What was the offense for Georgia Football missing in 2023, and what does it need for 2024?

Georgia Football is known nationally for its formidable defense. It is not surprising to Georgia fans that Kirby Smart is known as one of the best defensive minds in all of college football, and his defenses consistently finish in the top 10 in the country. 

However, there has been a shift lately in the Georgia program. A change in mindset toward the offense began with the hiring of Todd Monken in 2020. Monken modernized the Georgia offense, and the Dawgs' offense opened up and took risks.

Monken, in one of his few media appearances during his time in Athens, said he called plays like he will never be there again. Translation from coach-speak: take risks, leave no stone unturned. 

That was what Monken did. You can go back to the 4th quarter of the 2022 National Championship game against Alabama and see that on full display. Another display of Monken’s motto was during the last two drives for the Georgia offense in the 2022 Chick-fil-A Bowl against Ohio State. 

Monken left the Georgia Football program for the NFL and to coach the two-time NFL MVP, Lamar Jackson. The Dawgs, however, were in good hands with Mike Bobo. Who not only played and coached at Georgia before, Bobo was on the 2022 staff. 

Not to write all about last season, but the offense started slow, especially with newly-minted starter Carson Beck. But during that 4th quarter against Auburn, when the Dawgs were down, Beck and the Georgia offense came alive. 

Now, looking back at the 2023 season, something was missing. It did not feel like 2021 or 2022. The offense was putting up numbers like it did in 2022 and scored almost the same points. But something was missing all year.

I could never really put a finger on it, and if you go back and read some of the post-game analysis blogs I wrote, you can see a man struggling to understand what is different this year, even though it is almost a photocopy of the past two years. 

I can describe last year in only one way if you still do not understand what I am trying to get at. The Dawgs' 2023 offense was like a knockoff baseball jersey from a Wholesale online store. The material, the colors, and the stitching are all the same. But the name of the player or the team is off because of its font, or it is misspelled by a letter. It looks right, but something is off. 

When February started, I went back and watched every game of 2023. I just finished the Orange Bowl just the other day. I have now come away with what was missing. It felt all too often that Bobo would get conservative in his playcalling when it mattered the most. Could that have been to protect Carson Beck early in the season? That could be the case. However, the play calling was tight in the SEC Championship game against Alabama. 

Some people reading this will dismiss it or even argue with the screen. If you are one of those people, go back and look. Watch the Dawgs run a draw or a screen on 3rd and 8 in the red zone in multiple games. Then go back to the 2022 season and tell me where you see that! 

Now, the Georgia offense will be improved because of the addition of Trevor Etienne. Etienne is probably the most complete back the Dawgs have had since D’Andre Swift. Furthermore, I heard alot of the the talking heads talking about the wide receiver core not being as good as last season. They might be correct, but the wideouts will be just as good, if not better. But that is just a hunch. 

So, the Dawgs offense has the potential to be better than its 2023 version. So why write a blog in a way that is critical of the guy who calls the plays? For the Dawgs to win three national championships in 4 years, Mike Bobo needs to call plays like he will never be there again.