Well, at least I got the important game right.

It's been quite the weekend for football.  In the NCAA, the #1,3, and 4 team all lost, and in the NFL both the Falcons and Rams actually won.  What we can take away from all this, of course, is that I absolutely suck at making predictions. Fortunately, the one game that I have picked correctly is the only one that I particularly care about, with Georgia's uninspiring victory against the Volunteers last night.  This is quite fortunate, as for the past three years I've bantered with a friend of mine who goes to Tennessee, and for the past two I've looked ridiculous.  All I would say this year is that "I refuse to talk trash until after the game is over.  That said, if we lose, I may just kill myself."  As you all are painfully aware, I am still here.

As great as it was to finally stick it to The Great Pumpkin and his roadside cleanup crew, the victory was quite underwhelming.  Perhaps it was because everyone was anticipating stomping Tennessee like they've stomped us for the past two years, or maybe because Florida put forth a much more dominating performance against a more impressive team.  What I can at least take solace in, however, is that the team does look to have addressed a number of their weaknesses.

The Good

Blair Walsh has continued his steady improvement.  Of his six kickoffs this week, three of them went into the end zone (two for touchbacks)and one was a squib kick that was executed capably.  The other two, unfortunately, were pretty ugly.  While they were both ultimately inconsequential, the second was infuriating as it would have earned a kickoff penalty were it not for the natural intelligence of the Tennessee return man, reaching out of bounds to grab the ball, in turn getting tackled at about the 12.  Walsh was also 4 for 4 on Field Goals, setting a career high in points.

Prince Miller appears to have locked up the leading spot for kick returns..  After his controversial TD return from two weeks ago, Miller again looked solid, averaging 21 yards a return.  In contrast, Richard Samuel muffed a punt and was almost tackled for a safety, and Logan Gray continues to have fans wonder why we have our backup QB in a position where he is guaranteed to be hit hard on every play. 

Matthew Stafford continues to shed the label of "erratic passer" that has been grafted onto him for the past two years, completing almost 70% of his passes for a career high 310 yards.  While he did throw two picks, neither of which can be attributed to bad aim or poor judgment.  The first was on a screen pass that Robert Ayers read perfectly and ran untouched to intercept, and the second was the only time in the game where I was angry rather than frustrated.  Running what appeared to be their eighth consecutive fade route in the end zone, Michael Moore bumped into Eric Berry at the goal line and stopped running his pattern.  Berry continued running the fade and was rewarded with an interception that set the Tennessee record for career interception yardage.  Only an entertaining tackle from Stafford just shy of the 50 yard line saved the Bulldogs from an unfortunate touchdown.

Mohamed Massaquoi continues to be the team's go-to receiver, despite not getting the press of A.J. Green.  After being laid out by Demetrice Morley late in the second quarter, Massaquoi returned later in the drive to catch a 9 yard touchdown pass, and ended with a total of 103.  Massaquoi is one of my favorite players, as he is one of the only wide receivers to play at Georgia who has shown steady improvement over the years.  While some, such as Reggie Brown and Sean Bailey, come in highly touted and contribute immediately, few have actually shown marked improvement and become the dominant threat in a game.  Perhaps it's because MoMass and Stafford have had three years to develop a rapport, but watching the development from a hyped prospect with a bad case of the dropsies to a #1 receiver has been a joy to watch.

Brannan Southerland was back, and scored a touchdown on his first run.  As I said after Alabama, having the SEC's best blocker returning to the FB position is a boon to the much-maligned offensive line, and his presence may have been the reason for Stafford's career high night.  Southerland should also become a factor in the short-yardage passing game (as you may remember from last year's Auburn game), which should take some of the pressure off of the Tight End position.

Shaun Chapas, the true love of Ryan Lavner, co-writer of Two Guys, One Blog, also contributed heavily in the Georgia victory.  While I expected him to be relegated to the bench in favor of the better blocker, Chapas (who was suprisingly named the starter) ended the game as the Bulldogs second-leading receiver.  He amassed 64 yards, including a beautiful 37 yard reception which led to Georgia's touchdown.  While you will never see me calling for Southerland's replacement, I was impressed by Chapas today.  With Kiante Tripp probably returning to the Offensive Line, it's possible that he could get some work in at Tight End, as he knows the blocking patterns and has proven that he can catch the ball.

Mark Richt told reporters that he was going to work on penalties, and it was quite evident on Saturday.  While the team did amass 11 penalties in the game, three of them were strategy penalties, used for running down the time clock or gaining field position for a field goal.  More important, there was only one 15 yard penalty, a facemask late in the game.  It was a far cry from the sloppy play characteristic of the NCAA's most penalized school.

Finally, the Georgia run defense continues to shine.  Arian Foster, who has menaced the Bulldogs for the past two years, got three carries for three yards (As Adam was quick to point out, he was heavily penalized by the fact that there are not stats to measure the flight of pterodactyls).   The Volunteers as a whole were held to 1 yard rushing, forcing them to rely on an inexperienced quarterback who completed less than 50% of his passes.  Even with Ellerbe and Battle still out, it's important for the defense to be tested, as Florida's running game broke out against LSU, and a showdown with Jonathan Dwyer to end off the season should not be overlooked.

The Bad

Equally important to Georgia is that more flaws were exposed for them to work on.  It's important for these to become evident now, as the stretch starting in two weeks is going to define whether or not Georgia is truly a contender, and I'd prefer that any weaknesses the team has be exposed and addressed before a team has a chance to expose and exploit them.

While I hesitate to call Knoshown Moreno's performance bad, especially considering that it was his 9th 100 yard rushing game, he was not as explosive as he's been in games past.  To his credit, he was the first 100 yard rusher that Tennessee has allowed this year, and was probably still hampered by his elbow.  However, he averaged less than 4 yards per carry for the second consecutive game, and is averaging about that for SEC play overall.  Moreno is one of the better running backs in college football, but his last two games have effectively removed him from Heisman consideration.  With the staunch defenses of LSU, Auburn, and GT lurking on the horizon, it's important that Moreno stay healthy if the Bulldogs want to keep their aspirations alive.  He took himself out of the game early against Tennessee, and I would prefer he not be overworked against Vanderbilt either.  If Georgia has the lead by halftime, I would just assume they let Caleb King get some work in until the outcome becomes in question to avoid any nasty surprises.

Georgia's playcalling was again suspect this week, though more of the blame can be attributed to Mike Bobo than Willie Martinez.  Much of the game felt like a player's first game of Madden '08, with Tall Sweep and Corner fade being abused and eventually expected.  While I can appreciate Mike Bobo trying to utilize the strategy that Alabama used on us to free up the passing game, the struggles of the Red Zone offense were inexcusable for a team that still holds national championship hopes.

I like to think that Willie Martinez has rethought his in-game strategy since last week, as the Georgia secondary was not peppered by short precise passes.  I will concede that they were more vulnerable to the deep pass, as evidenced by the 60 yard reception by Denarious Moore that set up Tennessee's first touchdown.  However, I would much rather force the quarterbacks to make deep throws (especially in the case of the unproven Stephens) and be occasionally successful than to keep the defense on the field for more fifteen minute drives where they have to chase receivers from end zone to end zone on their own.

And of course, the injury bug bit Georgia again, with an undisclosed knee injury knocking out Left Tackle Vince Vance for the year.  I'm not much of a Vince Vance fan, as he is responsible for about 50% of the false start penalties charged to Georgia, but the Offensive Line could not withstand another hit.  I would imagine that Clint Boling will move back to LT for Georgia, with Kiante Tripp taking his stop on the right side, but the line will never learn the timing and cohesion that is necessary for them to be an effective unit if they keep sliding all over the place.  There are only two weeks left before they leave for Baton Rouge, so the time for them to step it up is going to be now.

Normally I would take this spot to whine about the polls coming out this week, but I know Adam is going to have a post tomorrow recapping the rest of the weekend, and I don't want to infringe on his material.  But I feel that is has to be said:  I don't know how beating Arizona State was significant for the Coaches to decide that USC was the 4th best team in the country, but I wish the Sun Devils were such a powerhouse when we played them three weeks ago.