What happened after the first drive?

johncu

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On our first drive, we ran the ball well, used Graham's legs to move the chains, and threw short passes to take pressure off our OL. It worked extremely well. For that drive, we looked like an efficient offensive football team.

Then we never saw it again. What happened? Did our playcalling change? Did Duke adjust? Somebody who knows more than me help me out here.
 
On our first drive, we ran the ball well, used Graham's legs to move the chains, and threw short passes to take pressure off our OL. It worked extremely well. For that drive, we looked like an efficient offensive football team.

Then we never saw it again. What happened? Did our playcalling change? Did Duke adjust? Somebody who knows more than me help me out here.

I haven’t given it much attention, but my recollection is that they adjusted on defense and we didn’t have an answer until after halftime.
 
Second drive had TO break the safety’s ankles and JG over throw. We never went back to it that I remember.
 
The first drive relied on getting running backs involved in the passing game as a safety release for Graham when protection broke down before receivers could get open. After that, Duke started covering them more effectively and were able to get consistent pressure with their front four.
 
On our first drive, we ran the ball well, used Graham's legs to move the chains, and threw short passes to take pressure off our OL. It worked extremely well. For that drive, we looked like an efficient offensive football team.

Then we never saw it again. What happened? Did our playcalling change? Did Duke adjust? Somebody who knows more than me help me out here.
The first drive was scripted. The other drives we got behind schedule on early down runs and incompletions and simply aren't effective enough yet at operating from behind schedule in unscripted situations.
 
The first drive relied on getting running backs involved in the passing game as a safety release for Graham when protection broke down before receivers could get open. After that, Duke started covering them more effectively and were able to get consistent pressure with their front four.
That's what I was wondering. IIRC all three completed passes on that drive were into the flats.
 
Good teams overcome bad plays, bad teams do not. Drive #2 we missed Tobias and could have gone up 14-3. We mess up the next play and punt and give Duke a short field. The next drive we have a pass dropped that would have been a first down. Another punt, another TD, and the first half rout was on. We are very fragile now. We simply don’t overcome bad plays or bad breaks.
 
I’ve always thought that dealing with UGA’s first “scripted” drive was very difficult for us defensively.

Whereas with Paul Johnson...he was the master at playing chess with the opposition.

I think you’re seeing the results of a well-scripted first drive (nothing wrong with that, of course). But we are seeing a very inexperienced QB playing behind the thinnest (dare I say worst) OL in recent memory.

An inability to adjust with what we’ve got to work with shouldn’t come as a major surprise.
 
I’ve always thought that dealing with UGA’s first “scripted” drive was very difficult for us defensively.

Whereas with Paul Johnson...he was the master at playing chess with the opposition.

I think you’re seeing the results of a well-scripted first drive (nothing wrong with that, of course). But we are seeing a very inexperienced QB playing behind the thinnest (dare I say worst) OL in recent memory.

An inability to adjust with what we’ve got to work with shouldn’t come as a major surprise.

I think something revealing along these lines is when in either this game or previous game the defense jumped offsides and we didn't snap the ball or react. To me that says the coaches are teaching in a very narrow band right now trying to get players competent at certain things at the expense of other things, which would make adjustments difficult I'd imagine.
 
I think something revealing along these lines is when in either this game or previous game the defense jumped offsides and we didn't snap the ball or react. To me that says the coaches are teaching in a very narrow band right now trying to get players competent at certain things at the expense of other things, which would make adjustments difficult I'd imagine.
Yeah, I had that thought exactly.
Additionally on one of those instances, the QB was looking to the sideline; the center probably didn't want to snap the ball into a fumble situation.
 
Good teams overcome bad plays, bad teams do not. Drive #2 we missed Tobias and could have gone up 14-3. We mess up the next play and punt and give Duke a short field. The next drive we have a pass dropped that would have been a first down. Another punt, another TD, and the first half rout was on. We are very fragile now. We simply don’t overcome bad plays or bad breaks.
Agree, but to be fair this team overcame the TD called back for the illegal block.
 
Yeah, I had that thought exactly.
Additionally on one of those instances, the QB was looking to the sideline; the center probably didn't want to snap the ball into a fumble situation.

Which is why it is the guards responsibility to jump an make contact. These guys know that, it has been a staple of our ‘jump offsides’ play for a decade.
 
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