The Curious Case Of Bobo

This week, I stumbled across some old VHS tapes from my speech class at The University of Georgia dating back to 2001. In those archives, I had written a speech about the firing of former coach Jim Donnan. Aside from the "off the field problems", I highlighted Donnan's abismal record agaisnt rivals Florida, Tennessee, GaTech, and Auburn, along with the poor performance of the offense. As I listened to my own speech, I began to think "dang, am I ever satisfied with the offensive of my team?".

The short answer to that question is this: No, I am the type of personality that is always looking for a way to make things I love better (just ask my wife and kids). Some may say it's a major flaw of mine, but others say it is why they love me. On second thought, I'm an Atlanta Falcons fan, and I tend to like the offensive coordinating of Mike Mularkey; so, there I can be satisfied! :)
I write this blog post today mostly as an answer to a question posed by The Senator over at Get The Picture . This is in response to some comments that went on in one of his post game threads after last Saturday's loss to the LSU Tigers. Linked Here is the article I commented on, and a small portion of the comment thread went a little something like this:

Andy Coleman

Senator, you’re right on about that series being the pivotal point in the game. That series was followed by 3 more just like it, even into the 3rd quarter. Bobo stalled, and the crap hit the fan.

Senator Blutarsky
If you think I’m pinning the loss on Bobo, you’re overstating my point.

Andy Coleman

I know you’re not on the new OC train like I have been for the past four years, I’m just amazed that you admit how crucial it was when we nutted up on that series. Do you recognize that there may be a direct correlation between play calling changing all of the sudden during a game, and Murray going all bankers mid game?

Senator Blutarsky
Both Bobo and Murray were dealing with an offensive line physically challenged all night, running backs who had trouble hitting the holes faster than LSU’s linebackers closed them and receivers who couldn’t hold on to passes to save their lives. I really doubt Murray was thinking to himself on that third down play, “I gotta do something here… Bobo’s playcalling is killing us.” He was just a kid in a pressure situation trying to make a play to help his team. It blew up. Hopefully he’ll learn from his mistake. That’s all I recognize.

Andy Coleman
I bet Murray wondered why he was handing it off up the gut on 1st and 2nd down for the 4th possession in a row, only to have Crowell/Thomas run into a wall. There are ways to neutralize D-lines, and off tackle dives and draws on 1st and 2nd down are not them.

Senator Blutarsky
“There are ways to neutralize D-lines”? How closely were you watching the game? It wasn’t just LSU’s d-line that was an issue. Those linebackers were obscenely fast closing down the gaps. It was clear that Georgia’s running backs weren’t prepared for that. Although to be fair, until you play against them, I’m not sure how you could be prepared.

Andy Coleman
Ok, let me change my post to “neutralize fronts”. Either way, same point. Please understand that I think LSU was a better team than the Dawgs. But, I don’t want that to be the case in a few years. I want what is best for this team, and in my (I’m a virtual nobody, but a loyal alum/fan none-the-less) opinion, Bobo ain’t it! Bobo makes top dollar, and we have proven (Grantham) that top dollar can get you a whole lot more if you pick wisely.

From that point on, there were literally almost 100's of other comments from me, people that think I'm a moron who know's nothing about football, people that agree with me (this fellow "Adam" had some GREAT insight), and even a few more comments here and there from The Senator. If your interested, the comment thread is up to 194 at this time, and there is some fairly great conversation if you pick through the trolls.

It's not posted above, but soon thereafter in the conversation, The Senator called me out and asked "Who’s a “balls out” OC in your mind?", and then several of his blog readers back him up in that notion and dared me to name a possible replacement for Mike Bobo if I am such a genius.

Before I tell you my answer to that challenge, let me take a second to give my true stance on Mike Bobo as the offensive coordinator at The University of Georgia. I sit here today and proclaim that Mike Bobo is not the worst possible choice of OC that we could be graced with at this time, and admittedly so, the man can seemingly call plays with exceptional success from time to time, even for the course of entire games! Take the 2011 Auburn game for example; need I say more? That was a thing of beauty from where I was sitting in the end zone of Sanford Stadium. It's documented in probably 5-10 forums on various blogs that I was stunned at how on fire our offense was coming out of the gate against LSU last Saturday, minus the dropped touchdown passes.

To sum up my thoughts from the SECCG, I'll just post a comment from my ever so popular post after the game:

I did a poor job of fully explaining my qualms with Bobo's play calling on this particular blog because I forget that all readers haven't read all of my posts on UGABlog, where, many times I've given specific analysis of why I think this team deserves a better coordinator. I know that people who get on here and anonymously call me names have not (nor are they going to) read everything I have ever written about Bobo. Those who know me have heard my criticism of Bobo's Gameday coaching for 4 years. Those people also know that Mike Bobo is my 3rd favorite UGA quarterback of all time.

As far as "fault" is concerned, where have I ever said that it was Bobo's fault that we lost. I know why we lost to LSU. They were a much more well-rounded football team that didn't make mistakes or drop touchdown passes.


What I do believe about the SECCG is this: the offensive game plan took a drastic turn late in the first half. At one point, there were 4 straight possessions where we ran it between the tackles on 1st & 2nd down, only to get stuffed and then put Murray's head on a platter on 3rd and long against a pissed off defense full of future NFLers. We had them on the ropes the whole first half, then the script ran out, Bobo got nervous and saw that our defense was playing lights out....then, The Shit Hit The Fan. The only chance in hell the Dawgs had at winning that game was to play balls out on offense until our defense had the game in hand. After our offense and special teams wet the bed, the defense said WTF!

After writing that post, the boys over at DawgSports.com put up an article that explained things better than I could ever dream of, and here is that link in case you're interested; "Improving the Georgia Offense for 2012: a Tough Call".


WHO WOULD BE A POSSIBLE REPLACEMENT FOR OUR NEW OC?

I can honestly say that I have toiled over this question more in the past 3 days than I am proud to admit. It's been to the point that my wife politely requested I stop researching and spend some quality time with the family. It was at that point that I realized I would be wasting my time trying to spit out actual names of who I think would be viable candidates for the OC job at UGA.

The actual conclusion I came to is simple. If I were Mark Richt & Greg McGarity, I would conduct a search for my new OC in the following way. First, I would put the word out on the street that I was looking for a young (sub 50), energetic candidate that has a coaching philosophy similar to that of Steve Spurrier and/or Sean Payton. I'm not saying that my new OC has to run the same offensive scheme as those guys because I tend to love the pro-set (with spread undertones) that we currently run at Georgia. What I'm saying is that I want a guy who is cut in that mold. The kind of guy that lives and breathes offensive adaptation. Adapting to your personell; adapting to your opponent; adapting to the flow of the game; mostly, not set on doing something one way just because that's the way I do it by God.

Now I know for a fact, that after some of my deerest fans read this post, they are going to call me out on some sort of contradiction they feel that is embedded within this post. To that I say, bring it on! Let's just hope that we can get some honest debate instead of all the "douchebag, moron, a$$hole, idiot, etc...". It's not that I can't handle those comments (I am actually genuinely amused by most of them), it's just that I love a good debate better than anything in the world. Especially when it is something I am so passionate about, The Georgia Bulldawgs! So, to all of you that have it in your heads that I am not a "real UGA fan", I wish you could peer in my heart brother because there ain't much I love more in the land than the Dawgs, Bobo or no Bobo!

GATA

Richt, Hire Leach and Both of You Can Find the Promised Land!

Half of you are going to read what I am about to say, and immediately blow it off as "that would never happen". Hear me out, and then give me some reasonable answers as to why?

Mike Leach wants to coach football again. He is, however, on a bit of a "black list" due to the fact that he is suing his former school and ESPN. Most people would agree that he is going to win his lawsuit because he didn't really do anything legally wrong, and the defendants did. Mike Leach is an offensive genius with a very proven record in a high level BCS conference. Flat out, the dude can score some points!

We heard from Mark Richt at his presser this week that some "cutting edge" changes were coming to the UGA football program, right? Well, Mike Leach is just your man to come in and install those changes.

Leach is known for engineering some extremely potent offenses and leading very prolific pass oriented teams. Everywhere he's been, the teams have broken numerous school and NCAA records. At Valdosta State and Kentucky, where he was offensive coordinator under Hal Mumme, developing their famous "Air Raid Offense", at Oklahoma under head coach Bob Stoops, and Texas Tech, where he became head coach in 2000. At Kentucky he tutored prospect Tim Couch into a No. 1 NFL draft pick. At Oklahoma, Josh Heupel became an NFL draft pick following a year under Leach's tutelage. We all know how Graham Harrell prospered at Texas Tech.

I've heard first hand that most people from the program knew these guys wouldn't pan out at the NFL level. They were just products of the nearly unstoppable system, and didn't even make a splash in the NFL. That tells me that Leach obviously got way more out of these guys than most coaches would have.

That being said, Aaron Murray would absolutely thrive under Leach's system, and we have quite a few receivers that could make plays all over the field. How would you like to see Brandon Smith in a Leach scheme? I bet the coach would salivate at the thought of having a weapon like Smith!

I am not out in la la land. I am a realist. I know that Leach would only be a temporary answer, but if Mike Bobo is such the "great coach" that Richt says he is, surely he could learn from Leach and continue the system once Leach leaves for a head coaching job.

Everyone could win from this marriage. Mike Leach could learn a thing or two about Jesus. Mark Richt could revive a struggling program. Todd Grantham could be the first coach to match a good defense while Leach's offense was scoring a million points a game. Mike Bobo could learn what it's like to be a REAL coordinator. UGA could be the talk of the NCAA, counteracting any loss of TV time that ESPN gives the Dawgs for hiring Leach.

What's not to love about signing Leach to a one year $2 million dollar contract? Let me have it anons!

UGA & The Play Action Pass

The play-action pass, when used effectively, can be one of the most valuable offensive tools in all of football. Notice the phrase when used effectively!

I know a little bit about offense schemes, game plans, play design, and all things related to scoring points. I was a 3 year varsity starter in high school; had a few small college offers in football, but pursued baseball instead. Since college, I've coached football teams from peewee level, up to top ranked high school teams. I've never coached in college because I chose not too. Had I felt the passion to do so, I'm sure I could have, but I guess the world will never know.

That being said, I know a good bit about the play-action pass. Plain and simply put, it is a tool used to freeze linebackers and safeties by getting them to bite on a fake to a potential ball carrier. It works great when you use it sparingly, or at the right time. Hell you can even use it a lot if your running game is gashing the opponent on a consistent basis. The problem with UGA's system is that we use play-action pass on more than 90% of our passes, and even when the running game is a non-factor. It's as if we have certain plays that can only be run out of play-action. Why can't the same plays be executed with the quarterback doing a simple 5-step drop?

Thinking from a quarterback's perspective, I love to throw the ball on a straight 5 step drop. Why? When a quarterback doesn't have to worry about the fake, he gets to focus on the safeties and cornerbacks from the moment the ball is snapped. When faking, a quarterback has to take his eyes off the safeties for a moment, and then take to time to find them again after the fake. This may not seem all that difficult, but any quarterback will tell you it makes a world of difference to have to take your eyes off the secondary, and the look up and find the defenders again. Besides finding the secondary, it makes one hell of a difference when it comes to avoiding the rush. Think about it; wouldn't Aaron Murray have stood a better chance at avoiding Nick Fairley's body slams if he saw him coming a second sooner? Yep.

When I went back and watched the Auburn game a second time, I payed close attention to Fairley on every offensive snap. The kid was rarely, if ever, phased by a play-action fake, nor were the linebackers.

What are your thoughts?

Tell Me The Play Calling Didn't Change...

Now that the Dawgs have scored 40+ points for 3 straight weeks, I have backed off good old Bobo the Dodo. Why? Because we have scored 40+ points, duh!

Does that mean that I think Bobo still deserves to lose his OC title? Probably, but, I will hold off until the end of the season before I harp on that point again.

It has been a no-brainer that the playcalling has changed drastically. Is this a product of having AJ Green back? Most likely. If that is so, shame on our staff for having not a clue when the best player is missing. I am just in awe that it took 4 straight losses to figure out that running play action on 95% of our pass attempts is kind of ridiculous, especially when the running game is stinking it up.

The Case For A New Play Caller At UGA

The Facts:
• UGA is (20-12) in the last 4 years in the SEC
• 2-6 over the past 8 games in the SEC
• UGA had inexperienced QBs to start the season in ’06, ’09, and the ’10 season
• Statistical analysis proves we run play action passes when a running game has not been established; at an alarmingly high rate! 20 or so PA passes last Saturday. Read here for a GREAT in depth analysis on last Saturday.
• Bobo had almost no coaching resume before coming to a Top Tier Division I program and getting the OC job.
• Mark Richt was once known as one of the greatest coordinators in college football.
• Matthew Stafford consistently had average at best statistics before being drafted #1 overall by the NFL.

I have read, read, and re-read articles, blogs, and statistical analysis until my eyes have no moisture left in them. I could probably write a 25,000 word essay on why Mike Bobo does not deserve to be the OC at UGA. I have no personal complaints about Mike Bobo the man, I just want what is best for my Dawgs. I feel strongly that March Richt is a superior option as head coach as long as he is willing to make the necessary changes.

It is time to start our search for a new OC. What are the odds that Mike Leach would come help us out for the remainder of the season? Maybe Mark Richt could rub off on the guy and teach him some people skills while he teaches us how to score points.

“Good offensive coaches have good systems. Great offensive coaches have good systems that they constantly adapt to personnel and what is happening during a game.”

I am tired of the same old system at UGA that we refuse to tinker with to take advantage of talents like Aaron Murray and Orson Charles, just to name a few.

Mark Richt, please make the change!

On an unrelated note: Thank you for your services during our 1980 season Buck Belue, but you sir, are a MORON. No wonder you just basically handed the ball off your whole career. You probably didn't understand the playbook other than the 3 plays you ran to Herschel.

Go Dawgs!

Did A 12 Year Old Design Our Playbook?

I'm wondering who designed our plays? I have a twelve year old nephew that knows a thing or two about offense, and I want to see if he can have a shot at designing and calling plays for the Dawgs. Lord knows he would do a better job than what we have now. I am flabbergasted!

Offensive Gameplans, Outside The Box

How many of you ever watch a college or NFL football game, and wonder what in the hell the coaches are thinking based on the plays that they call. I for one do it all the time. Do I get paid to coach high level football? No. Does that mean I don't know what I am talking about? Usually.

I realize that there are more than a fair share of armchair quarterbacks, Sunday morning quarterbacks, or whatever you want to call them. But, some of us may actually have a clue as to what we are talking about. I've spent the past few days reflecting on the HORRIBLE offensive play calling I witnessed during most of Saturdays game versus the Gamecocks. Was SC better than the Dawgs? One player was that's for sure, but a huge part of the Dawgs' inadequacies should be placed on the offensive play calling.

The fact that Mike Bobo is not a very good play caller has been lost in the shuffle over the past few years due to the more obvious terrible coaching of Willie Martinez. Now that we have a DC that knows what he is doing, it is time to concentrate on our under-performing offense. UGA has had too many weapons over the past several years that are not being utilized properly. A lot of it can be attributed to the fact that we are a conservative team by nature, so I will accept that, but wasting talent is something that disgusts any sports fanatic.

I may be going out on a limb here, but I feel strongly that Aaron Murray is a special player, and Saturday was a joke when it comes to using his talents. Why do the Dawgs always seem to never, EVER, think outside of the box on offense? Why do we not adjust our "gameplan" to fit what is going on during the actual game? Do you think Steve Spurrier constantly follows some play call sheet he created the week before? Hell no he doesn't! He's known as the evil genius because of his remarkable ability to call plays on the fly and adjust to what works and what a team is giving him during a game. Sure he uses an outline, but the man uses what's in front of him when the game is being played.

Saturday, Aaron Murray was poised to place the Dawgs on his shoulders and throw the ball 30-40 times, or run it when needed, but he was limited by coaching. I read yesterday where Buck Belue said the following:

Do I blame Bobo and Richt for a bad offensive gameplan? No. A bad plan would have been to ask Aaron Murray to win it, by throwing it 40 times, without Green.

Come on Buck, you're smarter than that!

Why not let a kid have his coming out party?

Bobo's A Dodo

I have a habbit of making T-shirts all the time. I have tried to give Mike Bobo the benefit of the doubt for the past several years, but it is obvious he needs to step on the same train that sent Willie on his merry way. Bobo's got to go because...