Replacing AJ in 2011

[Reeves]

First of all I think the chance of AJ coming back is greater than most are admitting; granted the chances aren't very high but there is a chance.

Assuming he leaves, how does UGA replace his production? And, Kris Durham will be missed as well.

Who takes over the main role, complementary receiver, slot? Who surprises?

My guess:

1 - Tavarres King

2 - M. Brown

3 - Wooten

The darkhorse is L. Gray. He's a player and I think he could have a great year for us if he stays healthy.

The surprise will be M. Bennett IMO. He seems to be a true receiver and could thrive with a QB like AM, who isn't afraid to spread his completions around to lots of guys.

[Carter]

If AJ doesn't come back then I believe Tavarres King will take over flanker. Unless Marlon Brown really improves a lot, I'm not expecting much. He's basically another Israel Troupe.

I think T King and Wooten will be the starting two, with a good rotation of working other guys in situational plays. Gray will continue to be situational in my opinion.

But I do think our young guys will have an impact should AJ depart. With guys like Christian Conley, JSW, and possibly Quan Bray and Malcolm Mitchell (but who knows with them, we'll see)... those are some real threats that could see a little pt as freshmen.

Also, I would look for Orson Charles to have an increased role in the passing game with AJ out of the picture. It remains to be seen how effective our TEs can be right now without AJ in the game, cuz they were non-factors the first 4 games of this season... but Orson is way too good to just keep in for blocking all the time.

[Reeves]

Also, I would look for Orson Charles to have an increased role in the passing game with AJ out of the picture. It remains to be seen how effective our TEs can be right now without AJ in the game, cuz they were non-factors the first 4 games of this season... but Orson is way too good to just keep in for blocking all the time.

Don't forget Artie Lynch could contribute a lot next year as well. He seems like the total package and it says a lot that they RSed him this year to keep him around longer.

I'm a little disappointed in White and Figgins but Charles and Lynch could make a lethal team.

[Carter]

Don't forget Artie Lynch could contribute a lot next year as well. He seems like the total package and it says a lot that they RSed him this year to keep him around longer.

I'm a little disappointed in White and Figgins but Charles and Lynch could make a lethal team.

Well Aron White has been good, but obviously I think his mistakes in the UF game this year have soiled his popularity somewhat. Figgins is good but since he hurt his shoulder Orson and Aron have done very well, so he hasn't seen the field a lot.

Lynch is a guy I'm really looking to see. I think he can be very very good.

[Reeves]

Well Aron White has been good, but obviously I think his mistakes in the UF game this year have soiled his popularity somewhat.

Yeah that's a fair statement. But he has had his issues with drops all through his career and he's never lived up to his billing as a 6.0 TE. Maybe that ranking wasn't really fair and maybe he hasn't been utilized properly, but I was hoping he would be a star.

[aPureTerror]

If AJ doesn't come back then I believe Tavarres King will take over flanker. Unless Marlon Brown really improves a lot, I'm not expecting much. He's basically another Israel Troupe.

I think T King and Wooten will be the starting two, with a good rotation of working other guys in situational plays. Gray will continue to be situational in my opinion.

But I do think our young guys will have an impact should AJ depart. With guys like Christian Conley, JSW, and possibly Quan Bray (but who knows with him)... those are some real threats that could see a little pt as freshmen.

Also, I would look for Orson Charles to have an increased role in the passing game with AJ out of the picture. It remains to be seen how effective our TEs can be right now without AJ in the game, cuz they were non-factors the first 4 games of this season... but Orson is way too good to just keep in for blocking all the time.

Harsh comment IMO. If Green is not back next year, the team will prepare accordingly and all of the WR's will know that there's more opportunity to play. I remember hearing that goon Nick Fairley wasn't even a starter much last year and look at what he's doing this year. Sometimes all a player may need is a chance. Some people look at it like just because you haven't done it yet... you're not capable. I don't. Durham will be gone and if Green is gone with him there will be a lot of receptions up for the taking and I see no reason why Marlon can't be one of the guys that steps up.

[Carter]

Harsh comment IMO. If Green is not back next year, the team will prepare accordingly and all of the WR's will know that there's more opportunity to play. I remember hearing that goon Nick Fairley wasn't even a starter much last year and look at what he's doing this year. Sometimes all a player may need is a chance. Some people look at it like just because you haven't done it yet... you're not capable. I don't. Durham will be gone and if Green is gone with him there will be a lot of receptions up for the taking and I see no reason why Marlon can't be one of the guys that steps up.

Well it's not just that he hasn't yet. I'm not of the opinion that if you haven't yet then you can't. I certainly appreciate your point here. I just haven't been impressed with what Marlon Brown has shown and by all accounts he hasn't done a lot in practices or scrimmages either.

Others have raised the point that he looked great in high school against bad competition. It's just a matter of him stepping up his game. He has the ability but he just isn't putting it together, which is why I liken him to Troupe. I would love nothing more than for him to show up and be great in AJ's absence.

[tjb]

You can't replace an AJ. He's the type of player that only comes around once in a blue moon. With that being said, there is enough talent that we can be pretty dang good at WR as a whole.

I really look for the 2 main targets next year to be Charles and T.King. I'd like to see the offense geared more towards focusing on TE next year (I love how ARK uses DJ WIlliams) I've not given up hope on Marlon, but we'll see.

I'm not counting any of the incoming freshman, since you just never know. But hopefully someone will step up and surprise (Malcolm Mitchell , if he comes, seems a viable option)

[Reeves]

I really look for the 2 main targets next year to be Charles and T.King. I'd like to see the offense geared more towards focusing on TE next year (I love how ARK uses DJ WIlliams) I've not given up hope on Marlon, but we'll see.

Yeah those two are the biggest homerun hitters we'll have for sure; I really think Wooten, Bennett and/or Gray can be possession type receivers that can step up and produce solid numbers.

[Xnex]

I'm not sure you guys will attempt to replace him, at least as far as productivity and "number of targets per game". And I don't think you really have to in all honesty. With the young, mobile qb, who has a cannon arm I think you'll see UGA's offense actually crank up next season and I expect to see your TE figure prominently in the stat sheet all season long. Everyone knows that the TE is a qb's best pal, and they have such a history together that I wouldn't be suprised to see Charles break multiple UGA records for TE's.

If you have that, and you get the rb that you're all holding your breath for then you'll have enough weapons to force defenses to account for them specifically, which will open up the outside receivers and make it far easier for your qb to hit them. In short, your wr's will not need to be Supermen next season because opposing defenses will be forced to focus on other components of your offense.

Now, if Mr. Crowell decides to wear a helmet with an "A" on the side of it as opposed to a "G", then things might get a little tricky for the deep passing game. Just an opinion for an outsider.

[Lennon]

Now, if Mr. Crowell decides to wear a helmet with an "A" on the side of it as opposed to a "G", then things might get a little tricky for the deep passing game. Just an opinion for an outsider.

What team is Crowell considering that has an "A" on their helmet? :P

[Carter]

Now, if Mr. Crowell decides to wear a helmet with an "A" on the side of it as opposed to a "G", then things might get a little tricky for the deep passing game. Just an opinion for an outsider.

You mean a helmet with a number instead of a G.

Gotta agree with your assessment for the most part, but I think it's easier to gameplan for a TE than it is for a WR. Also, as much as I love Orson Charles he is still making mistakes such as the one that attributed to the INT in overtime against Florida. He is no doubt a great target for Murray though and I hope to see him improve even more.

Landing Crowell is definitely a big key to offensive production going forward. If we don't get him we'll have to wait another year for a stud RB or two.

[capologist]

You can't replace an AJ. He's the type of player that only comes around once in a blue moon. With that being said, there is enough talent that we can be pretty dang good at WR as a whole.

I really look for the 2 main targets next year to be Charles and T.King. I'd like to see the offense geared more towards focusing on TE next year (I love how ARK uses DJ WIlliams) I've not given up hope on Marlon, but we'll see.

I'm not counting any of the incoming freshman, since you just never know. But hopefully someone will step up and surprise (Malcolm Mitchell , if he comes, seems a viable option)

Yeah, I thought that about Tebow too...

[Reeves]

Yeah, I thought that about Tebow too...

I don't think AJ leaving would be quite as damning as Tebow leaving, although it would absolutely have a negative effect.

AJ doesn't make our offense what it is. Receivers are more interchangable (AJ is a once in a generation receiver, especially for UGA) than Tebow was running Urban's spread offense.

To be fair, having no AJ early in the year proved just how valuable he is but I'm not sure it would be quite as dramatic next year if everyone knows he's gone and can move on mentally.

[Reeves]

Now, if Mr. Crowell decides to wear a helmet with an "A" on the side of it as opposed to a "G", then things might get a little tricky for the deep passing game. Just an opinion for an outsider.

Good insight xnex, but I'm not sure the effectiveness of our offense depends that heavily on Crowell coming here. Of course he would help because he's dynamic to say the least, but Ealey and King aren't scrubs.

Each had their off the field issues which contributed to slumps on the field; having said that, I don't think Ealey will be as mediocre next year as he was this year. He definitely had a sophomore slump, while with King we've seen what we'll get from him so I would expect numbers similar to 09 and 10 next year (solid but nothing special)

I agree that Crowell helps, but I'm not sure he would have quite the impact your implying.

Now, if we came in and produced like Lattimore has for you guys then all bets are off...

[tjb]

Yeah, I thought that about Tebow too...

No, I agree. You'll never know for sure until they suit up and play.

However, replacing a QB (especially one who isn't the best fit in a spread offense) is a much taller task than replacing a wr.

We do have one additional advantage, we don't have a guy named Adazzio calling plays! :P Kidding...

OT - Is that your dog in your avatar? How old is it? Nice lookin' one...

[capologist]

No, I agree. You'll never know for sure until they suit up and play.

However, replacing a QB (especially one who isn't the best fit in a spread offense) is a much taller task than replacing a wr.

We do have one additional advantage, we don't have a guy named Adazzio calling plays! :P Kidding...

OT - Is that your dog in your avatar? How old is it? Nice lookin' one...

Ok, I thought that about Percy Harvin, Riley Cooper and David Nelson too...LOL

Yeah, hopefully we won't have that disadvantage after the season (and I don't suspect we will).

Yep, that's my latest rescue Rudy. She's almost 5 months old now.

Look towards the bottom of page 1 and you'll see her story:

[tjb]

Ok, I thought that about Percy Harvin, Riley Cooper and David Nelson too...LOL

Yeah, hopefully we won't have that disadvantage after the season (and I don't suspect we will).

Yep, that's my latest rescue Rudy. She's almost 5 months old now.

Look towards the bottom of page 1 and you'll see her story:

Thanks for sharing. I'll quit posting to keep the thread on topic, but man, that's a cool thing you do rescuing the dogs like that. I'm a huge dog (and dawg) lover, so it's nice to hear stories like that. It's a shame that someone could actually be that cruel to animals.

[ugadawg]

Bobo will be a big factor in how we transition. His play calling has been vastly different (or at least looks like it) when AJ is not on the field. Just look at the beginning of the season versus now, but a better look is at Colorado when we were wide open throwing down the field using the middle and running effectively. Then AJ gets hurt and we stop we suddenly go to running up the gut with little dink and dunk throws and the O stalls.

[Xnex]

What team is Crowell considering that has an "A" on their helmet? :P

You mean a helmet with a number instead of a G.

Gotta agree with your assessment for the most part, but I think it's easier to gameplan for a TE than it is for a WR. Also, as much as I love Orson Charles he is still making mistakes such as the one that attributed to the INT in overtime against Florida. He is no doubt a great target for Murray though and I hope to see him improve even more.

Landing Crowell is definitely a big key to offensive production going forward. If we don't get him we'll have to wait another year for a stud RB or two.

Yeah, when I posted that I still had the image in my mind of him at the Auburn game(?????) wearing the hat with the 'Bama "A" on it. Somehow it made me think that Alabama had that "A" on their helmets instead of their numbers.

[Reeves]

Bobo will be a big factor in how we transition. His play calling has been vastly different (or at least looks like it) when AJ is not on the field.

I think you're right that the offense will be different without AJ, but I'm not sure that the Colorado game is the best indicator of how we'll look without him.

I think we might actually run more 3-receiver sets - with a TE or 2 RB - and 4 receiver sets with AJ gone because AJ can beat double-teams; noone else on our team has proven they can. If we spread teams out a little maybe we can get favorable matchups in at least one spot and I would count on Murray more often than not being able to find that mismatch. Basically we'll have to outman people with quantity instead of quality IMO.

I also hope that our running game picks it up next year, if only from Ealey and King running better than they did this year. Neither has run very well this year and I would hope that Ealey especially would start the year next year running like he is now (and how he finished last year)

Edited November 23, 2010 by sreeves324

[GAbred]

If we still can't run the ball next year effectively, it won't matter who is at receiver. Even if AJ was available all year that only gets us 2 more wins tops. 4 losses is not a good year.

My concern is that our best receivers this year are both tall, and are very good at going to get the ball in the air. Who replaces that? I like King, and I thought Wooten was going to be good but I'm not sure anymore. If we run, the receivers will be fine though.

[Reeves]

If we still can't run the ball next year effectively, it won't matter who is at receiver. Even if AJ was available all year that only gets us 2 more wins tops. 4 losses is not a good year.

My concern is that our best receivers this year are both tall, and are very good at going to get the ball in the air. Who replaces that? I like King, and I thought Wooten was going to be good but I'm not sure anymore. If we run, the receivers will be fine though.

Very good points.

Running the ball effectively with Ealey, King and hopefully Crowell will help the passing game tremendously

The tall receivers that will hopefully step up are Marlon and Michael Bennett. I really liked Bennett's tape coming out of HS and I think he was highly underrated. He has great body control and hands; because of that I think he could be one of those guys. Marlon just needs to continue to progress like he has been and get more chances and he should be fine.

Wooten seems to need more confidence and to stay healthy IMO. Him getting banged up in fall camp really hurt him but I think if he moves into a starting role he could start to flourish.

I'm optimistic about our guys and I could definitely be wrong aboutt one or all of them, but I think with Murray's ability to make good decisions Bobo will trust him to throw the ball a lot in the future. That means lots of chances for our receivers, which I think they'll take advantage of.

[GAbred]

Just saw this and thought I would post. It is data on our receiver looks based on down and distance.

http://www.fromtherumbleseat.com/2010/11/23/1829853/lets-break-down-the-georgia-receiving-corps

[Reeves]

Just saw this and thought I would post. It is data on our receiver looks based on down and distance.

http://www.fromtherumbleseat.com/2010/11/23/1829853/lets-break-down-the-georgia-receiving-corps

Love the quote 'the Green-fest UGA's offense has become' after calling Green the best receiver UGA has had since Edwards (or something like that).

When the best receiver that has EVER come to UGA is on the field, the ball needs to be in his hands as much as possible. I'm sure they thought/did the same thing when Calvin was playing for them.