Somewhere, Willie Martinez is Laughing

I'm sure he wishes the best for his former team and players.

But the fans who clammored for him to be fired? Not that anyone cares what Willie Martinez or I think, but put yourself in his shoes. It must be ironic to see the opposing team's players left wide open. Wide open.

Their first touch down? There were two men (!) all by themselves. No Georgia defender around for 20 yards.

For all the attack mentality of the 3-4 defense, we generated very little pressure. I remember one sack. Maybe we got another that I can't recall. But the mental mistakes and poor positioning makes the new defense look downright embarassing. Like we have three fourths of a defense, instead of a complete one with a secondary that knows how to cover people.

The wheel route? Awful. Maybe not open by twenty yards, but no one within five to ten yards.

Finally, when we needed to hunker down, get a stop and at least take the game into overtime, we couldn't get the job done. We give up yet another long touchdown pass.

I know that fans wanted change. Maybe it was time for a different defensive coordinator. But not all change is progress. Georgia looks like it has taken a few steps backwards this season.

Rennie Curran Makes Right Moves

Rennie Curran left Georgia a year early to enter the NFL draft. Smart move #1.

Curran recently stated that part of his reason for leaving was the fact that UGA fired three members of the defensive coaching staff, including defensive coordinator Willie Martinez. You can't let the tail wag the dawg here, and I'm not sure how much of a factor the coaching staff change was, but it certainly didn't help Georgia's case if the team wanted to keep Curran around.

A key part of being successful at linebacker is being so accustomed to the defensive schemes that a player can quickly make the right reads and play at a fast pace. With a new defensive staff coming in, Curran would have had to learn new terminology, new play calls, adjust to the 3-4 defense, and perhaps even do a lot more coverage out of the backfield. Combine all the foregoing with the risk of injury and the chance to make an NFL salary, and Curran's time as a Bulldog had come to a close.

I like the fact that Curran did his research before making a decision. He has also bulked up enough to gain consideration for the middle linebacker position.

More smart moves for Curran. Big loss for Georgia. Great opportunity for other linebackers on the roster.

OSU and the Long Ball

I'm no prophet, but I wouldn't be surprised to see OSU use its first play from scrimmage to run an option look, faking the run before stepping back to fire a deep passing play to Dez Bryant.

OSU could thereby take advantage of Georgia being sluggish after traveling across the country. And since we have had some safeties injured, the players charged with covering the deep ball could be rusty. Maybe our players might be too aggressive and be tricked by a "hitch and go" or similar play.

Bryant is a big receiver (6' 2" and 215 lbs) who can go up and get the ball. He averages 17 yards a catch, and you know that the OSU coaching staff would love to put up a big play, demoralize the Dawgs, and quickly put UGA in a deficit position.

Martinez will have to coach a very good game for UGA to escape Stillwater with the "W".