Advertisement
football Edit

D'Andre Swift: "You can't hold back"

Two weeks ago, running back D’Andre Swift raised a few eyebrows when he suggested that Georgia’s offense needs to think about playing with more creativity to get the most out of its available talent.

So, has progress been made?

“I think as an offense, we strain harder, we play to the whistle,” Swift said. “One block might spring a guy 50-60 yards. You never know when your job is going to be called on, so everybody is doing their job, and doing what they’re being asked to do.”

Swift added he believes much of the team’s earlier issues have indeed been corrected.

“I think so as well. I think we’ve done a better job of being cleaner,” Swift said. “We’ve seen it in practice. We haven’t had any drops, no penalties in practice, so hopefully, that trends over to Saturday.”

If the 8th-ranked Bulldogs (6-1, 3-1) want to upend the No. 6 Gators (7-1, 4-1), Swift said the Bulldogs have to be willing to pull out all the stops.

“Most definitely,” he said. “Everything is one game, so you can’t hold back at all.”

Swift disagreed with the notion that the offense could have done more than it showed in its 21-0 win over Kentucky, a game played in a steady rain.

“The weather situations dictated what that game had to be like,” said Swift, referring to the team’s 270 total yards, all but 35 coming on the ground.

Although Georgia’s offense, at least on paper, still stands as one of the best in the SEC, there are obviously issues.

For the season, the Bulldogs are averaging 36 points and 471 total yards. Yet take away the team’s 63-17 win over Murray State and 55-0 shutout of Arkansas State and all of a sudden, those numbers aren’t quite so impressive. Those games aside, the Bulldogs are averaging 416.4 yards and 25.2 points per contest.

Head coach Kirby Smart was asked what has stood out on film offensively, and what more can ultimately be done.

“First of all, we look every week, but bye weeks we look at everybody in the country and say, 'Okay, what are they doing, what are they doing, what's been successful, what tools are they using, what positions are they putting their best players in, how are you utilizing your playmakers to try to get them the ball?,' ” Smart said. “We're always evolving in regard to that. That's no different.”

Swift again offered some suggestions.

“Work on the play-action, screens, stuff like that,” Swift said. “Different run plays, things that put us in better situations and help us.”

Unfortunately, there are still concerns as Georgia's receiving corps needs to step up, since opposing defenses are set to stop the run.

Smart mentioned during Monday’s press conference that wide receiver Lawrence Cager is back doing some running and hopes he’ll be able to go on Saturday (3:30 p.m., CBS).

“I think, again, at wideout it's tough, because there's not been a core group that's been there every game and been able to do it," Smart said. "Cager is the one guy you can make a case that's made some plays when he's been available, and made some plays on 50/50 balls. We’ve got to be able to do that, because of the way people play us.”

Advertisement