Many saw the fall of this SEC East giant coming when they returned only 10 starters in ’06. But few thought that a Mark Richt offense could struggle like they did. We all know it starts up front, but Richt gets to rebuild again as five key upperclassmen depart (after three left last year). 2006’s marginal OL was a huge reason the Bulldogs struggled to achieve the nation’s 77th-rated total offense – last season’s incoming No.1 pro-style QB Mark Stafford was constantly harassed after being thrown into the fire right away, and the ball carriers barely earned four yards per try. Contrary to the popular notion that Stafford will again underachieve, we feel Richt will coach the Dallas-native up this offseason. This kid will learn from his mistakes – he is too good not to with Richt bringing him along. Really, all he has to do is not lose games with so much available at the talent positions. Mohamed Massaquoi, A.J. Bryant and Ken Harris can burn foes deep and also earn YAC galore. With Lumpkin and Brown pounding the rock inside, these WRs will continue to get open. But it all starts with replacing the OL, and the fresh faces there will dictate whether the Dawgs can get back into the SEC East race or not. The nation’s No.9 total defense looks to return seven starters, but they are mostly up front or in the secondary. Another way of looking at it is that they lose three of their top four tacklers as well as All-American end Moses Quentin. DEs Charles Johnson and Marcus Howard will be fine, as will Owens and Weston inside. But LB Brandon Miller needs help to secure the corps, so first it’s wide open competition in spring and then trial-by-fire for whoever earns the slots. The DBs, too, should be fine, even with the loss of All-SEC Battle. So should the entire D, which will again keep UGA in games when the offense sputters. All the Bulldogs need is to find some consistency on offense to again challenge for their division half and return to the nation’s top 10.