It is very rare when promoting an assistant coach to head coach works.

Queston for hscoach:  How much of the 'missed assigments' stuff do you think can be corrected before NCG?

Your list of 5 things the D needs was spot on.

He is rated as one of the top corners in the nation, I beleive.
I haven't heard anything about Milliner going or staying, but just by watching him play he is ready for the NFL and would be a pretty high pick if he entered the draft IMO.  The guy Murray was actually throwing to on that last play was covered up by Milliner and there was no way that pass would have been completed if it wasn't batted down before it got there.  He is a better cover guy than Dre IMO.  Dre was a little better at bringing the big hit, but Milliner is a little better in coverage.  I can't remember very many passes being completed to his guy in man coverage.

First, AJ deserves huge kudos for that perfect throw on the TD to AC. But other than that he looked very poor for the entire game. He seems to really lack a good pocket presence. He was dancing in the pocket all night and he couldn't find his recs. And his throws were off as a result of his discomfort in the pocket. For the most part the OL did a great job protecting him, he just held the ball too long and pump-faked way too many times. He still has a long way to go IMO. Second, why is our defense so soft this year against good teams? Ga's opening drive of the second half was something I never thought I would see against an Alabama defense. Ga took the ball and drove it right down our throats for a long drive and a TD. This let them get back in the game and gave them confidence. Bama was getting whipped at the LOS and Gurley was finding all kinds of holes. Is our Dline just that bad this year? Are our LBs getting lost? Ga did to Bama what Bama usually does to other teams. Even in 2010 when we struggled so much our D didn't look that soft. And I think the same thing happened against LSU & A&M. Our D doesn't seem to be as phyical up front as they have been in the past. And of course we all know our problems in coverage. I hope Dee comes back next year because we cannot do without him. Lastly, think about this: When is the last time a Saban defense won the game when they were on the field because the clock simply ran out? Usually the Bama D stops the opposing offense by either forcing a TO or stopping them on downs. This was highly uncharacteristic of a Saban defense.

Good stuff as always hs. Forgive me if I missed it, but I wanted to ask you about the third and longs when we were on defense. It seems that we were able (at least in the first half) to control UGA on first and second, but then self-destructed on third. Did you see anything that we maybe did differently there, or did UGA just the make the plays they needed to, no matter what we did?

AJ appeared to  blame himself for that interception, AC clearly was expecting the fade and held his hands out after the interception as if to say, "what are you doing?"  AJ patted himself in the chest to say, "my fault."  I think AJ misread the cover there.

If we commit to the run like that against A&M we are undefeated right now IMO.  Even if we don't go for 150 yards with 2 different backs we still keep Johnny on the sideline and give our defense a few minutes to get things straightened out.  The 3 and outs in the first quarter of that game really killed us.  Once we finally had a few minutes for the coaches and the D to get together on the sideline we shut them down, but by then we were down 21-0.  I was very pleased to see us put the game on the o-line and to see them step up and live up to their potential.  When we run the same play several times in a row and they can't stop it even though they know exactly what we are going to do, we can not be beat unless we beat ourselves.

Good notes coach, as always.

I thought AJ looked a little gun shy.  At first I thought the coverage down field must have been really good, but then they started showing the wide angle view and you could see guys were open.  I think he was playing very conservatively and was afraid to let the ball go, or maybe was having a hard time seeing around the rush.  I can't fault him too much for playing it safe in a big game where we could run at will and were favored to win.  When the rush started closing in on him I would like to see him pull that ball down and secure it instead of the several pump fakes were he can't decide if he wants to throw it or pull it down.  This was the cause of one fumble, but he got away with it a few more times were we were lucky the ball didn't get knocked loose.

The interception at the goal line looked like the rec and the QB were not on the same page.  It looked like the rec was expecting a fade to the corner and the QB was throwing a back shoulder stop at the goal line.  If the rec would have stopped the DB couldn't have made a play on the ball without running over him and going through him to get to it.

A lot of folks, including the announcers for this game, don't realize what a great job Jesse does clogging up the middle.  The announcers even made a comment at one point that they hadn't called his name yet for the game.  That doesn't mean he isn't doing his job.  It the middle linebackers are making plays then that means Jesse is keeping the O-line off of them.  When he went out with the injury for a series they ran the ball right up the middle and drove all the way down for a TD.  They don't do that if Jesse is in the game.

A lot of people all around the country have said what a great game it was and that it was probably the best SEC Championship ever.  Maybe, but I can't help but being disappointed in how we played at times.  We won the game, and I am certainly impressed with the heart we showed to stay with it and keep fighting for all 3600 seconds (every second counted in this game).  I am also very impressed with how the Dawgs did the same thing.  I did not expect that from them at all.  I figured they would roll over and play dead like they usually do.  There are a number of things that could have gone the other way and we would have lost.  There are also a number of things that could have gone our way and it would have been a rout.  In the end I severely underestimated how hard they would fight for it, and I am beginning to realize what a great victory it was for us to hold them off and win in spite of the things that didn't go our way.  If the Dawgs go on to a big bowl game and beat the snot out of a good team I will probably come to appreciate this victory even more than I do now.

I agree they were not on the same page.  If you have watched Bama all year, you understand JW ties up 1 or 2 blockers which allows the LB's to run free and make tackles.  As far as not expecting the UG to be there, I stated earlier I was worried because of the lack of a pass rush and the ability to throw the ball.  I wish UG the best in their bowl game. 

Great work Coach. I think a lot of AJ's sacks  were caused by coverage of receivers than the O line. The fact that we committed to the run was something I have been waiting foe. That is our MO. Finally, when we sucked the safeties in, we went over the top on the deep ball. Play action really sucked them in.

Great job hscoach as always. Thanks for this years assessment on each game. I want to speak to the penalties. I wonder why we seem to have them at the most critical of times? I know we teach, play through. I just know my stomach gets all so nervous I need a bottle Magnesium every time we make those.
Also, I have seen some clock management problems this I thought. I would think the staff would try to fix this one also. Rolling on to the NCG with back to back possible since 1978-1979. Feels so good. RTR!