Three and out: Offensive concerns and aggressive play

Radi Nabulsi

There was a discussion on the Dawgvent in the hours following Georgia’s 20-19 win over Notre Dame that I wanted to revisit today: Was the victory over the Fighting Irish a signature win for the Bulldogs?

It depends on your definition of “signature win."

To me, a signature win is a victory over a heavily-favored program, with the caveat of that victory leading you to greater things.

Yes, Notre Dame was favored, by as many as 6.5 points before the line dropped shortly before the game. But was this a signature win? I’m not sure.

Notre Dame is a proud program, but as we saw, this wasn’t your father’s Fighting Irish. Still, this was an important win for Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs.

Anytime you can go on the road and win at a place like Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, it’s a big deal. Also, it's a nice confidence booster for the Bulldogs at this early point in the season.

Don’t let anyone suggest otherwise.

Radi Nabulsi

First Down: Offense still finding its way

No, Georgia’s offense isn’t exactly clicking along.

The Bulldogs enter Saturday’s game against Samford near the bottom of the SEC in three very important offensive categories – total yards (347), passing yards (144) and scoring offense (25.5 points per game).

Although many fans will point to offensive coordinator Jim Chaney as the problem, it does appear the Bulldogs are at least approaching their offense with a different perspective than they did last year.

Based on what UGASports analyst Trent Smallwood learned in his weekly Snap Count story, the Bulldogs were in the shotgun approximately 65 percent of the time against Notre Dame. Also, based on the play-by-play recap, Georgia wasn’t nearly as predictable as many might think.

Of Georgia’s 16 drives (not counting the game-ending victory formation), the Bulldogs started out by passing in six of those, and only one of those drives saw the team rush the football more than three times in a row.

So, what’s going on and what can we expect moving forward?

The offensive line continues to be a focal point. Don't forget that between Andrew Thomas, Solomon Kindley and Kendall Baker, you’re talking four career starts between the three, while Lamont Gaillard is in his first year as a starter at center.

That’s not a lot experience, and the only way you’re going to get better is playing time. No, Georgia’s offensive line isn’t where it needs to be but, hopefully, once the group builds some continuity, improvement will start to be seen.

As for true freshman Jake Fromm, it’s going to be a step-by-step process.

I’ll say it again: Unless you’re surrounded by an experienced offensive line with proven players everywhere you look, there’s going to be some growing pains.

Last week’s fumble and interception were good examples of that.

To Fromm’s credit, however, he didn’t let the turnovers rattle him and managed the rest of the game like a champ, flashing the leadership that’s been talked about since the first day he arrived on campus last January.

Fromm's numbers (16 of 29 for 141 yards) would have looked even better had Mecole Hardman not dropped a certain touchdown pass, mistakes that are more obvious when you’re not scoring much.

So, yes, while it’s Chaney’s job and responsibility to figure out the answers, youth and inexperience at key positions (quarterback and offensive line) haven't helped his cause. Despite the team’s 2-0 start, that’s an uneasy situation for the Bulldogs and their fans moving forward.

Radi Nabulsi

Second down: The fine line between aggressive and undisciplined play

What a difference a season can make.

Last year, Georgia was one of the least-penalized programs in the SEC. Through two games in 2017, the Bulldogs are first.

The numbers do catch your eye.

In two games, the Bulldogs have been flagged 20 times for 172 yards, including 12 penalties for 127 yards in the team’s win over Notre Dame.

You might think head coach Kirby Smart would be spitting fire over so many flags, but that’s not necessarily the case.

“It’s always funny to me when you look at stats because they can say what you want them to say,” Smart said. “Sometimes the most aggressive teams in the country are the most penalized and they have the best teams.”

Smart obviously hopes that’s the case with his Bulldogs, who have leaned on the defensive and special teams aggressiveness to help carry the team to its 2-0 record.

Of course, you don’t want aggressiveness to turn into undisciplined play, resulting in penalties that cost you games. But, that appears to be a chance Smart is willing to take.

“We certainly feel like we’ve been aggressive on special teams and we’ve had some penalties in those areas. We’ve had some unfortunate ones with hands to the face. I don’t necessarily call all of them undisciplined,” Smart said. “When you think our team is being undisciplined and they have a lot of penalties, some of those penalties are not undisciplined, they’re aggressive. I don’t go after aggressive penalties all the time because I think you can coach caution in your players.”

Here's hoping he's right.

Radi Nabulsi

Third down: Tyler Clark becoming a force

So far, in my Three and Out columns, we’ve taken a look at players I predict will make a big impact for the Bulldogs this fall.

In Week 1, we focused on Mecole Hardman, and although he didn’t quite get the touches I predicted for the first week, he certainly did against Notre Dame, accounting for 123 all-purpose yards to lead the team.

Last week we focused on defensive back J.R. Reed, and lo and behold the sophomore transfer played his second straight solid game, leading the Bulldogs in tackles with nine.

Today, we’ll try to keep the good karma with sophomore defensive tackle Tyler Clark.

Trenton Thompson and Jonathan Ledbetter garner most of the attention when you talk about Georgia’s defensive line, but Clark is quickly carving quite the niche of his own.

Not only is Clark one of the team’s strongest players, but he’s improved his technique immensely under new position coach Tray Scott and the results are starting to show.

Against Notre Dame, Clark made four tackles, including one for a loss of three yards and is proving to be quite the performer.

Georgia likes to rotate its defensive line on a regular basis and the Bulldogs do not lose a step with Clark in the game.

Anthony Dasher is the managing editor at UGASports. He can be reached at AnthonyDasher@yahoo.com or on Twitter at AnthonyDasher1.