Game Film Review: Georgia

Danny Ford and Bill Wilhelm's Induction into the ROH.

For those of you who are new to STS since last season, we evaluate the film each week after the game. The goal is to see who really played well and who didn't, and find out what the major problems were each game, and put it all at a reasonably understandable level to those who did not play football or have no type of X's and O's training. We want you to understand what the problem really is and why so you can be better informed. We also do it to discourage the perception amongst visceral people that "OMG since we won, everything is great and we'll be dominant this year".

I'm going to go pretty much drive by drive here until the 4th, offense and defense. See the end for the summarizing thoughts. I've used youtube videos where I think they do well, Please comment and ask questions on what you dont understand, these take a long time to do well. Our goal here is to look for good plays and bad technique. I may pull a few plays out to discuss the Clemson offense/defense, and if theres anything that you would like to see or have explained, just ask.

Note on my shorthand: IZ/OZ= Inside/Outside Zone; IV=Inverted Veer/power read; Power= Power O; Counters we run are mostly Counter-H's. ZR=Zone read, though a ZR handoff is nothing but IZ so I use them interchangeably at times.

ESPN Play-by-Play

CU from 24 - Coverage forces Boyd to tuck it...Screen to Sammy for 5...Pressure up the middle forces early throw incomplete to Hot Rod. They overloaded the interior of the OL with a delayed blitz. Punt. 3 plays 5 yards.

Had Boyd seen the blitz coming, he'd have seen Smith running free up the seam where the LB Floyd blitzed from.

UGA from 20 - False start, Aaron Murray drops the snap. Wasn't under center properly...swing pass to Todd Gurley, excellent effort by Christian on the tackle...Conley wide open in the hook zone for 12...Again to Mitchell on a hitch, but thrown low. Punt.

CU from 24 - PA pass to Stanton Seckinger for 17. The OLB bit hard on the PA...IZ for 8...IZ loss of 2, Seckinger completely whiffed on an inside move...Boyd steps out to hit Sammy on the boundary for 9. Sammy came back when he noticed the pressure...Pass/run option, Boyd keeps for 4. UGA player falls down...IZ for 8, cut outside...WR screen to Peake, runs for 25...IZ for 3...QB lead Power play for the TD. 7-0 Clemson. 9 plays 76 yards, 2:48.

UGA showing C2/C3 on these first drives, playing us soft outside which is allowing for the pass gains.

UGA from 25 - Gurley 75 yd TD on a Power G play. 7-7.

Onside guard (68) pulls around and makes contact with the DB who properly charges the play to force it back inside. The problem is that Shuey overruns his gap responsibility, he did keep his outside shoulder free to make a play, but there is no one back to the inside. You'll see Anthony there who was cut, he was the backside LB and the one responsible for the cutback lane that Gurley runs through. Blanks also lets himself get blocked by the same man, which is why it went 75 yards. If you are the safety and you see the WLB go outside, you need to know to go inside.

So basically two guys weren't where they were supposed to be, and the backside LB was cut blocked. The longest runs in football are nearly always cutbacks.

CU from 23 - PA option, Boyd sees Sammy Watkins open over the middle on a slant, he takes it himself 77. 14-7 Clemson.

As ESPN points out, the Safety is playing at 10 yds depth on this side, and he bites on the PA. Sammy cuts in where he was and breaks a tackle for the score.

UGA from 25 - Pressure, pass complete to Bennett for 22 open up the seam. Great catch...Keith Marshall zone? 6. Jarrett goes out with a shoulder stinger...Breeland on the back, PI for the 1st down. He jammed the shit out of Bennett though...IZ for 3..VB comes free off the edge, forces early throw...Zone, VB had him in the backfield for a loss and Marshall cuts back for 3...4th & 4, out cut, 3 missed tackles gets 11 yards...Counter Gurley for a couple...Marshall IZ for 2...Murray finds Wesley on a deeper slant/post over Anthony for 19...Out route to Bennett, batted away by Peters, should've been picked...TO CU, looked like we were lined up wrong...Marshall Iso for a couple...Zone counter, Marshall carries D.J. Reader into the endzone for the TD. 14-14. 11 plays 75 yards

Reader had a bad angle but I'm disappointed he got carried in. He got off the block and read it coming.

I'm just happy that we jammed somebody properly for once. We havent done it right in years.

Clemson is playing Cover 11 Robber most of the time thus far.

CU from 25 - Power for 8...IZ for 11...IZ for 2...Sammy end-around, UGA stayed home on D. Too much penetration on the left side though...TO UGA. I'm betting they wanted to change personnel...twist stunt with the DE and OLB confuses Timothy and Shatley, pressure forces early throw incomplete. Punt. 5 plays 21 yards.

UGA from 3 - FB Dive up the B-gap for 37 yards. Anthony led with his outside shoulder, though the MLB usually has the B-gap here (note his initial alignment over the A gap however). Blanks is up over the B-gap and he gets run over. This one is on Blanks.

Marshall Power for no gain...Flare for 11 in the flats, no one in that flat zone close enough. Looked like Christian came inside to double the inside slot when he should've gone outside with Wesley...Murray rushes throw to the dirt, may have been tipped...Good penetration stuffs marshall, run blitz, holding called...Beasley beats his guy, Murray runs up the middle for 10. End 1st Q. Key blitz, Wooten for 13. DB playing WAY off on 3rd & 10. ...IZ for no gain, run blitz again...Power, no gain...Crawford and Jarrett get through, but Wooten is wide open over the middle for 33 yard pass...FB Dive for the TD. 21-14 Georgia. 10 plays 97 yards, 4:20.

Peters has initial coverage on Wooten. He jams and passes him off inside, apparently thinking that either Anthony will pick him up or the Safety will. It does look like C2 Zone. If it were zone, Anthony should've run with Wooten, but he never looked at him as he ran by, Anthony was watching Murray scramble outside.

This drive was terrible.

CU from 22 -IZ for 2..ZR/PA flip out to Smith for 7...QB Power for 4..IZ for 2..PI called on Matthews for holding up Sammy. He only got flagged because he wasn't looking for the ball, otherwise it wasnt really PI...Tajh throws behind Humphries in the flat...Bad block attempt by Zac Brooks on the OLB blitz, Tajh has to pull it and gets 1...3rd and 9, Peake drops the ball transitioning to carry it. Actually a fumble. Punt. 7 plays 31 yards 2:49.

UGA from 14 - Gurley back in. Iso/zone for 4...Power, no gain. Chop block called...Hook route by Jay Rome, gets 10. LB coverage dropped back bit too deep...Beasley whips Gates' ass for a sack. Punt. 3 plays -1 yd.

CU at 45 - Power for 5...Boyd immediately pressured, incomplete. Slide protection? Looked like a MA...Again, OLB comes free, Boyd's pass nearly picked. Punt.

Wrong protection was signaled in for those two passes. Should've at least been a RB in to block.

UGA from 19 - RB Screen, Christian tips it, Beasley nearly picks it. Its a good thing he tipped it because it was 20-30 yards at least if Gurley catches it..Iso KM for 1...Stephone Anthony sack on a Gut X blitz, forces fumble recovered by Shuey. Good coverage downfield.

CU from UGA 16 - QB power for 5..IZ for 6...QB Power for 3...QB Power/CT for no gain. Thomas got blown backwards into it...TO UGA..QB CT for the TD, looks like Tajh has a pass option, or this is a very slow counter. 21-21. 5 plays 16 yards, 2:03.

UGA from 25 - Counter, excellent penetration. Something about the handoff doesn't look right...IZ for 2...Tunnel Screen, we were blitzing, and Murray throws it incomplete. Punt.

Sammy fumbles the fair catch at the 30.

Murray throws it right to Corey Crawford, who had dropped into the middle zone. You can see Anthony coming on the blitz, Shuey starts on the weakside and moves over on the snap to cover the man that would normally be Anthony's, while Crawford drops into what is normally Shuey's zone. Murray was looking left and never looked right to see him.

CU from 20 - Timothy whipped on the edge, Boyd carries it for 4...Bryant drops another one downfield 20 yards. No reason not to catch that one...Bryant false start, he saw his CB coming inside, he pointed in to get Tajh's attention and fell forwards...Called Keeper for 10...TO UGA. Punt.

UGA from 34 - Power for 6...Bennett Dig route for 11...Tavaris Barnes whips Houston on the left side for a sack...Power for 2.

Halftime

Wasn't a terrible half defensively, but there was a mistake on almost every play on the 97 yard drive. A couple of mistakes led to the first TD, and missing tackles was a big component of the 2nd UGA TD.

Its all with 2nd/3rd level players, the DL is playing really well. Motors are really running full. The only complaint is that some guys on the edge are using more bull rush rather than trying to attack half a man.

Coverage seemed to tighten up downfield more after the 97 yard drive and we started run/key blitzing more. Our coverage is primarily Robber to start, with some 2 and 3 Zone mixed in.

Tajh Boyd: 6/13 140 yds 3 total TD

Murray: 10/17 143 yds and 2 turnovers.

UGA needs to focus on running the football and get the pressure off Murray, not sure why they didn't run it more.

Start 3rd Quarter

UGA at 25 - Delay called out of the half?..Jarrett grabs Murray as he releases, holding called....IZ no gain...Sack by VB. Coverage sack but Murray had a checkdown and didn't take it..zone for 6. Punt. 3 plays -16.

CU at 45 - Screen pass to Peake incomplete. Catchable ball...Swing route to McDowell for 10...WR screen again to Peake for 6. Same play opposite side...Howard IZ, penetration stuffs him...Smith hitch for 3. Tajh threw right where they blitzed from, so this was an apparent hot read...WR screen, Peake's effort gets 5. Sammy did not block his man...Zac Brooks wheel route 31 yd TD. 28-21 Clemson. 7 plays 55 yards 1:49.

Gorgeous throw. LB picked him up but couldn't beat a perfect throw.

UGA from 25 - Swing throw to Marshall for 9...IZ no gain...Murray sneak no gain...4th & 1, fake punt that a blind man could see coming. Telegraphed by the formation...Bennett slant for 11. Christian needed to get inside leverage on the slot when Shuey blitzed, didn't, and he came open...Bootleg pass to the FB for 38. We can't tackle. Fumble but they recover...Botched handoff on an Iso, Gurley waits and runs 12 for the TD. Backside LB overran the play. 28-28. 7 plays 75 yards 3:17.

Backside overpursuit problems again. Christian blew up the initial blocker on the edge and caused the collision in the backfield, but Gurley waits until the melee ends up in a pile and cuts it back. A LB/S should be there to hit him and Blanks whiffs on a tackle.

CU from 25 - Touch Pass to Sammy for 16...WR screen to Sammy for 7...Again to AH for 8...WR screen to Peake for 6...counter for 17...IZ for loss of 1...Thomas beaten off the snap to his inside, Boyd finds Sammy on the sideline for 13...IZ Howard for loss, Norton whipped badly to cause it....Counter again for 3...Throw to Sammy a bit high incomplete, good inside leverage by the DB on the slant. 24 yd FG Catman. 31-28 Clemson. 11 plays 68 yards 2:55.

I hope you notice that Chad stole this from Holgerson. Best thing is, if its dropped its an incomplete pass.

The counter is merely Smith coming across the formation to fill an outside gap, so it works like Power and there is no obvious down-angle blocking from the opposite side to make it a true counter trey. They block base.

Howard has gotten 2 carries and frankly its been the OL that has gotten whipped on his plays. Norton whiffed on this block and his earlier carry was because the UGA DT went right up the A-gap as well.

UGA from 25 - TO UGA, another goof after a long TV timeout...Gurley 22 yards, backside LB (Shuey) overran the play and wasn't where he needed to be. Another shit tackle by Blanks.

IZ for 2...Iso for 6...Peters bad technique on a stop route to Conley. He whiffs on the tackle, Conley goes 35. Another missed tackle. Breeland is called for the horse-collar which was the correct decision for him, it saved a TD...IZ KM for 2...Power, Shuey's penetration stops it...FB Dive no gain. Anthony and Jarrett made it a good play. Smith goes to locker room. 15 yd FG botched snap. Clemson ball at the 8.

Horse collar saved us there.

CU from 8 - Counter for 2...Quick pass thrown behind Sammy...Counter for 5, Howard. Punt.

Start 4th QTR.

UGA from 43 - PA bootleg, Wesley wide open for 14. No one around him...Power, Shuey blows it up to the playside, Christian comes around from behind for the tackle. Wesley flagged for illegal cut block, which he didn't need to do...Counter for 3. Barnes couldn't wrap up. He had him...Bennett open over the middle for 12 on a Dig...Bennett slant for 4, Shuey all over him...TO CU on 4th & 6 at our 39. Not sure why we wasted that TO. Punt. 4 plays 18 yards, 2:57.

CU from 13 - IZ for 4...Timothy whipped on the right side, Boyd finds Bryant for a bomb and he drops it. Underthrown a bit but catchable, he caught with his body as a result...TO CU, can't see why...Bootleg pass to Peake for 16. McDowell flubbed his block on the backside...IZ for 3...IZ for 5, Beasley whiffed...Power for 4...Sack, after the scramble. right side whiffed, mostly Timothy...Delay draw for 14. We should've been running this play earlier...IZ for 36 on the cutback. Wicked spin move...IZ for 2..Snapped over Boyd's head, thanks to Beasley's false start we didn't lose 30...Pass to Bryant was over his head, kind of a bad throw there. Can forgive that one...Seckinger for the TD. 38-28 Clemson. 12 plays 87 yards, 4:23.

UGA from 25 - Power G again, 23. Same play as the TD. Same thing happened too, backside LB (Anthony) overran it, the OG's got hands on him and walled him off...Zone for 5...Iso for 15, but called back for holding Jarrett...Excellent coverage by Peters on a fade route, bats it away...Comeback route, thrown too low to catch. Punt.

Penalty killed them there, 2nd and 5 with a 15 yard run becomes 2nd and 15.

On Return, Ben Boulware runs downfield without keeping his eyes on the ball, I don't know what he was thinking about doing but he does not need to be anywhere near that football. If the returner peels off you back out. Refs should've called his contact as being pushed into the ball, but I wouldn't want to depend on ACC refs to make the right call. I'm glad CJ Jones picked it up and ran it out to the 9.

CU from 9 - Counter/zone for 8...Again for loss of 1...TO UGA...Naked bootleg keeper for 6...Zone for 3...Penetration stuffs Howard for loss of 1...End around-D stays home, Sammy gets 2. Punt. 6 plays 17 yards, 3:19

I hate how we backed off with this drive. I'd have been more aggressive and gone for a killshot after the 1st down, or at least a throw for another set of downs. I did not want our defense to have to play for another 2.5 minutes.

UGA from 36 - Prevent defense is obvious. Lynch on a hitch, missed tackle by Anthony gets him 18...Conley post route for 20...Handoff to Marshall for 6...Dumped off to Marshall, missed tackle by Anthony and a stiffarm gets him 19...Sneak for the TD. 38-35 Clemson. 5 plays 64 yards, 1:06.

Shit defensive scheme called by Venables. Murray struggles under the rush and we pull off completely. We also can't make the damn tackles, which is the key to playing Prevent (and still winning the game). Anthony misses two and it nets them 36 yards.

Clemson recovers onside kick and kneels on it.

Summarizing Thoughts

Overall, just an excellent effort. Usually I can't say that about Clemson, but I saw everyone giving effort on every play and other than LSU I can't say I've seen that consistently from our team.

Hot Rod played just as awesome on review as he did when I watched it live. Offensive line did a damn good job against their DL and opened him some holes in the middle, but I think he deserves the bulk of the credit. He played his best game ever at Clemson. He ran hard and got tough yards inside.

Georgia needs a better NG. Not saying that Norton had a great game all-around, but they really need to improve in the middle of the defense.

Defensively, the D-Line played outstanding. Pass rush kept Murray off-rhythm and probably saved our DBs. Pass rush really picked up again after the 97 yard drive. At the end I could see their legs going away on the pass rush but they were very solid at gap discipline and frankly manhandled UGA's line for large parts of the game. The only time UGA played well on the line is when they knew Gurley was running behind them. They didn't play as hard when Marshall was in there behind them. Their OL loves to block for him.

Gurley is all-world caliber. Best RB we'll play this year in the regular season. We didn't tackle him well when we had our shots. You can't hit him high and you have to wrap him up. We didn't do either. Marshall is just a bit less stout in the lower body and can't break those weaker tackles like he can.

We do have some problems.

- Timothy. He didn't improve as much as we were told. His feet are too slow, not staying low, loses his leverage. He can be fine against the WF's and BC's of the world but we need an upgrade for teams like FSU or SC with a good pass rusher. Gore and Battle did not get snaps according to the snap chart.

- 6 Drops. Tajh was 18/30 with 6 dropped. I think we lost one TD due to them, and no not just singling out the Bryant drop in the end zone, that was a bad throw. One bad throw but the rest were balls that should've been caught. Its only one game for Bryant but he needs to turn it around this weekend.

- Drops didn't help the tempo, which was inconsistent. 76 snaps. Remember the goal is 90. I think one or two of the UGA "injuries" were debateable, but you shouldn't boo them.

- Blanks. Terrible terrible game in run fitting and tackling. If you don't notice a DB in pass coverage it usually means he played well, and I didn't notice him there, but he can't play Safety and not fill his gap.

- Over-pursuit, same problem we had last year at the beginning. Backside linebacker/safety overrunning gaps. Willard was bad at it until midseason last year, hopefully Shuey and Anthony can firm this up. If they don't overrun plays then Gurley may have 90 yards less in the game.

- Tackling. We swarmed to the ball very well, you could see they were coached on this by the effort they gave. They knew Gurley was going to rip them up if they didn't. However I could count from memory about 10 tackles that weren't made that should've been.

- Inconsistent pass coverage. I don't know why we back off 10 yards on 3rd & 10. Robinson does it often. Sometimes its by call, sometimes its the DB giving a cushion to make himself feel comfortable against a guy. Middle seams were too open, but Murray didn't always see them.

This defense is still bad. 545 yards is bad no matter who you play. We forced some turnovers in key spots and played really well in spurts, but even bad defenses can play well in spurts. Too many big plays. This has to be fixed for Clemson to play for a national title. I think it can be fixed and it needs to start getting fixed this week against SC State. I don't want to see a 1-AA team put 300 yards on us. We should shut them down.

What I wouldnt give to see The Chad backhand bitchslap Korncoot right in his fat face.