Imagine this scenario for a second. The clock runs out on a 27-6 win over arguably your fiercest rival, in a battle of Top 10 teams. Your offense just ran for more than 200 yards and two touchdowns. Your starting quarterback was sacked only one time. And you come off the field shaking your head, thinking you played a bad game.
For Georgia offensive lineman Ben Cleveland, that was the case Saturday night.
“Honestly, walking off the field, I didn’t feel like I played very well,” he said. “I thought I left some things out there on the field. But, after going back and watching, I realized that I played better than I thought I did. I’m obviously very pleased with that, but it just leaves room for improvement.”
In actuality, Cleveland played well enough to earn the honor of SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week. The senior guard graded out at 80.4 overall, according to Pro Football Focus, with an 84.2 grade in pass protection and a 79.4 grade in run blocking. Cleveland also tallied five knockdown blocks against the Tigers.
After the offensive line unit was heavily criticized following their performance against Arkansas, the group took an unsparing look at themselves in order to fix the issues.
“I think it was just a bunch of guys on the team recognizing we had a lot to improve on, and really making an effort to make sure we got it covered,” Cleveland said. “We want to go out there and make a statement of how we run the football; how we feel about ourselves, within an organizational standpoint. That’s not listening to all the negatives that people are saying. That helps nobody; we really don’t pay that much attention to that. We just worry about what’s going on within ourselves.”
Cleveland also assured everyone that the unit’s different performances through two weeks had nothing to do with a lack of preparation.
“Honestly, I cannot remember a time where we went into a game and thought, we could have done this, or could have done that,” he said. “I feel like our coaching staff always does an extremely good job of making sure we got what we need, we’re good on our assignments, and stuff like that. I think guys realize that if they’re not picking stuff up, it’s just like anything else. If you’re not getting something, you’re going to spend a little more time trying to figure it out. I think our guys have done a good job of that in order to be prepared.”
On Warren McClendon:
“I think Warren is very good in the pass protection game,” Cleveland said. “He gives great effort. The kid wants to play. That right there is 90 percent of the battle, just having the want-to to be out there and move people around. I think that’s something he does very well. He gives what he’s got. I think he’s going to be very vital to our success.”
On the jumbo package employed against Auburn:
“That was obviously a package we had in the game plan,” Cleveland said. “We work on it two or three times a week. They come down there just like they would on a normal offensive scheme. It’s been very good for us at practice, and obviously it was very good for us this past Saturday.”
