The Bulldogs performance against the Florida Gators this Saturday was par for the course with the rest of their performances this season. The struggles continued on offense and special teams with some improvement on the defensive side of the ball.
On the offensive side of the ball, The Bulldogs go as their running game goes and problems in this area persisted for them. The Bulldogs were only able to muster 21 yards rushing against Florida’s stout defense. This inability to run the ball forced the ball in Jacob Eason’s hands, who showed flashes of outstanding decision making and ability but at other times struggled.
Eason’s struggles can also be attributed to the Bulldogs lack of effective pass blocking. Many of Eason’s best plays came when he was scrambling outside of the pocket because he was never really given time to sit in the pocket in go through his progressions. Eason started off the game strong and even led the Bulldogs down the field on a long touchdown drive, but the lack of running game and pass blocking pretty much gave Eason no chance to be successful.
The Bulldogs offense is atrocious, to say the least, and if they don’t find a way to get a balanced attack of running and passing going, then their inability to put points on the board will most definitely continue.
The Georgia defense played much better, in my opinion, and they should be applauded for their effort against the Gators. Often times the defense’s inability to stop the opposition from scoring was due to the fact that the opposing offense was given such great starting field position because of poor punts. Holding an SEC offense to 231 yards of total offense is an impressive feat in my opinion and if the other units on the team could match the defense’s outstanding play, then the Bulldogs would come out on top in more of their games.
The Bulldogs success starts with their defensive line, who may have had a few plays where they struggled to get penetration but overall played a strong game. The Gators only had 100 yards rushing and the defensive line definitely played a part in that. The one improvement that this team definitely needs to continue to work on making is getting more pressure on the quarterback.
The linebacker corps also had a strong showing and Lorenzo Carter continued to get some pressure on the quarterback and even forced an intentional grounding penalty by Florida quarterback Luke Del Rio. These linebackers have been a strong group for the Bulldogs this season and continue to improve week in and week out. They will be counted on to get better for their next SEC game against a hot Kentucky team.
The Bulldogs secondary also played well and held quarterback Luke Del Rio to only 131 yards of passing and one touchdown, while also forcing one interception. The most surprising stat from this Bulldogs secondary was how much they played a role in blitzes and getting pressure on the quarterback. Three members of the Bulldogs secondary ended the game with a sack and they were Malkom Parrish, Maurice Smith and Deandre Baker. This added yet another dynamic to the Bulldogs pass rush and definitely helped play a role in the defense keeping Del Rio in check.
The Bulldogs special teams unit continued to be shaky and definitely impacted the game in a negative way. The Bulldogs struggled to flip the field as each of their punters averaged an unimpressive 32 yards per punt. This gave the Gators great field position many times and put the Bulldogs defense in a very tough spot. The Bulldogs will definitely need to make some vast improvements in their punting game if they want to have future success.
Ending on a special team’s high note, Rodrigo Blankenship had his second perfect game in a row and looks to be getting more and more confident as the season progresses. Georgia may have found their kicker for the future in Blankenship because as he kicks more and more, he will continue to build up confidence.
The Bulldogs have talent on this roster but have not been able to put it all together yet. They have a tough game coming up against Kentucky, but they will need to be able to establish the run, play high-quality defense, and have a solid special teams day to gain a victory. On a positive note, this team has young talent that is only getting better with each and ever week of valuable experience that they gain and will help build the foundation for what will hopefully be a strong future.