Georgia Bulldogs Football: Where Has The Running Game Gone?

This was supposed to be the year that the Georgia run game took off. Washaun Ealey and Caleb King were supposed to be the guys to make it happen on the ground—leaving Aaron Murray free to rule the air. Everything was supposed to be good for the Georgia offense in 2010 because the end of 2009 showed, without question, that "we run this state".

Well, proof-positive that things don’t always go as planned: Caleb King went back to being the guy that couldn't stay healthy, the offensive line forgot that it still has to supply holes for the backs to run through, and Washaun Ealey left his motivation for playing better on his key ring.

Washaun Ealey turned it on during the second-half of last season and, by the time Georgia met up with Georgia Tech in the finale, it was clear that he was going to be something special. Where has that dominance gone this year?

In 2009, he averaged 5.74 yards per carry (through nine games). This season, he's averaging 4.38 yards per attempt. That's not an altogether bad average, but if you look closer, he isn't doing that well where it matters—on those critical third downs.

In 2009, Ealey had nine attempts on 3rd-and-short (a distance of 1-3 yards), and he averaged 7.22 yards per attempt (h/t cfbstats.com). As a result, Georgia was able to extend drives and force defenses to  play the run more aggressively—thereby opening up the passing game.

This season, Ealey is averaging 2.25 yards per attempt—he's not getting it done. That means more attention is on Aaron Murray and his wide receivers. Teams have the luxury of abandoning their rush defense because there is not much threat of the Bulldogs converting a short-yardage situation via the run—hence the offense stalls.

Who’s to blame for this lack of effectiveness?

The first finger, naturally, gets pointed at the offensive line. They aren’t dominating at the line of scrimmage and, as a result, they are getting pushed backwards by opposing defensive lines. It’s an issue we have seen before—it happened on multiple occasions last season as well (the game versus Arizona State stands out).

Was the line overrated this season? Is the chemistry not yet clicking with the starting five? Is it a conditioning issue? Has offensive line coach, Stacy Searles, lost his ability to coach? All of these are questions that have come up—none have acceptable answers. The hope just seems to be that, whatever the problem, it’s fixable and, everything will be fine.

However, just as much of the blame could fall on the performance of Ealey. He isn't running with the
same amount of urgency or motivation that he did last season. Despite the questions surrounding the line, he should be doing better than he has thus far.  He played well, at times last season, in spite of the line—not because of it.

Perhaps there was more to his rivalry with Caleb King than met the eye. It's no secret that the two fed off each other's energy.  With no Caleb to share the load with this year, Ealey might not feel the need to give more than necessary—no true competition is there to unseat him, so why bother.

Does that mean Ealey’s not giving his all? No, but most can agree that some players perform better if they know there is a possibility they will be benched in favor of another. As it stands, at Georgia, there is Ealey and no one else.

Ealey shared carries with Caleb King, Carlton Thomas, and Dontavius Jackson (the latter two to a lesser extent) in 2009. This year, it's just him. He's played nearly every offensive down, as either a rusher or a pass-blocker, and it's not altogether clear that he's built for the increased workload.

Whatever the case, it's clear that this is not the same Washaun Ealey that turned heads last year. He's less confident, less effective, and less exciting to watch on the field. All three of those together contribute to an offense that has become more vanilla by the minute and a passing game that, if not for the legs of Aaron Murray, could be more of a concern.

This is an offense that has talent but, without a significant run game, Georgia is going to continue to struggle to put points on the board. Ealey needs to find his groove again—soon—and perhaps that will start with the return of Caleb King—assuming he’s capable of staying healthy this season.

Suspended Georgia Bulldog RB, Dontavius Jackson, Will Transfer

Dontavius Jackson won't serve his six-game suspension this season for the Georgia Bulldogs. He has decided to transfer from the University of Georgia—effective at the end of the summer semester.

This isn't a surprising decision by Jackson given the charges he faced following his DUI arrest over the weekend. However, his departure means that Georgia will be looking to both Carlton Thomas and incoming freshman tailback, Ken Malcome, for quality minutes this season.

Jackson exited the spring listed third on the depth chart at running back and, it was thought, that he might finally gain the reps needed to make an impact on the field for the Bulldogs. In 2009, he tallied four carries for 38-yards—he got lost in the shuffle last season as Georgia played musical chairs with their tailbacks early in the year.

The season began with Richard Samuel starting, who has moved to linebacker for 2010, and ended with Washaun Ealey and Caleb King.

The speedy Carlton Thomas had his shot as well but didn't have the build to run between the tackles—limiting his value to screens and quick passes out into the flat. Thomas will get some looks again in 2010 but all eyes will be on Ken Malcome this summer as he has the best collection of skills to make a sudden impact in Georgia's ground game.

Malcome is a bruising back who has good power and above average vision. He knows how to find the holes and take a pounding. He is built for a north-south brand of football—which could work out to Georgia's advantage as they look to run the ball early and often in 2010.

As for Jackson's future, it remains unclear if he already has researched schools or if his DUI charges will keep him out of football for a while or not. What is clear is he will no longer be playing for the Georgia Bulldogs and, for many, that seemed inevitable given the circumstances.

Below is video of Ken Malcome (No. 34) of Southwest Dekalb:

Mark Richt Suspends Two, Who Will Move Up On The Depth Chart?

The Georgia Bulldogs suffered another setback over the weekend as the football team made its way back into the headlines.

The arrests of Tavarres King (WR) and Dontavius Jackson (RB) cast another shadow over the football program, the result of which will mean there will be more depth chart shuffling.

At the end of spring practice, Tavarres King won out over Rantavious Wooten for the No. 2 receiving spot behind A.J. Green. The competition would likely have stretched into the summer, but King had a decided edge over Wooten in their position battle. Now, with King’s mandatory one-game suspension being a factor, the door is open for Wooten or someone else to grab the reigns—at least in game one.

King was one of Georgia’s best deep ball threats and there were some who felt that 2010 would be his breakout season. Now, it is unclear when he will play and that means someone else will be counted on to step up and fill his void.

The Bulldogs have one incoming receiver for 2010, Michael Bennett. His development will be watched with more interest now as he could be called upon early to contribute. It will be interesting to see how he adapts to the rigors of the SEC, both physically and mentally, because there is little doubt that he has the requisite skills.

The most likely scenario is that Bennett fills in as a reserve and Marlon Brown or Rantavious Wooten battle it out this summer for the No. 2 spot—assuming Brown can remain healthy and Wooten can cure what ailed him during the spring where he seemed to struggle with dropped balls.

If neither of them can secure the job, look for Kris Durham to make some noise. He looked impressive in the G-Day Game and he has always been a good possession receiver for the Bulldogs throughout his career—despite limited opportunities to shine.

At the running back spot, the loss of Dontavius Jackson—who was slotted in at third on the depth chart, with Carlton Thomas trailing slightly behind—is a touch more worrisome. Despite the talented tandem of Washaun Ealey and Caleb King, a third back would be nice insurance against injury and fatigue.

The obvious choice to replace Jackson would seem to be Carlton Thomas. He looked good during the spring and, for the second year in a row, was impressive in G-Day.

However, last season highlighted some weaknesses in his abilities—mostly due to his size—and the
fact is, he is not an every down back. He has a very specific skill-set that the team will use where possible but he’s not the long-term answer.

The natural fit for the role is likely to be incoming freshman, Ken Malcome. He has the size and strength for running the ball between the tackles and his balance and vision make him intriguing as an early contributor.

He lacks the speed of Dontavius Jackson but his style closely mirrors that of Washaun Ealey and that's not a bad thing.

Will he be ready to jump in and make it happen? We'll just have to wait and see this summer, but with the lack of warm bodies on the depth chart at running back, Malcome will definitely be in the mix.

Hopefully the opportunity to move up on the depth chart will spark greater competition amongst those who are fighting to make a statement for the Bulldogs in 2010.

The Recent UGA Arrests Highlight a Bigger Problem in College Football

On Saturday morning, two more Georgia Bulldog players landed in hot water because of alcohol. Georgia wide receiver Tavarres King was charged with underage possession and will receive a mandatory one game suspension.

His teammate, Dontavius Jackson—a spring game standout at running back—was charged with a DUI, underage possession, leaving the scene of an accident, and several other traffic violations. He is suspended for a minimum of six games.
 
Both players are suspended indefinitely from team activities.

The natural response to this most recent development is, what is with the Georgia Bulldogs football team this off-season? It's a fair question. After all, did King and Jackson not learn anything from the dismissal of Zach Mettenberger and Trent Dittmer—both of whom were kicked off the team as a result of using poor judgment whilst under the influence of alcohol?

I mean, it’s not rocket science, right? Even the disgraced former AD, Damon Evans, understood the concept—You Drink...You Lose.

So, again, what’s the problem in Athens, GA? Honestly, the problem goes a lot deeper than a few bad apples.

The knee-jerk reaction is to blame the coaches, blame the culture, and blame the lack of discipline for everything that has gone wrong so far. However, I would contend that you don’t have to look very far in Athens, Knoxville, Iowa City, or Ann Arbor to find a football player with a drink in his hand—most of whom are underage.

I would also argue that the boosters, fans, bar owners, and bar patrons in these places are every bit as guilty as the players themselves because, in many cases, they put that drink into their underage hands. However, little attention is usually given to how a player obtained the alcohol or entry into an establishment that only serves alcohol.

That said, I feel confident in saying that for every player that ends up in the police blotter, there are scores of others who won’t and, likely, never will. Some will last their entire career at Georgia and no one, outside of Athens, GA, will ever know just how bad a reputation they truly had off the field.

As for the ones who won’t escape trouble, they can hardly feel too bad about being caught. We live in an age where social media (Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, etc.) rules and few places offer shelter from the 24/7 public scrutiny you will receive as an athlete.

30-years ago, if a football player got into trouble, there was only that team’s lone beat writer to tell his story. In many cases, the tale was relegated to the local paper and it never went to the state level—much less the national one.

These days, anyone with a camera-phone and a swift network connection becomes an instant reporter—even worse if they are on Twitter. Tennessee beat writer, Wes Rucker, just happened to be at Bar Knoxville when the fight between the football players and the police officers broke out. He immediately let people know about it—on his Twitter feed.

The co-owner of Bar Knoxville, where the infamous brawl took place, spoke of giving the football team the “VIP” treatment. That “VIP” treatment included players not having to pay a cover charge for entry into the establishment.

Do you honestly think that Knoxville is the only College Town, U.S.A where that goes on?

Accountability needs to be had by all responsible if the culture of underage drinking in athletic programs is going to be contained even the slightest bit. Neither Dontavius Jackson, Tavarres King, nor their companions that night were old enough to drink—who bought it for them?

I won’t discount the possibility of fake I.D.’s and off-campus parties where alcohol is freely available—I am not naive to the fact that there are many ways to obtain alcohol even if you are underage.

However, I will say that athletes are more likely to be given special privileges by local bars and restaurants because they want the business, the prestige, and the honor of saying that they have a relationship with the Georgia football team and its players.

For some, that is enough to overlook an alcohol sale here and there. Especially when no one is likely to report the violation when it happens.

This off-season at Georgia, and many other university towns, has seen far too many of the same story lines. How much more has to happen before we start to understand that the overall repercussions to the program, its players, and the surrounding community is far more important than the points gained on the infamous “Fulmer Cup?”

In the end, the football players who are stepping outside the lines and behaving badly are not above reproach. They deserve to be punished and they are responsible for their own behavior—no question.

However, at what point does the at-large-community (bar owners, patrons, etc.) start to take some of the responsibility for fostering this sense of entitlement and allowing it to continue?

Your comments and insights are always welcome—even if you completely disagree—share your thoughts.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Georgia coach Mark Richt suspends 2 players following alcohol arrests (sports.espn.go.com)
• Two UGA football players arrested early today (UPDATED WITH DETAILS) (ballhype.com)