Takeaways from Neyland:
1. Really good crowd, not quite great. Student section was lite around the band and there were plenty of seat to be had in the upper deck. Lots of UGA fans but not as many as Bama brought last year. Neyland was rocking through 3 quarters and that had to be great for the recruits to see.
2. I thought 18 played excellent considering he’s a true freshman and was squaring off against an elite team. He played confidentially and threw the ball better than I thought he could. Looking forward to seeing him progress, and hope he stays healthy.
3. Our D, especially up front, is just not good enough right now. We had no pass rush, which allowed Fromm to pick apart our secondary, which I thought by and large played well. Most of their big gashes in the run game came straight up the middle. They didn’t test our edges much. To play better D, we’ve got to get better pass rush and be better up the middle.
4. I thought Georgia looked really good, but I don’t think they are in the same class as Bama or Clemson this year. Maybe not the same class as OSU, OU and some others too. I think Florida and Auburn can both beat them.
5. Why aren’t we getting Ty Chandler more involved? Jordan was our leading rusher. Chaney has to find ways to get Chandler the ball in space. Grey too.
6. I think our Oline has improved enough that it would be fair to say they are an average group for SEC standards. Could finish the season above average.
7. Josh Palmer. Paging Josh Palmer. Where’s he been at? We need someone else to take the top off the D.
8. I like our young secondary. UGA is lite at WR, but our corners played really well I thought. Most of uGA’s best gains came over the middle, linebackers and NW are not good in pass coverage. I wonder how secure NW’s spot is back there.
9. Our game plan offensively was good. Aggressive. I think the coaches did all they could. Even on defense we had the right calls, just couldn’t get pass rush or push. Jimmies and Joes needed.
10. All in all, I think we saw a lot of encouraging things in this ball game. We are a long way from where we need to be, but perhaps some of the pieces are falling into place. Corner looks like a spot we are going to be solid at moving forward, OL too. Hopefully we’ve found ourselves a QB. Finally, shout out to JG for taking it like a man, not getting down, and supporting his teammates. He showed maturity tonight. We will need him again this season. He needs to keep his head on straight.
1. After seeing all the b****ing online, I didn't expect this. Our crowds have been awesome!
2. Just as important, I understand that he is being a true leader, and the players are rallying around him.
3. Just wait till next year. Hopefully, it will get better this year, but it is hard to expect much (enough).
4. We always seem to do well against UGA. I think they are in the same class as those others, maybe not better than, but close enough to be able to beat any of them on a given day. Florida is obviously better than predicted, especially with their QB upgrade.
5. I think Jordan got most of his yards on that last drive. It was tough going, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.
6. Part of the necessary youth movement.
10. If if's and buts were candy and nuts...I get it. We lost by 29 points...but you take away the last 2 minutes of the first half, and the blitz/fumble/ref interference/td with 4:39 to go in the game, and we lose 22-14, having a chance to tie it with under 5 minutes to go in the game.
I have 2 primary observations:
1. We have a youth movement going on right now. I think the (diehard) fans and players can feel it. After we lose to Bama, things may really start looking up.
2. We are where we have been for the last decade, for the most part. We now have a pretty good team of starters, but we don't have the quality depth we need. It is coming, but we are not there yet.
3. (I know I said 2) As our DLine shows the most, we have got to continue to spend extra time in the weight room. That is the only way we are going to be able to go toe to toe with the elite teams that we find ourselves up against in the SEC.