"Talent Gap" and 1-8

ramblinvak

ramblinvak

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A lot of you guys have been following GT a lot longer than I have been. I became a fan in 2009 during my freshmen year on campus, but one thing that I noticed was the apparent talent gap since the 2010 game, especially in 2011 and 2012. In my short time as a fan, it was quite possibly the first time I saw our team play a more physical game than the mutts. Watching us bottle up Chubb in the second half was a thing of beauty, and seeing the dumbfounded faces of some of the uga fans I was watching was a sight to be seen. So I will say this, we may not have that same talent in the top 1-8 as that '09 team; it is pretty dang close though.

This is a program defining win in a program defining year and am excited for what the future has in store. I truly believe the GT-ugag game is no longer a game mutt fans can pencil in as a win, as our talent level keeps on increasing.
 

takethepoints

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Yes, I agree. We seemed to be believing the Ugag press releases (i.e. the state news media) for the first quarter, but all of a sudden the OL seemed to say, "We can block these guys.", then the DL seemed to say, "We can get off the blocks these clowns are throwing." And the rest is history.
 
Js-showman

Js-showman

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If you believe the recruiting boards, there is a huge talent gap between GT and UGA coming out of High School. We never seem to break the top 30 and they never seem to fall out of the top 10. But that has always been the case. For decades. The difference this year has been talent at key positions that was either evaluated incorrectly or coached-up. I prefer to believe that it has been the latter. We have recruits that are fast, resilient, unselfish, and they fit the system. In addition, they genuinely seem to like one another - chemistry. That is what has made our season so special.
 
Boomergump

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On the offensive side of the ball, our talent fits our system as well as their talent fits the pro style. On defense, our secondary is better than theirs, straight up. I like their LBs better and their DL better, in terms of talent alone, but there is no denying THEY QUIT OUT THERE. Our kids are tougher and wanted it more, plain and simple.
 

Oldgoldandwhite

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Georgia will always have a decent defense and a pretty good OL and receiving corp. But, their whole team relies on at least one great RB and a great DP passer. One day they will lack both.
 
Whiskey_Clear

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So who are our 1-8 guys. Our Oline is awesome. I'll put shaq in but that whole unit is stout and I'll put em against any other team's unit. So...in no particular order.
1. Shaq
2. JT
3. DJ White
4. Butker
5. Smelter
6. Golden
7. Burden
8. a three way tie (Green, Nealy, PJ Davis)

We have more depth than I appreciated / believed at the beginning of the year. Game to game different guys have stepped up and made plays.
 
COJacket

COJacket

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Whiskey_Clear said:
So who are our 1-8 guys. Our Oline is awesome. I'll put shaq in but that whole unit is stout and I'll put em against any other team's unit. So...in no particular order.
1. Shaq
2. JT
3. DJ White
4. Butker
5. Smelter
6. Golden
7. Burden
8. a three way tie (Green, Nealy, PJ Davis)

We have more Seth than I appreciated / believed at the beginning of the year. Game to game different guys have stepped up and made plays.
Click to expand...
Got to have our BB, Laskey/Days;);)
 
Techster

Techster

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The cumulative mental toll our OL put on their front seven was evident in the 2nd half and it was a thing of beauty. With every 5 yard run deflated them even more because they knew they weren't getting off the field anytime soon.

Reminded me of watching the Nebraska offense under Tom Osborne. A systematic physical and mental break down...guys who had to be out there but didn't want to be out there. Bad news for them...our OL is only getting bigger and more athletic for the foreseeable future.
 
ramblinvak

ramblinvak

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I think we can all agree that more often than not there is going to be a talent gap between us and the dwags, but with an uptick in recruiting, a scheme like the TO, and a coach like CPJ, that gap has become marginal.

The ball control this offense used in the second half was a thing of beauty and Mark Richt played right into our hands. It was death march galore in the second half, and even after that crazy fumble-6, their defense was exhausted from having to go back on the field for another long drive(including hat quick 3 and out by us and a quick series by ugag with the gotsis block), and our defense was as fresh as I have seen all season. As good of a coach Richt may be, he was played a fool by CPJ yesterday.
 

eetech

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The talent gap usually shows up as a lack of depth. We were fortunate that despite the refs swallowing their whistles, we didn't have more injuries, something which really hurt us last year.
 
swampsting

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Remember two years ago their guys taking our guys and treating them like railroad spikes, and our guys doing nothing about it? Not so this year. Every time Georgia's defenders piled on and started to thug it up, guys like Shaq and Errin Joe were running down there to shove some bodies around. Our guys did not back down. Not one bit.

The recruiting is getting better. It may not approach Georgia's level of 4 and 5 star kids. But the character and heart of those young gentlemen in gold helmets is immeasurable, too.

THWG!!!
 

stylee

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Laskey was criminally underrated coming out of high school. There's a fairly clear reason why.

He was a HS running back athletic enough to play DB and establish himself as a pretty good punt returner as a true freshman at Tech. Then he makes the switch to BB and is the team's leading rusher in his first year at the position.

I think Smelter's our second best player, after Mason. He'll go well before Mason in the draft.

1) Mason
2) Smelter
3) JT
4) DJ White
5) Golden
6) Burden
7) Laskey
8) Butker

I'm probably wrong on this list.
 
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