ll be fired on the spot if the Dawgs come up short for the first time in 3 years? No. But should he be let go at season’s end if it’s a loss and Georgia is held under 24 points for the 4th time in the past 5 games vs. Power 5 opponents? Yes.
I realize I’m preaching to the choir here. Georgia fans weren’t shy about their feelings for Coley and the offense when the boo birds rang down from the home crowd in each of the past 2 games. I’m usually not a part of the “fire this guy” choir. More times than not, that take is a bit too reactionary. That’s why I felt the need to say this now and not shortly after possibly watching Georgia’s offense sputter in a losing effort Saturday.
There are the obvious reasons why Saturday is massive for Coley. The Florida rivalry, the division title defense, the Playoff push, etc. That won’t be lost on anyone who tunes in.
But for fun (probably not so fun for Georgia fans), let’s think about this scenario playing out.
Coming off a bye week and a pair of uninspiring offensive performances — don’t use weather as an excuse for South Carolina, too — Coley will have had ample time to go back to the drawing board. At least he better. It’s no secret that the predictability of his offense needs to be, um, lower. If it’s not, Todd Grantham’s defense, which returns the likes of All-SEC caliber pass-rushers Jon Greenard and Jabari Zuniga, will devour Coley’s vanilla offense.
The Gators are easily the highest-ranked scoring defense that Georgia has seen all year at No. 12 (next highest is Notre Dame at No. 29). That’s for a group that’s been banged up dealing with injuries to the aforementioned Greenard and Zuniga, as well as an early-season injury to shutdown cornerback CJ Henderson. The Gators weathered the storm with their injuries, including the one to their starting quarterback, Feleipe Franks.
That’s another thing to take into account Saturday. How awful of a look would it be for Coley if Kyle Trask significantly outplayed Jake Fromm? It’ll be a matchup of someone who came into this year having not started a game since 2011 compared to the preseason first-round draft prospect. If it looks like Fromm can’t find an open receiver while Trask is throwing into open windows all afternoon, yikes.
Fire up the CBS shots of a nervous Coley mumbling his frustration into his headset.
I know what you’re thinking, Georgia fans. Why so negative? What if this scenario doesn’t happen?
After all, this was the game in which Georgia turned it around last year. Coming off the LSU loss in which Jim Chaney’s play-calling was public enemy No. 1, the Dawgs found their offensive groove in the 2nd quarter against Florida. It was the turning point in the season when Fromm started connecting with Isaac Nauta for completion after completion.
The Isaac Nauta Drive pic.twitter.com/FnKMMq9mn4
— SEConCBS (@SEConCBS) October 27, 2018
Maybe Fromm and Eli Wolf will have that kind of moment Saturday. Perhaps the possible return of Lawrence Cager will spark the offense.
Something has to.
And I suppose the thing that needs to be sparked is the passing game. D’Andre Swift is still the dude leading the No. 6 Power 5 rushing offense. Among Power 5 backs with at least 80 rushes, Swift ranks 4th with 6.8 yards per carry. Swift isn’t in search of a midseason turnaround like he was heading into the Florida game last year. He’s coming off a season-high 179 rushing yards in a game in which he was the entire offense for Georgia.
So imagine if even Swift looks like he’s running into a brick wall every time against that impressive Florida front 7. Yikes for that, too.
That’s the biggest frustration that Georgia fans should have. The weapons are there. Fromm and Swift are proven players who could be in their final seasons in Athens.
Everyone knows about the inexperience at receiver. But why has it been so difficult to scheme open looks for George Pickens and Demetris Robertson? That can’t all be on their route-running, can it? They were 5-star recruits for a reason. There should still be ways to get them the ball in space against SEC defenses.
At the same time, I wouldn’t bet on them getting open against Henderson and Marco Wilson. I’d feel more confident betting on Mullen scheming a big play for Kadarius Toney, who is expected to play in his first game since suffering a shoulder injury in Week 2.
That’s the thing I keep coming back to. If there’s a notable disparity between Mullen and Coley as a play-caller in a losing effort, forget about it. There’s nothing Coley should be able to do to save his job. He’ll have been at least partially responsible for Georgia not reaching the high preseason bar it set for itself. The Dawgs won’t be playing for an SEC Championship or a possible Playoff berth, and it won’t be the Dawgs’ No. 5 scoring defense that’s too blame (though I realize Smart would understandably take a bunch of grief if that were to happen).
It wasn’t long ago that Georgia fans were counting their lucky stars that Chaney was off to Tennessee and Coley was taking over the offense. Times have changed. Let’s see if Georgia’s offense can finally change, too.
If not, well, a change should be coming at season’s end.
The article should say why this Saturday and NEXT Saturday and the following Saturday and the Saturday of the CootU game and the Saturday of the BlueTickHumperU game have put my Leghumpers at such a huge disadvantage by the SEC scheduling committee allowing FIVE SEC teams to play the Dawgs coming off BYE weeks while GatorbaitorU and WarBuzzardU face ONE.
Coley, while appearing uninspiring and vanilla with his play calling, was clearly set up for failure by someone in charge of SEC scheduling and it is a travesty that never gets talked about.
Our season is over as far as CFP aspirations go, win or lose this weekend in Jxvlle no way they survive 3 more BYE teams. The skewed schedule will see to that. That being said, my Leghumpers will leave the battle by the river with a 6 point victory, even though they are ranked 8th and GatorbaitorU 6th (how in the hail is the higher ranked team a 5.5 point underdogs???) Go Dawgs!
“how in the hail is the higher ranked team a 5.5 point underdogs”
Because people who bet on games don’t care about rankings. And point spreads are determined by how the public bets.
How about the initial point spread before the wagers commence? I hear it STARTED at 6.5…for the underdog dawgs!
The schedule has nothing to do with poor play calling.
It kind of does. Every Saturday, we know Coley will call a poor game on schedule.
That’s how we’re going to beat Florida. They will expect Coley to use his two weeks to come up with an effective game plan and creative plays. Little do they know that Coley’s master plan is to come out and run it up the middle. Over and over and over. They’ll never see it coming. In all seriousness, I bet we beat Florida and we throw it less than 15 times.
Dont disappear if this dosnt happen.
I’ve never disappeared. And I will give you credit – after the past two beatdowns, neither did you.
SEC scheduling travesty never gets talked about, thanks for validating the point…
Waaaaah. Scheduling…. Talk to me when you get a schedule as nasty as South Caroliney’s or Texas A&M’s this year. Florida gets screwed over getting nothing but night games when it plays AT LSU, but every single year save 1 in the past 2 decades when Florida gets to host the game, they get a 3:30 kickoff instead. I believe 2008 was the last time Florida had a home night game for LSU and it really is that bad. In that same 2 decades, I believe LSU has only had 2 instances where they didn’t get the benefit of an evening kickoff at home. Florida fans have been screaming about that nonsense for many years now and it never gets fixed. Everyone gets screwed over in scheduling. Look at Tennessee for crying out loud. They NEVER catch a break. Either they are playing an away game in front of a hostile crowd, or they are playing at home in front of inbred doofuses who are lucky if they are smart enough to be able face the field itself during the game. When has Vandy ever had a real home game? I mean a home game where they actually have more fans in their own stadium than the visiting team does.
Georgia fans have absolutely had it with this guy. The rumor is that Coley was relieved of his playcalling duties about midway through the 3rd quarter against Kentucky, and Sam Pittman started calling plays. That’s when we started running outside the tackles… and scored touchdowns on three consecutive possessions.
We don’t need to pay an OC a million dollars a year to call the same inside runs over and over and over.
I heard the same thing. I hope it’s true and I hope some sort of lesson was learned from it.
Gosh – I hope this is true!
I also hope our WR coach is pouring over film with our young WR core to coach up better separation; without it, Fromm cannot pass. Cager is definitely an asset, if he is healthy.
This not true.
Curtis Lowe- what is not true?
How common is it for O-line coaches to call plays or become OC?
I’ve been sort of wondering what’s keeping him around UGA now that Chaney is gone. He’s one of my favorite coaches on staff, hope he doesn’t go anywhere.
I would like to point out that if Georgia’s bar is set so low, I’m even capable of calling nothing but running plays between the tackles all game long. I can give my two weeks notice tomorrow if Georgia has some more of those multi million $$$ coaching contracts to offer to any joe off the street.
I was done with Coley after SC. Only 1 TD against SC???? There are much better OC’s available that have done more with less available. He was an experiment and he failed. I expect him to be gone at the end of the season. It’s too bad because this offense has a lot of firepower, just need some that knows how to use it.
Technically 2 TDs but I get the point. He needs to have a plan in place for Fromm when the defense drops 7-8 players because it looks like Fromm has NO IDEA what to do in those spots.
He knows what to do but they won’t let him do it. They give him 2-3 plays to check to but it’s never the right ones. Don’t ask him to look over to the sideline after he makes his read of the defense and he’ll be his own offensive coordinator
Yes, those interceptions, fumbles and missed field goals are all on Coley
No, but running the same plays and the vanilla offense is! We were way to predictable. Everyone else sees the problem. What cloud are you on?
And yet we still should have won if our aces come thru…that is what makes college football so exciting I suppose, the perfect storms…
How many coverage sacks and interceptions occurred because the receivers ran the same routes they have been running all season? That’s coaching.
Yes yeeeeesss. Let the hate flow through you. Give yourself to the dark si Oops. sorry. I’m just enjoying watching Dawg fans go at each other’s throats for the first time in a year or two and not everyone else’s. Good times man. Good times….
I think he’s done regardless.
I would be lieing if I said All the crap UGA fans gave us for paying Chaney makes the situation there pretty satisfying. We learned the very hard way to be careful what you wish for. after the first few games Corch sounding off about how “I told you Chaney was garbage I predicted this I am the greatest…” screaming every other post about how bad Chaney was makes your current situation even more satisfying. We started out with some doubt and frustration but it looks more and more like it just took a few games for Chaney to feel his way with this team. Who knows maybe coley will call a great game and you best Florida but today I feel like we definite got the better end of the deal.
Oops “doesn’t make the situation satisfying “
So because Coley is bad that means Chaney isn’t? Chaney chose to start JG going into this season, that says everything you need to know about him and his knowledge of football.
Trask is better than Franks. What does that say about Dan?
Actually your post says all u need to know about what you know about Chaney and G. You think Mullen would not have started G? So would Saban or any other coach.
I think in Tennessee situation, who starts at QB does not matter too much. When the whole team plays good, QB plays decent. When the whole team plays horrible, I don’t see anyone in their QB room can save the game.
Gatorpyp that is fair. No argument here.
Hey fuzzyhole. This is not the ” my team won a game this weekend and we are back” page. What you are talking about has nothing at all to do with the article. Jim Chaney sucks regardless of what is going on in Jawga.
You suck acorn. Always gavecand always will.
Good one. I have never heard the term “gavecand” Is that German for Georgia State or BYU?
Chaney is not an Elite OC,Georgia had the talent to overcome his ineptitude,period.Glad he is at Rocky Top and not in Athens.
I miss Mike Bobo, not Jim Chaney. You can have his obese rear end.
Lot of truth in this one…
Ahhh Bobo. My Dream Team would Be Kirby(HC), Bobo(OC) and Muschamp(DC). But then I wake up and we run up the middle to a 9 man front again.
Seems like I recall a fair amount of anti-Bobo sentiment a while back?
I know. Georgia fans aren’t always sane.
LOL
Totally understand.
fuzzyvol01, The problem with Chaney was his offenses were too predictable, and then every now and then he would call something different (something that made no sense) and it would blow up in a bad way and cost us the game.
Funny thing is Coley is the same with being too predictable.
But despite all the negativity, Ga’s offense actually has gained 7 yards more per game than they did in Chaney’s last season in Athens.
My point is Coley is way too predictable, but so was Chaney.
Maybe Chaney will get it straight and with more time be able to install more plays, and maybe he won’t. But, give Chaney more time, another season or two and he will likely get more predictable just like he was in Athens. It’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks. I bet Chaney has the same problem at UT. Just give it time…
Maybe Rupert but right now he is doing just fine. Wasn’t trying to troll but the irony here is thick.
he forgot to mention Georgia’s defense is ranked number 5 and the gators haven’t seen anything close to that
Quite down in the back with that logic crap!
Also, UGA hasn’t seen anything close to UF’s offense with Trask at QB. It’s going to be a good one on Saturday!
I really hope he channels his inner Franks and gives UGA the ball at least 3 times.
Funny, I feel so much better about the Gators with Franks out. They have to get Perine going to win the game. It should be really good. No predictions but I am a long time Gator fan.
Bro the gators have went to death valley played Delpit Fulton Stingley and co
Also faced Derrick Brown Marlon Davidson maybe
So beat DL and best DBs
All while yall played bottom feeders whole schedule minus ND and after a 30 pt loss to michigan nobody cares about them now
Do u really think ur gonna flip a switch and shut down an offense clicking like it hasn’t since 08
You and your ancient offense is so hard to defend kentucky shut u out for 2 and half quarters
Except, we have…
Seriously? You are trying to compare Georgia’s defense to the likes of Auburn’s? Say what you will about how Auburn’s season has gone, but they are heads and shoulders above everyone else in the SEC when it comes to their defense.
The biggest issue that I see with Coley is that he got promoted based on his ability to recruit instead of his ability to call plays. Miami fans despised him when he was there under Al Golden because his schemes were so vanilla. He’s running the exact same offense, but with more talent at UGA.
Any SEC OC that can only get into the endzone only once against Muschamp should be fired at the end of the season. Someone should have looked at his Miami resume better.
GatorFan9696 hit the nail on the head.Coley was promoted due to his recruiting prowess. Getting all of the right weapons is useless if you don’t know how to use them.
This is exactly why you’d have to be crazy to think he’s going to come out with some new innovative game plan after a bye week. He was hearing the same rumblings from Cane fans about his play calling and the only reason he wasn’t fired is because Golden was fired first and he “left” for UGA. You’d think between that job and this job he’d learn from his mistakes, but obviously he hasn’t, so there’s no reason to believe he’s suddenly going to now with only 2 weeks to do so.
He’s not a McGee or Pittmann level recruiter, though, which makes everything make even less sense.
He apparently has large connections to the south Florida area
So did Randy Shannon, which is why we hired him as DC and you see how well that worked out when he was our DC. Basically, you should avoid hiring anyone who has been with Miami at any point since 2002.
My friends and I used to call Randy Shannon’s Gator defense, Candy Randy & The Marshmallow Men.
Teams that play man, with good to great corners are going to challenge both the WRs and Fromm to make plays over the top and dragging across the middle. In both the SC game and the KY game those throws were there on occasion. We win in regulation if Fromm hits Swift coming out the backfield. FL…like SC…like LSU last year will challenge Fromm to beat us with his arm and legs. If he is what he was made out to be his freshman year, he will step up and we will win. If not, I will return to hear the complaints about how there weren’t WRs running wide open for Fromm to play pitch and catch with.
Most everyone has burned SC’s safeties this year….except us.
Burned where? Across the deep middle? On verticals? Burned while they were playing zone?
Tennessee did it last week. Go look at Jennings and Callaway. The safeties were constantly out of position, or simply getting beat…seen it all year. Alabama ate their lunch, all day.
Trask had a 64% completion rate and threw for 200 yards and 4 TDs in the rain when he was clearly struggling with gripping the ball. Would’ve been far worse if he was throwing in good weather and playing them at home.
Can’t reply to your post below. I’m asking you what kind of routes were the safeties burned on and if they were playing tight man or not.
A freaking men. I’ve been saying it since SC. Fromm hasn’t been going through his reads very well when the defense drops 7-8. It’s happened in every loss. The defense plays press man, Fromm sits back there and spins the ball in his hands for 5 seconds, pumps a few times, and then runs for a 2 yard gain. he won’t give his guys the chance to make a play unless they have 5 yards of separation. The thing is that he can fit that ball where he needs to. He just needs to DO IT. Half the time when you throw deep against press man coverage you’ll get a PI called anyways.
100% agree on Fromm throwing to Swift to be a key for UGa success. That’s my biggest concern.
Coley vs Mullen. Someone is about to be outcoached.
It’s actually Coley versus Grantham and Mullen versus Lanning. Know who I’m taking in those match-ups.
I know what happens if Grantham can push Fromm to have to throw at least 30 times in the game. Slowing down the dawgs rushing attack has been stressed a time or two these past 2 weeks.
Not many have got the best of Lanning and Kirby this year. The only thing is that they might not need much the way the offense is playing. Grantham is going to have to fight the urge to blitz though (I’d like to see him try not to blitz, like an addict refusing crack) because when teams blitz Fromm, he kills them. He has a hard time when you give him time and make him try to find the most perfect throw.
Grantham has been far less aggressive this year than years past. He’s blitzing a lot less and seems to be getting better at calling them at the right times.
Joe Marks is right. I’ve been surprised at how little Grantham has blitzed this year.
Ya I agree Joe & Nash. That’s what you can do when you get pressure with 4 which is why Greenard and Zu are so important
The good thing for Florida is, with Greenard and Zuniga back (at least so we are TOLD) for the game, Grantham doesn’t have to rely on blitzing to put pressure on the QB. We didn’t have either of our star pass rushers against LSU and you saw how badly we played. Grantham had to put 4 or 5 to rush every down and that basically left everyone else in pass coverage, so there was never anyone guarding against the QB draw and LSU gutted Florida for it. With only having to rush Greenard and Zuniga, there will be a lot more that UF can do defensively. Of course, this all comes down to, IF Florida gets both players back. We heard that both would be good to play for LSU, and neither could play. We heard possibly South Carolina, and nope again. High ankle sprains have a way of just destroying one’s season.
I agree that Coley was probably promoted because of his south Florida recruiting ties. That and Georgia’s lack of willingness, for whatever reason, to pay assistant coaches.
But you Georgia fans might want to consider that it doesn’t take an offensive genius to throw the ball more and run more sweeps. With all due respect, there just might be a teensy weensy chance that:
1. Kirby Smart has dictated the general offensive philosophy, and
2. They are running a play mix that masks their current offensive weaknesses.
Dictating an offensive philosophy isn’t the same as calling plays. If Smart wants to by physical and attack defenses with a power run scheme, there are various ways to do that other than interior runs up the middle. And every play caller in America (even your beloved Mullen) calls plays that mask offensive weaknesses and seeks to exploit strengths.
*be physical
Agreed. I’m not defending Coley. I’m suggesting that the buck stops with Smart.
UGA is averaging 473 offensive yards per game. Florida is averaging 420.
So what’s Mullen’s excuse?
Are we really comparing top ranked defenses such as Miami, LSU, and Auburn to teams like Arkansas St, Murray St, and Vanderbilt?
Vandy scored 38 on LSU and 6 on UGA.
You got anything else?
If you think LSU’s defense is “top ranked” you need, to start looking at stats from 2019, not 2003.
LOL!!! Vandy got to 38 against LSU’s 4th stringers. LSU is ranked 24th in total defense and powerhouse Vandy is sitting at 114th. You got anything else?
I wasn’t saying Vandy’s defense is good. You missed the point.
The point is that LSU’s defense hasn’t been great. Last I checked, #24 isn’t “top ranked”.
Anyhoo, about 7PM Saturday, everyone will suddenly remember why Trask’s been a bench-warmer for 7 years.
You missed my point. You’re comparing UGA’s offensive yards per game stats with Florida’s, repeating it several different times actually, and then asking what’s Mullen’s excuse. An extra 53 yards per game when Mullen’s faced far better defenses, isn’t something worth bragging about, especially when you’ve got a “first rd Qb” whose thrown for 15 more yards and 5 less TDs than a 7 year “bench warmer” with 1.5 less games played. You’re in for a rude awakening if you think Trask is going to show why he’s been a career backup. We’ve been hearing that for 5 straight games now.
Explain this one, Joe. FROM THE DID YOU KNOW file in Season 2010 TrunksnorterU faced not 5 BUT 6 SEC teams coming off BYE weeks that year after winning the BCS the year before (you’d think Kirby would have been Smart enough to remember that!)…anyway, would you like to guess Bama’s record that year and ironically WHO they lost to? Hint, LSU, Auburn and???
Also, because of that unjust disparity in creating a level playing field, for extra credit, can you tell me what actions TrunksnorterU took to insure that travesty in scheduling never happens again? Yet here we are…
Leghumper, if you want to blame scheduling for the 3 losses instead of the fact that Bama lost all but 2 starters on defense from the national title team, then feel free if it makes you feel better. The fact of the matter is, if your team is good enough to win a title, then they’ll win it no matter what the schedule looks like.
Oh and to answer your question, they lost to a ranked South Carolina team on the road, not to a 2 win team at home.
So then even 4 and 5star loaded teams have down years eh, interesting. Say it ain’t so Joe, but moving along here’s one follow up question, name the last national champion that faced more than 3 bye week teams…here’s a hint, no records of this ever happening can currently be found…Clemson did it once but one of those teams they also had a bye so it was only a two game skew.
UGA has a bye the same week to of the teams you’re crying about has a bye before UGA… So technically it’s a 3 game skew…
Two*
As far as Florida averaging 420 yards a game and uga 473, Mullen doesn’t need an excuse. Florida has gone up against the #1 defense in the SEC with Auburn already. LSU’s defense has been coming alive the 2nd half of the season and really played havoc against what Florida could do. Also please note Florida lost it’s starting QB in week 3 as well as it’s most explosive player in game #2 of the season. To my knowledge, UGA hasn’t lost any critical players on it’s offense this year so far, though I may be wrong there. Let’s also throw in the fact that UGA has a much more established offensive line and Florida was replacing 4 of it’s 5 to start this year and that has not been easy.
Finally I would like to toss out the fact that Georgia commands a rather sizable talent advantage currently over Florida.
Btw has Georgia faced any good defenses yet this year at all? South Carolina would probably be the best one, so my question is, why is Georgia only averaging 473 yards a game and not closer to 673?
Point 1 grommit, Not sure your basis for numero uno SEC defense. If we’re talking yards per game actually WarBuzzardU is SEC 6th. LeghumperU 1st, ShowMeKatU 2nd, TrunksnorterU 3rd PurpleBogKatU 4th GatorbaitorU 5th.
I’ll concede that playing against Auburn LSU and Kentucky defenses at this stage is more impressive than going against Kentucky Tenn and Notre Dame.
Point 2, Franks should never have been your starter, poor coaching decision. The better QB is now playing.
Point 3, overall I agree we hold the overall talent edge however it your GatorbaitorU team is clearly the elite team at the receiver position simply from a maturity standpoint. That edge, like so many others Florida once held, will dissipate in the next year or so.
As for your final point, run first teams to average 473 yards is about as good as it gets, RPO and spread teams with elite receivers on the other hand probably should be averaging 673, what’s your team’s excuse?
Looking forward to seeing a great and competitive game this Saturday! Hopefully injuries to both sides will be minimal and my Leghumpers will prevail. Go dawgs!
UGA wasn’t willing to pay Chaney a billion dollars to run that same offense again.
Agreed. But that didn’t prevent Smart from going out and hiring the best OC he could find. And with Georgia’s roster, he wouldn’t have had to pay what Chaney was being offered by Tennessee.
Smart clearly places a premium on recruiting ability, at the expense of coaching ability.
Yeah, I really wish a more thoughtful and comprehensive search for OC was conducted. There’s no way Coley was the best option available, even for the scheme Smart wants to run.
Yep I could of made a better hire
Hell frickin Orgeron was smarter then king kirby going after pass game coordinator for saints
But kirby loves his 5 stars and used car salesmen recruiting
“used car salesmen recruiting”… not really…
Yeah I’m pretty sure all the cars those 5* recruits get at Georgia are brand new.
Ah yes, the “Kirby must be sleazy and/or cheating to be recruiting so well” line of thought.
“But you Georgia fans might want to consider that it doesn’t take an offensive genius to throw the ball more and run more sweeps. With all due respect, there just might be a teensy weensy chance that…”
Have you not heard the boos and constant criticism? You’re not the first person to provide suggestions for our playcalling.
It’s definitely on Kirby. He hires the OC to call the game how he wants it.
Yet he insisted that Mel Tucker was calling the defense before he left?
Seems like he should hand off the offense too.
Starting to sound like Muschamp’s sins while at UF. As HC, he kept bringing in “good OCs”, but the O still stank year after year.
Myschamp was getting in the way. Should’ve let a good OC be a good OC.
Exactly what I was thinking GatorRob. I think it’s too early to definitively say that’s what’s happening but if the offense looks the same next year…
I’m gonna bring up something that hasn’t been brought up by anyone I’ve seen yet… I miss Lamont Gaillard. Trey Hill is fine but he isn’t getting the push and opening holes the way that Gaillard used to. Everyone complains about the runs up the middle but Trey Hill is letting a pile-up happen there every time, while Gaillard moved that pile somewhere else. The main blame still lies on Coley if he hasn’t recognized that running behind Hill isn’t going to always be successful like it was with Gaillard.
Also the receivers are creating separation just fine.
I agree. There are reports that Cade Mays has been working at Center a lot since the Kentucky game.
I wonder how many of those inside runs are “checks” by Fromm. He has been touted for changing plays at the line of scrimmage.
This is a very good point
Uhh maybe because Georgia offense look like fla in the muschamp yrs lol maybe a bye week can fix it
UGA is averaging 473 yards total offense. Florida is averaging 420.
About 7pm Saturday, everyone will remember why Trask hadn’t started a game since middle school.
Dude c’mon, there’s no way you think Trask is going to actually be terrible. He has shown against good D’s (probably not UGa level but definitely good D’s) that he’s going to put up good numbers. That’s cause Mullen puts him in position to succeed and makes a lot of decisions easy on him. Plus, Trask apparently has been a film junkie which is likely why he’s been so prepared for this starting opportunity.
I have to admit I’ve been impressed with Trask. If Franks were playing I would feel a lot better about this game.
Trask did well enough against Auburn’s defense which is light years better than Georgia’s. Even scored rather well against LSU’s which is playing better than Georgia is right now. Georgia won’t have the home field advantage here either. Given that Florida has 4 very capable receivers to help Trask out and Froom doesn’t have a single one, I think Florida should do just fine Saturday.
We need some cheese to serve with all this whining I’m hearing..UF hasn’t seen a Defense or Running game like they are going to experience Saturday at 330.Dawgs win by double digits again and Uncle Eddie and the s start prepping for next year.
Don’t know what thread you are reading but the only whining so far has been from Georgia fans complaining about Coley and his play calling. We have already faced a defense better than yours yet you haven’t faced one as good as ours so you are being a little delusional as well.
All misplaced talk on your part.
Uh, this article is about Georgia’s OC. And Georgia’s defensive line does not compare to Auburn’s. Auburn’s is the best in the SEC.
And Georgia could have a good day rushing the ball and still lose to the Gators this year.
And yet LeghumperU and ShowMeKatU are the top rated SEC defenses at this point in time so I’ll beg to differ that your GatorbaitorU team hasn’t faced the two best defenses yet…just sayin
Top rated by who? What great offense has Georgia played this year so far? What great defense has Georgia faced for that matter? Georgia has yet to be tested in any way and 2/3 of the football season is over. If South Carolina or Kentucky were the measuring stick for Georgia, the dawgs won’t even score in double digits against Auburn’s defense.
Top rated according to NCAA football stats updated this past Sunday. Not worried about Auburn just yet. Got Florida on my mind. Gonna be a great game.
I don’t care if we break 100 vs Uf. I don’t want Coley back. This type of offense invites yearly upsets. With the talent we’re bringing in we need to be able to be adaptive. We can still be a run first Pro-style offense but when teams load up and sell out to stop the run we have to be creative enough to make them pay. Not run it up the middle 12 times in a row while going 3 & out every other series.
I agree completely, and it also frustrates me that our offense, even when it is clicking, moves so SLOWLY.
Our offense shortens the game, takes the air out of the ball, and puts all of the eggs into the wear-them-down-in-the-4th-quarter basket.
We give our opponents hope deep into the game MUCH too often.
Sounds exactly like the Will Muschamp offenses when he was at Florida. As long as Will is leading on the time of possession, then he feels he is doing enough offensively to win as he will rely upon his defense to limit the other team’s scoring. While it did work 3/4 of the time, those were some of the most boring games to watch in recent Florida history.
If Smart wanted a creative run first offense, he would have made darn sure Fields stayed and we got an OC than incorporates spread concepts. Instead he is trying to win using a methodology that Alabama abandoned because it stopped working (see our NC loss).
FWIW, UGA is averaging 472.9 yards total offense per game. Florida is averaging 420.0.
And I still want Coley to go.
Ahhh, the irony … Weed U averaging 420….
FWIW They haven’t played anybody yet, and still have a loss.
Let me save you some time
Class of 98: (Notre Dame Comment)
Me: (Laugh and talk about Harbaugh Eating his boogers)
Florida gave up big rushing yards to LSU and carolina. GA’s running game is the best in the SEC—and should be able to put up big numbers to control the game. It will be a good game, but Ga’s offensive line should prevail.
It should, except Greenard and Zuniga didn’t play against either of those you mention. Hope Coley & peeps are as overconfident as some of you.
Ahhh. The old “but if (insert injured player’s name here) was playing then (insert imaginary result here)” defense. Classic CO. Keep being you. Never change.
Your argument would be valid if We didn’t beat the team you lost to, and Keep it closer than people thought against the best team in the country. CoastRoad is giving matchup analysis which drastically changes the way the game is played without key players.
It’s CFB. Upsets happen. “We beat this team that you lost to” doesn’t mean anything. I’m just glad those two are healthy so I won’t have to hear excuses when UGA wins on Saturday.
Do you really think you can dismiss this argument when you are talking about pretty much the 2 best edge rushers in the SEC? What Florida was able to do against LSU was pathetic because it was missing it’s pass rush completely. Had to rely on rushing 4-5 and emptying the box as everyone else was in coverage, thus letting LSU run like crazy all day long. Had Florida been able to put pressure on LSU’s QB with it’s normal 3 man front, they would have been able to keep a spy in the box and stop those 20+ yard runs that LSU got away with from start to finish. Keep ignoring the facts though. Injuries are an excuse. Do you think if Georgia was without it’s top 2 running backs, that it would have JUST as good a chance at beating Florida as it would with them?
UGA looks like the more talented team, FLA looks like the better coached team.
Let’s see which one wins out.
They need a few more 5* then they’ll really get it going.
Ga. St.
Shhhhhhh
LOL, Georgia and Kirby’s legion of 5 stars against Mullen and his 3 and 4 stars. Very telling.
Telling how? The last time they met it was 36-17. At this point you have already claimed victory. The game isn’t until Saturday.
OK, how about Kirby and his legion of 5 stars losing to muschump and his 3 stars. Now that is telling
Yeah it was 36-17, but Florida was leading late in the game, was without it’s starting secondary for the entire game, and committed 3 turnovers inside it’s own 20 yardline. Dan Mullen outcoached the pants off of Beaver in that game, despite losing it.
I’ll be honest, I’m worried about Georgia’s talent advantage, just as last year. I and nobody else in the nation is worried about Georgia’s coaching staff in any way.
Scheduling may not influence play calling but it does influence by giving opponents more time to prepare.
Maybe during the bye week someone introduced Coley to the toss-sweep. We’ve got the backfield speed, road-grading hogs, and good blocking receivers. All this elite speed (Swift, Cook, D-Rob), and we constantly pound between the tackles or telegraph another screen.
It may be that those road grading hogs you referred to aren’t very quick at pulling to block on the toss sweeps you pine for. It may also be that your young receivers aren’t very good yet at the blocking those toss sweep require.
Top rushing team in the SEC – the line can seal the backers and the receivers are all good to excellent blockers already. You don’t lead the SEC in rushing without everyone on the unit being good at getting a hat on a hat and sustaining the block. The pieces are all there. Every single back has reliable hands, so the risk of a mishandled toss is pretty low.
Kirby talks about the need to get the ball to our playmakers in space – the toss sweep, as basic as it is, does that. Swift and Cook in particular are lethal on the perimeter. Fromm directed quite a few toss sweeps in ‘17 with Chubb and Michel, so he’s shown he can execute it with skill.
Anyway, it was a rhetorical, tongue-in-cheek comment. The chances of suddenly working a toss play into our offensive ball-protection scheme mid-season are pretty slim.
But Geez, at least run off-tackle every once in a while . . .
Straight ahead blocking, absolutely. Laterally, not so much.
Hammer hits nail on head. Perfect analysis Nash.
As far as “Mullen vs. Coley” determines who wins the “Cocktail Party”=Florida wins, period. Let’s think about the Georgia offensive players giving 100% this year…I have not seen it. They took SC way too lightly, basically did not show up. Plus the Georgia newbie wide receivers have not been gobbling up the receptions, right ? And Jake does not seem like the same guy, somehow. What do you guys think ? We’ll all find out ion Saturday in Jax.
Don’t think for a moment that Georgia will take UF lightly in this game. I’m sure for 2 straight weeks they’ve had it pounded into their heads that this is the entire season. Win this game or don’t even bother suiting up for another the rest of the year because this is win or lose for the East.
Speaking of Cook he seems ripe for the portal
Kirby wasting that man talent just like Fields
Same with a lot of guys imo Robertson was better as true frosh at cal
Trask dropped 21 in a half at death valley in a half while throwing for 300+
Fromm managed 35 but it rained so cant blame him or anybody it was hurricane Katrina out there
No. SC game is reason enough to fire Coley.
^^^^^THIS^^^^^ 100% AGREE!
Can’t blame Coley for the 4 turnovers. Players are responsible for holding on to the football and catching the football.
Cheney is really earning his raise. Whats their record? What I thought
Is Kirby likely second guessing himself about running off Justin Fields and going 100% with Jake Fromm? Why didn’t Fields get more snaps during the season??
Nope. Fromm won the position every practice. Fromm earned the starting WB position, not Fields.
Fields just did not have the college football experience, nor did he have the QB savvy/check down/visual quick thinking mentality at the line of scrimmage.
Same story/excuse I heard about why Franks started every game in front of Trask. Won every practice and had far more college game experience.
It’s the same story you see everywhere. It’s the same reason Eason was starting over Fromm at the beginning of 2017 even though a lot of people were saying Fromm looked better in camp.
I actually was attending Purdue back in the late nineties when Jim Chaney was there with Drew Brees. It was a good time. When he came to UGA, I thought that it was going to be great, and it was for the most part. I thought that he did a relatively good job. I mean the game against Oklahoma was wonderful and so was the championship game until Saban threw in the southpaw reliever. The next year, outside of the LSU game, went well as well. The SEC championship was again a real letdown when that time Saban was forced to relieve the lefty with Hurts. Then Chaney left. I wondered where the creativity went. I did not see the same flair for play calling while he was at UGA as I remembered. Coley gets the job and the talent starts winning. Tennessee was sobering, and South Carolina was maddening. The defense was one thing…the DB’s biting on double moves early in the games, come on. But the defense settled in both times.
The offense was a different matter. Until Kentucky, I do not remember an outside run by a running back. No toss sweep, off tackle, or stretch play was in my recent memory. Jet sweeps are nice, but opponents need to respect a power runner getting to the perimeter. Then I also began to ask myself…isn’t Jake Fromm a respectable passer with good intelligence. Can he make more types of throws than just a wicked back shoulder pass. I watch other games of other teams and wonder why none of the receivers are open, like wide open. (The exception was Swift doing jumping jacks in the middle of the field at the end of the South Carolina game when they were defending the end zone and the sidelines.) It is like the offensive coordinator was not even trying to scheme someone open. In my opinion, lesser quarterbacks were slinging up all sorts of stupid stats because they had guys open everywhere. Fromm looks like he is always trying to throw the ball into coverage. It is not his fault coordinators getting paid six figures cannot see the opposing teams’ coverages and design even one play to exploit it. By the way, everybody knows he can throw the difficult back shoulder, how about a quick slant once in a while. Shoot, just about any idiot with an arm can throw that, and I cannot remember UGA even running that route.
So the questions are…did Chaney forget how to coach or draw plays? Did Coley ever know how to exploit other teams’ defenses? Why did Chaney leave? Is there something else that explains the offensive play calling? I do not know, but could you as the coaches of UGA figure it out already. I want you to win a championship, but you need to beat Florida, and finish off Alabama. None of that requires gimmicks or trick plays, just enough creativity that everyone is unable to predict where the next play is going or what it will be, until we are up by 14+ with four minutes left, and they know the ground express is coming and there is nothing they can do about it.
This is my opinion, and it probably stinks.