Talk about a big Dude...maybe a little worried.

The honest answer is that I don’t know. That said, he is my too-long answer to your question.

With no disrespect for the Flying Dutchman, I think we’ll probably try to single him up as much as possible. Boykin and Smith (our starting two CBs) are both used to playing on islands. Boykin is physical and will play the boundary. Smith is a blazer, a 4.2 40. Both cover well enough to get up and press and both have the speed to challenge a QBs arm, but nobody will mistake them for Revis Island.

The WRFNA* Hiwat has great size, speed, and hands, but one advantage of our league is that we see a lot of such WRs. I don’t think we’ll single him out to scheme around. I expect that we will make our corners do their jobs with only normal expectations of safety help. If I recall correctly, for all his skill, he’s still pretty new to the role. My bet is that we will defend the pass by trying to attack Kellen Moore’s timing with his new WRs. We’ll try to bring zone blitzes and rush with stunts so that we can apply pressure without committing too many guys.

The goal is obviously to get sacks and picks, but we’ll probably settle for forcing Moore and the WRs to adjust their routes. Moore has a great grasp on the game, but maybe the WRs will not be 100% on the same page as he is. Also, the only real knock on Moore is that his downfield arm is not as strong as the rest of his game. If we can make him heave a few passes deep because the underneath stuff isn’t there, our secondary will be able to rely on its speed and ball skills.

Man, a lot is riding on our pass rush. And Moore is famous for avoiding sacks. We’re hoping Jenkins performs as advertised.

The timing of the Boise passing game scares me more than the deep ball. (The deep ball scares me, too.)

We’ve got like 100 guys who are bigger and faster than he is. HAHAHA!

Boise gets pressure based on penetration by the front 4, usually by beating their man straight up. It’s a Colts-style defense in that respect: use talent to attack the QB and disrupt the run. Teams attack the Colts but inside running and by taking advantage of DEs that get too far up field. We’ve got great althletes on the OL (especially at C and LT) who also have considerable size advantages. Look for us to come out running right guys like Billy Winn. If we can smother him inside, we’ll do it all game. If we can’t, we’ll want to find out early.

We handled Nick Fairley pretty well last year, and I seem to recall him getting some national props.

Don’t read too much into that bowl loss. It stung like hell and was as bad as it looked, but the carryover is pretty limited. UGA didn’t start 2008 as well as it finished 2007, and I think it will start 2011 better than it ended 2010. Those one-game samples tempt us with lessons that usually don’t hold true over the long offseason. Or maybe that’s wishful thinking.