Intro

I was sitting back on a Monday night following another comfortable Dawgs win over the weekend, when I flipped to Monday night football to see the Bears and Seahawks. The sequence embedded below was painful to watch and brought me back to the painful year of 2015. Russell Wilson Checks, gets a first down, our old friend Brian Schottenheimer calls the first down play, Wilson checks again, Pete Carroll Calls Timeout, Russell Wilson is pissed. I immediately flash back to the worst offensive football game in the history of Sanford Stadium as Georgia beats Mizzou 6-9 (nice).

Brian Schottenheimer and all the crap we had to watch in 2015 was a blessing in disguise. I’ve heard he is an excellent man and a really loyal colleague, but he was terrible for Georgia and his ultimate victim was Mark Richt. Coach Richt was and still is an incredible man and great football coach. The impact he had on people and the community was great, but Georgia was meant for more when it comes to football and his message had become stale in Athens. Both Richt and Georgia are on to bigger and better things but it was really that one final decision that ultimately cost Richt the job at Georgia

I contrast the hire of Brian Schottenheimer against some of the initial hires Kirby made as a first time head coach. Sam Pittman and Dell McGee were absolute grand slams. Pittman was the most crucial hire as Georgia needed help on the offensive line immediately. McGee is possibly the best recruiter in the country other than Kirby himself. Jim Chaney was an interesting choice at offensive coordinator but has done a good job developing an offense that is difficult for other teams to prepare for. Glenn Schumann was a graduate assistant wizard at Alabama before Kirby took a risk on him as a first year assistant. All he has done is coach Roquan Smith and lead as an excellent recruiter. Pittman and McGee are inching towards $1 million per year salaries and 100% deserve them. As coaches excel, Kirby will have to make crucial decisions that shape our recruiting base and weekly performance. I will trust him until I see evidence otherwise.

That Seahawks game and an expected and impressive MTSU blowout were just reminders for me to appreciate how far we have come in a very short amount of time.

Need More

There has been a lot of good in this young season but there have also been some major contributors that need to show more and carry this team to a truly elite level.

· Walter Grant- I expected Grant to easily fill Lorenzo Carter’s “swiss army knife” role on Georgia’s defense. So far Grant has been mediocre in pass rush, run game and pass coverage. He has more to give and needs to show it quickly.

· Charlie Woerner- I am really nervous that Charlie may have topped out. He was such a promising freshman but has not looked very good this year. His blocking needs serious work and there is a freshman behind him by the name of Luke Ford looking for more reps.

· Demetris Robertson- I know his plan was to go one and done but when you don’t block, you don’t play receiver for Georgia anymore. He has been dynamic with the ball in his hands but needs to commit to blocking before he can be a bigger piece of the offense.

· Julian Rochester- Georgia has had 3 dominant wins but maybe the scariest flashes have been weak run defense. Rochester has been one of the biggest culprits in these quick glimpses of weakness. He is still playing too high and getting shoved around frequently. He needs to anchor down that big body quickly and play John Atkins’ old role better.

Mizzou Preview

Mizzou is a good team with a scheme that can scare you. Georgia struggled with Mizzou’s air raid attack last year until we could make halftime adjustments. I am honestly very glad this game is at noon. We were a much different team but the last night game in Columbia was way too close for comfort.

We have to force Lock to be uncomfortable. If he gets uncomfortable he will give us the ball multiple times. I’m nervous about our pass rush but also think we’ve been very vanilla with defensive pressures thus far. I’m hoping for pressure inside from Tyler Clark and Ledbetter. Walter Grant needs to show more in this game specifically. Adam Anderson may be able to be used on 3rd and long.

Georgia will score and in bunches. Run game will be a huge emphasis to wear down Mizzou’s defense while also allowing our defense to rest. We will break open 3-4 30 yard plus runs.

Mizzou Predictions

• James Cook breaks a run of greater than 25 yards
• Georgia defense records at least 3 sacks
• Elijah Holyfield records over 100 yards for the second game in a row
• Mecole continues his hot streak with another TD
• Dawgs win 48-24

Bucky’s Easy Money of the Week

Last Week: 4-1 (the one loss came on a 0.5pt hook on Ohio St.)

Last two weeks: 9-1 (0.5pt hook from 10-0)

Overall record: 71-60-2, 54% winning percentage

Yo, things are realllll hot in Bucky’s world right now. Blowing Bear out of the water and I am feeling bullish on this week’s picks. (Bonus pick Dawgs 1^st Half -7)