Every week, Dayne Young and Brent Rollins collaborate to show you the nuances of Georgia's technique and tendencies. This recap focuses on Georgia’s 52-7 over Georgia Tech.
*All grades and other data via www.PFF.com*
Dayne: Georgia handled Georgia Tech easily and proved how massive a talent gap currently exists between Athens and Atlanta. As you'll see below, the Bulldogs continue to explore new blocking concepts and attempt to create needed cohesion in the passing game.
Brent: Aside from D'Andre Swift getting his shoulder dinged up and George Pickens' big mistake, it was a great day in Atlanta for the Bulldogs. They exerted their will on the Yellow Jackets and found some things offensively that hopefully carry over into Mercedes-Benz Stadium this Saturday. The last regular season Film Don't Lie will focus on the offensive side of the ball because, let's face it, Tech didn't stand a chance against Georgia's elite defense.
Offensive line movement
Dayne: Georgia rarely uses a pulling guard, much less a pulling center. Keep your eyes on Trey Hill as he takes one step back and goes right. Isaiah Wilson makes a nifty move to seal the edge. This kind of play gets Georgia ball carries in space with offensive lineman on linebackers. This is a win for Georgia.
Brent: Whether we like to admit or not, James Coley has brought a lot of diversity to Georgia's running game. Now, has that translated into sustained success and efficiency? No, not necessarily. Still, the concept above is one we've yet to see in 2019. What is the probably the easiest block to execute in football? The down block. Whether it was the alignment or Georgia's own confidence in it's ability to handle the Tech defensive line, Trey Hill and the right side of the offensive line, including tight end Eli Wolf, all execute fold blocks. Wolf blocks down and Wilson works around him to the outside and Cade Mays and Hill do the same thing. Why do this? Angles. Also, two other things to point out here. One, while you know I am not fond of second down and seven-plus runs, when you do it against a light box (only six until the snap and the slot defender works right into Wilson's block) I am all for it. Two, watch Dominick Blaylock (No. 8) find work on the play. He can't hit the slot defender without blocking in the back so he works up to the safety. Impressive.
Dayne: Andrew Thomas gets to sprint out and play lead blocker for Brian Herrien who is not touched until after gaining nine yards. Thomas is a tremendous athlete and can continue to be an asset in any kind of blocking, including open field opportunities. One reason this works is because Jake Fromm turns to his right at the snap forcing the defense to pause. The quick toss off of the counter gives Herrien a head start as defenders redirect their momentum.
Brent: A toss sweep from under center out of a bunch set. I especially want to focus on the under center part. As Dayne mentions above, and we've discussed in earlier FDLs (see Arkansas State), reversing out from under center might hold the second level a split second and delay reaction. This also allows the play-action game to still be a big part of the formation. Also, this is a formation I expect we'll see frequently this week in the SEC Championship game. As I mentioned in yesterday's post game thoughts and observations, LSU has one of the best cornerback tandems in the nation and the Bulldogs are not in the position to line up wide and attack them one-on-one. Thus, I expect numerous bunch formations and a lot of pre-snap motion in order to create separation and hopefully cause confusion among their secondary players.
Dayne: Trey Hill pancakes his man. This effort is impressive.
Brent: Hill was the third-highest graded offensive player against Georgia Tech (80.3 game grade) and now has an overall season grade of 74.7, much improved from his 60.9 overall grade a season ago. Cade Mays is now the only linemen to play significant snaps and still have an overall grade below 70, albeit close at 69.6. Secondly, it will be nice to see this level of execution across the board this weekend. Isaiah Wilson owns his man, Mays helps Hill and then works upfield, and Eli Wolf also does an outstanding job on the edge. Wolf had the highest-graded game of his career against Tech (89.1 game grade), very much because of the blocking we've seen in these clips. The tight end combination of Charlie Woerner (82.4 run block grade) and Wolf (82.1 run block grade) are the fourth and fifth-highest graded tight ends in run blocking in the FBS, respectively. Lastly, watching D'Andre Swift set up blocks, cut and accelerate is a thing of beauty.
