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Post Questions about three Georgia veterans

Friday August 26, 2011

Something any successful organization learns is to not ignore your strengths while trying to improve weaknesses. Few questioned the Georgia offensive line or its coach heading into last season, but it hardly turned out to be a dominant unit. With that in mind, I’m thinking about three veterans who are all starters and fan favorites. They’re all being counted on to be a big part of the 2011 season. Each has a big question to answer though.

Aaron Murray: Can he be as big of a leader on the field as he is off the field? There’s no question that it’s his offense, and his freshman stats would have been impressive for a senior. The next step is turning those stats into meaningful plays and wins. We’ve talked about Murray and his self-administered “C” grade for last season, and making the big plays is what will vault him to the top of the class.

The 2001 season is known for the Hobnail Boot play, and it established (among other things) David Greene as a clutch quarterback. We forget that the Dawgs lost three games that year at the end. Those losses to South Carolina, Auburn, and BC would be right up there as case studies in this year’s emphasis on finishing the 4th quarter. Georgia and Greene took that step forward from 2001 to 2002. Georgia started winning the close games and getting the plays at the end – a fumble at South Carolina, a drive and clutch FG at Bama, a gutsy 4th down call against Tennessee, and of course the miracle at Auburn. Of course all of those outcomes weren’t all to do with Greene, and plenty of other areas have to improve along with Murray for Georgia to become better at finishing games. It needn’t be as dramatic as the 2001 Tennessee or 2002 Auburn endings, but we still haven’t seen the offense rally around Murray for a big finish. It nearly happened in Jacksonville last year.

Tavarres King: Is he really ready to be the man? No one is asking King to be A.J. Green, but they are asking the junior to be the leader of Georgia’s receiving corps. The questions around Georgia’s receiving corps haven’t been about King – they’ve been about filling the other roles. Will the light come on for Marlon Brown? Will one of Wooten or Troupe step up? Can Mitchell and Bennett make an impact as newcomers? King’s place in the order of things has been quietly set in stone since last year ended. Is relatively little news a sign all is going well? Holding the starting job and being the team’s go-to receiver are two different things. It’s going to take a big step up from the 27 receptions, 504 yards, and 3 TD he had a year ago.

Bacarri Rambo: Um…what’s going on? With Jakar Hamilton out fror the year with a foot injury and Alec Ogletree moving to linebacker, Rambo was one of the few known entities at a thin and inexperienced position. He had a nice debut season in 2009 with big plays against Tennessee and Auburn, and he quickly became a fan favorite because, hey, we’ve got a guy named RAMBO playing defense. Now Rambo seems in danger of losing his starting job. More curious, Rambo is one of the few players unavailable to the media during the preseason. Something isn’t quite right there…

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