° I'm proud to say that I didn't flip out until the last fumble. I was never quite sure of Dan Mullen's play calling, and always just assumed he had some higher level of thinking that I could never obtain. However, I think I might have figured it out; he calls plays in a vacuum. Rather than call a play as it relates to a drive or keeping your defense off the field, Mullen calls plays to call them, down and distance be damned. Maybe I'm wrong, but here's my three examples;
- The final offensive play, which to forever to call and forever to develop, was doomed from the start.
- The 4th and 2 which involved an end around on a defensive line that played very well.
- The direct snap to Moore. Sure, Moore should have caught the snap, but how many of you were comfortable when you saw Tebow run from behind center?
° Also, good job by the Gator coaches to keep the players in the game. After the first Georgia touchdown, the Gator defensive players had a deer in the headlights look. The numerous injuries hurt, but when Georgia would jab, the Gators couldn't or wouldn't counter punch. You could say it was a case of a great back having a great game (which is true), but that is not an excuse for not getting physical and standing up at the line and not firing off. Remember, low man wins. (The last TD, Cunningham and Davis were standing in the endzone. How did they get there? Oh, blown off the ball.)
° Speaking of the first touchdown, I don't have too much of a problem with UGA rushing the field. In fact, the thing that pissed me off about it was that it reminded me of the Patriots running out as a team in their first Super Bowl win. I hate the Patriots, so I hated the move by the Bulldogs. To me, this was like a bench clearing brawl in baseball. It's not a clean play, but the psychological advantage outweighs any competitive advantage.
° I hope Meyer and Mullen now understand the value of protecting Tebow. He's a finely tuned machine, but now he has too many miles on him. I could see a situation next year where Tebow leaves for the NFL where he wouldn't have to be a rhino. With that said, the decision to make this the "Screw Kestahn Moore Game" was complete and total bull. There is a huge cut off between Moore and Brandon James as power backs and putting Moore in the doghouse limited the offense because Tebow couldn't run. Of course, it's apparently more important to destroy your player than to win the game. If he's not holding the ball correctly, then fix it. But getting in his head, and then putting him back out there, doesn't strike me as a good idea. James filled in admirably (five carries for 26 yards) but he's not as powerful as Moore.
° I'll have more tomorrow, but I'll leave you with a friend of Alligator Army, Natalie B. who could have gone to the game, but stayed at home in Palm Beach;