Sunday, September 5, 2010

DAWGS BEAT THE CAJUNS AS THE TODD GRANTHAM ERA BEGINS

First off the Georgia Defense looked solid. Yeah they were playing against UL Lafayette, but they sill had to be in position and make the plays, which they did. They held the Cajuns to just to just 128 Total Yards (with 60 yards of the coming on the lone bad play for the day as Bacarri Rambo got caught looking). In the end Georgia rolls 55-7.

The Cajuns were just 3-16 on 3rd down conversions and 0-1 on 4th down conversions, so its pretty safe to say that The Grantham Era is off to a really good start.

As for Georgia, all eyes were on Aaron Murray, and he did a pretty good job on the day. Getting his first start at Samford Stadium probably had him with some butterflies, but he came out looking solid. He's got a good fastball, mid range shot across the middle, and his deep ball has great touch and accuracy. Georgia has really not seen a good deep ball since the Georgia Vanderbilt game when Matthew Stafford was back in Athens. Murray converted some good 3rd Downs (Georgia was 8-17 on day). Murray on the day was 17 of 26 for 160 yards. He accounted for 4 TDs on the day (3 in the air and 1 on the ground).


(Photo courtesy of Phillip Faulkner)

Defensive Players of the Game:
Brandon Boykin - 1st Interception of the Todd Grantham Era (a very nice snag)
Akeem Dent - Great pressure, 6 tackles, and a very good sack on the day.
Justin Houston - Set the tone early with a couple sacks in the first half
Jakar Hamilton - Providing great pressure on 3rd down early in the 2nd Quarter, Hamilton setup Akeem Dent on a key sack. It was a "1-2 punch" that resulted in the Cajuns calling on the punt team. The Hitman also had a Pick6 in the second half.



(Photo courtesy of Phillip Faulkner)

Offensive Players of the Game:
Kris Durham - Welcome back, Kris! After missing last year, it was good to see Durham back in. A sure handed snag in the end zone got Murray his 1st TD. 5 catches on the day for 83 yards. Durham was #31 in honor of Quintin Banks, who retired from football due to ongoing knee injuries.

(Photo courtesy Jason Vorhees)

Aaron Murray - He threw 3 TDs on the day and pick up another on the ground as time ran out on the 1st Half. Not a bad opening day performance. 1 Pick was his only blemish, but there was a potentials for 2 pics as 1 was flat out dropped by a Cajun.
Shaun Chapas - He picked up right where he left off against A&M in bowl game, great run blocking, good hands out of the backfield, and a TD on the day.

Also, it need to be said that Georgia's special teams in particular the return unit looked phenomenal. They were laying people out with crack blocks. If they keep that up, they will pick up where they left off last year with a number of kickoffs and punts going to the house.

As mentioned above there was just one bright spot for the Cajuns. Late in the 2nd Quarter, Kris Durham got hit right in the numbers, as Murray zipped one right to him on a 3rd down play. The ball was bobbled and ended up a interception for the Cajuns. The very next play was the bomb to Ladarius Green (WR) #89, who is on the John Mackey Watch List (Nation's Best Tight End). I'm sure Grantham will have Rambo running this one off in practice this week. You know Coach was looking for the shutout,

I think most Georgia fans would have like to see a bit more domination up front from the running game. With Ealey out they utilized Caleb King and Carlton Thomas, who combined for 108 yards on 23 carries with 1 TD. But it was very important for Murray to get his legs under him, get comfortable moving the offense, and passing the ball down field. Mission accomplished. Georgia could still using some tuning up on the penalties, as Georgia midway through the second quarter fell victim again to their old ways. They killed a drive with some false start penalties.

Georgia will certainly need Ealey and Green back on the scene as they travel to Columbia next week to face off against the Gamecocks.