Speaking of Strength and Conditioning

Remember back in June when UGA released their strength and speed numbers. An interesting read in light of what we've seen so far on the field.

I like our chances Saturday because we're more talented. If we get our confidence back, we'll be fine.

PWD

Recycling is Good for the Planet

Before the 2006 UGA vs. Colorado game, I did a "Tale of the Tape" article. I'm biased, but I thought it was one of my better pieces. For a visit to the time machine...

PWD

I Can't Wrap My Head Around...

You can measure the worth of most non-government subsidized items by demand.  How badly would someone else want that item?  I know almost everyone is unhappy with our assistant coaches right now and for good reason. In particular, many are unhappy with the job that Stacy Searels is doing with our offensive line.

But here's the thing.  Stacy Searels is by far the most accomplished assistant coach on this staff.  He built two national championship offensive lines for LSU.  He coached the 2003 unit under Nick Saban, and he recruited, taught and developed the 2007 line from scratch that Les Miles took to a national title the year after Searels left for Athens.

Searels is a guy that Nick Saban tried to hire in 2007, and Gene Chizik made a run at him last year to return to his alma mater.  If Georgia were to let Searels go at the end of the season, he would only be unemployed for about 30 minutes.

And...his players are the most experienced unit on the team and one of the more seasoned groups in the nation.  Clint Boling (Sr.) and Chris Davis (RSr.) have started over 35 games each.  Cordy Glenn (Jr.) and Ben Jones (Jr.) have started over 25 games each, and Josh Davis is a fifth year senior with 10+ starts under his belt.

So my question boils down to this...How on earth could our most accomplished coach who is leading our most experienced group deliver a unit that is by far the worst on the team?  I've been a Dawg fan for 20 years, and I've attended well over 200 games in person.  In that time, I don't think I've ever seen us produce an offensive line of this gross ineptitude.  I can't speak for that 1990 team but I don't remember anything as terrible as this since then.

Even the 2003 OL which started 3 Freshmen (two of whom were badly injured all season) and 2 sophs was better than this unit.  How is that possible?

As a fan, I simply can't put my head around it.  I've never seen a team that had coaching and personnel continuity like our offensive line regress in such catastrophic fashion.

If Searels can reach this group...or bench some of them...you would think this season can be salvaged to some measure.  If he can't, a long season will get a lot longer.

PWD


(As for Bobo...the play calling is bad and so is the scheme.  But every play looks better when it's blocked.  I have thoughts on Bobo that I'll share later, but it's nothing ground breaking.  Everyone knows the play calling is a hot mess.)

Do we keep Mississippi State on the Schedule?

I don't really get the point of canceling the Oregon series as McGarity and Oregon have just done.  McGarity says he wants seven home games a year.

For what?  To make more money?  We already have the most profitable athletic department in the country.

To have a lighter schedule?  Well...are Mississippi State, Kentucky and Vandy going to stay on the schedule?  Because Richt is 14-2  vs. non-conference opponents in the regular season since he arrived, but he is 5-4 vs. the three worst teams in our league since 2006.

Non-conference scheduling is the least of our problems / barriers to greatness.

I don't agree with the decision to weaken our non-conference schedules.  Do I think that the schedules were booked in an optimal fashion? No.  The Oregon series was booked on the wrong years anyway with both GT and Oregon being away games in the same year.  Do I think that it was a mistake to book three BCS opponents in one year like we did in 2009. Definitely.

But I don't think fans want to see three bad non-conference games a year.  Does the price of tickets go down if we have fewer quality games on the schedule?

PWD

The Sick Man of the SEC

As prologue, I'll admit that I didn't watch the game closely.  I took my rambunctious toddler to Starkville and she made it impossible to adequately watch the play-by-play in an analytical way.  I haven't had the heart to watch the TiVo yet and I'm unlikely to have the desire to watch any significant portions of it.  More stringent observation, however, isn't needed for what I'm about to say.

Georgia shouldn't lose to Mississippi State.  Ever.  We have too many inherent advantages, from our fertile recruiting base to our superior financial wherewithal.   I've heard Jeff Dantzler talk about our lack of brilliant talent due to recruiting misses for the in-state elite.  But, no matter what you say about our talent level, it should be (and I believe is) above State's at all times.  What State can do, though, is make sure their athletes are well coached and that their effort is maximized.  That's exactly what they exploited Saturday night.  With inferior talent and resources, State beat a sinking Georgia program that appeared careless, undisciplined, and hopelessly unlucky. They did it with a well-coached, fired-up team that took advantage of its breaks and won a conference game.  It was an effort in stark contrast with their opponents.

For the first time in a long while, I agree with every line of a Mark Bradley column.  He makes most of the points that immediately ran through my mind on the long drive out of Starkville.  It's not a happy agreement, but it's difficult to argue any point he makes.  The issue is one of faith.  We, as fans, have kept our faith in Richt for the most part.  He's built a large stack of chits during his career in Athens.  Last night's game, however, may have exhausted Richt's supply.  Losing to Carolina and Arkansas isn't fun, but it's temporarily understandable.  Losing to State isn't understandable.

To borrow a metaphor from nineteenth century European history, Georgia is the "sick man" of the SEC.  A former power that has run into hard times due to repeated setbacks, relevant only because of its reputation, size and affiliation with other great powers.  Georgia is withering before our eyes.  When a team that has won championships in recent memory begins to lose battles with State, Kentucky, Arkansas, and South Carolina, none of whom have won a championship in longer than recent memory, the only conclusion is a degenerative, sustained illness.  An illness consuming the patient, who is condemned to a slow and painful death. 

The question for Greg McGarity is one of prescription, not diagnosis.  We know the program is sick.  The question is the cure. 

Quinton

Two MSU Tickets Need a Good Home

I have 2 tickets for the Mississippi State game. They are in Section 311 Row 9. If you're a Dawg fan in Northeast Atlanta and can pick them up before 6 pm, they are yours.

Sold. Thanks.

Preview for Mississippi State

There are tons of previews around. You know why you're not going to get one here? Because the preview only takes one sentence to write.

"Georgia is better than Mississippi State, and Georgia will win if our players give max effort every play."

If our guys pout or loaf their way into Starkganistan, it will be one long ass ride back to Athens. It really can't be much more simple than that.

I'm taking UGA +2. Richt's record as a true* road underdog is ridiculously good. The only game I can think of that he lost as a road dog was Auburn 2004. I can't remember if we were the favorite or not in Baton Rouge 2003. Regardless, those two teams weren't exactly the MSU Bulldogs of 2010.

Is your memory different than mine?

PWD


*Meaning not neutral site games.

Georgia Basketball Update

On the recruiting front:

• As you already know, earlier in the week Tim Dixon committed to UGA. Dixon is listed as a 3 star player by Rivals.com, and he was arguably one of the top two centers in the state before he transferred to a Florida high school to work on his academics and strength.  Dan McDonald of UGAsports.com describes him as a long kid (6'10") with good feet and hands, and a decent mid-range jumper.  His weakness is clearly strength as he's only about 215 lbs.  He's got 13 months to add at least 15 pounds of muscle to that frame before he gets to campus. The commitment

• Dixon's commitment is significant because many quality power forwards don't want to play the center position in college.  Why? As Jim Harrick once said of Jumaine Jones' decision to leave for the NBA (paraphrase): "He didn't want to get elbowed in the neck, and that would've happened if we had to play him at the five spot."  Julian Royal, the elite power forward at Milton High School, should be comforted to know that we'll have a long big man to potentially play beside him. 

• On the strength of Dixon's commitment, Coach Fox's recruiting class for 2011 jumped to #16 in the nation in the latest ESPNU rankings.  If the Bulldogs close some of the elite prospects on the board, they could shoot dramatically higher.

• Nick Jacobs, a relative of former Bulldog defensive tackle David Jacobs, is still out there as an elite combo center / power forward.  Jacobs visited Athens last weekend, and he had a good time.  Jacobs is 6'9" and 250 lbs, and he would be an immediate starter for the Bulldogs at center during the 2011-2012 season.  

• Overall, UGA needs to sign at least two more kids to complement Dixon and Caldwell. I asked Dan McDonald last week, "Is it realistic that UGA could sign Caldwell, Dixon and the two remaining Milton kids (Royal and Dai-Jon Parker?)"  His response, "It's absolutely realistic to think UGA could sign those 4 guys." Although, he cautioned that Royal is still a UGA vs. GT toss-up and Parker is a bit of a wild card. Still encouraging to think we're still in the mix for such elite players.
  

On the TV front:

• The SEC and UGA have released more Television Information for the 2010-2011 season.  The Bulldogs should have 10 games televised by ESPN/2/U during the regular season.  We only had four such games last season.  We're also getting a CBS game this year.  Last year, CBS didn't sniff us.  You have to be on TV to land the big recruits.

Next season, I like our chances at going 12-2 non-conference.  I could see us going 2-1 in Orlando and then going 3-1 vs. Georgia Tech (road), Xavier (home), UAB (home) and Saint Louis (tricky early road game).  Non-conference the SEC West is so weak that I could see doing as well as 11-5 in the league if we develop more mental toughness and stay healthy.  But the SEC East is so strong, that might still only be good enough for third in the East.

Thoughts?

PWD

Nesbitt for Heisman Watch

Some stats to consider as part of the Joshua Nesbitt for Heisman Campaign. For the season, Nesbitt is completing 36% of his passes. That's 8.3 attempts per game and exactly 3.0 completions per game.

On 3rd down:

• 3rd and 1-3 yards -- 0 for 1
  
• 3rd and 4-6 yards -- 1 for 2
  
• 3rd and 7-9 yards -- 0 for 1
  
• 3rd and 10+ yards -- 2 for 4

For the season, Tech has faced third down 38 times, and they've converted 50% of them. Therefore, no one can completely dismiss what Coach Johnson wants to do in the short term. He's going to run the ball on anything shorter than 3rd and 8. Everyone knows it, and folks are really struggling to stop the very large Nesbitt.

But again, it's the long term that's interesting. It always comes back to the issue of why would any kid in their right mind ever want to play QB or WR for Johnson? Same for offensive tackles and defensive backs (who don't see a competent passing scheme in practice). So what happens when Nesbitt...their Heisman Candidate leaves?

But back to Johnson and Nesbitt. Consider these red zones

• Inside their own 20 yard line (regardless of down) Nesbitt is 1 for 1 passing.
  
• Inside the opponent's 20 yard line regardless of down, Nesbitt is 0-2 passing

All that said...5 of the guy's 9 completions have gone for 25+ yards.

Against UNC, he was 3 of 4 passing for the game for 76 yards and a TD. Outside of the UNC game, he's 6 of 21 for 124 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT against Kansas and SC State.

GT passing nationally rankings....

• 119th in attempts
  
• 120th in completions
  
• 120th in percentage
  
• 119th in yards
• 93rd in passing TDs

Only Army passes the ball less effectively. Source: CFBstats

The stats are simply amazing. Where's my Heisman ballot?

PWD

Single Game Colorado Tickets on Sale Now

Predictably, the Colorado athletic department has put single game tickets on sale for the Georgia Bulldogs at Colorado Buffaloes game.  Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 2nd at 7:00 Eastern / 5:00 Mountain.

Sideline tickets are on sale for $100 each and end zone tickets are available for $75 each.  As of the time of this posting, you could still get tickets in groups of nine or fewer.

Also, you've probably already heard this, but Colorado is going with a Black Out for this game, and the Colorado Bulldog Club has requested that UGA fans wear Red to the Game. The resulting picture will make it look like a Bulldog home game.

It's going to be a fun trip.

PWD

Photos: UGA vs. Arkansas Part 2

All images by Jim Hipple. Click to enlarge.


King makes a gutsy play.


Robinson on the tackle.


Richt yells.


Richt ponders.


Stretching for the endzone.

All images by Jim Hipple. Click to enlarge.

College Football Pick 'em Reminder

Get your picks in. We've got a great slate of 13 games this week including Thursday Night's Pitt vs. Miami game.

PWD

Photos: UGA vs. Arkansas Part 1

All images by Jim Hipple. Click to enlarge.


Kris Durham makes a tough catch.


Durham from another angle.


Ogletree with the special teams play.


Logan Gray on the punt return.

All images by Jim Hipple. By the way, all our Arkansas articles have featured Jim's pics.

PWD

Patience for the Defense (Part 2)

It's a very big deal to make the switch from a 4-3 to a 3-4. As David Pollack said this morning on 790theZone, those problems are compounded by asking kids to do things they've never done technique wise. Like the OLBs standing up instead of playing at the line with their hands down. (Image: Coach Grantham - By Jim Hipple)

The problems are futher compounded by the fact that our players weren't good tacklers the past several years. You don't allow 31.4 points per game in SEC play on accident. It takes a lot of blown tackles and assignments to get you there. Solving that issue isn't going to happen over night.

The other schematic problem we're dealing with exists in the secondary where Lakatos and Grantham are asking our CBs to move from playing mostly soft zone to a more aggressive man to man scheme. This issue is compouned by the switch from "playing the man" to "playing the ball."

In the past, Martinez 's troops were asked to guard the man. The theory being that a ball doesn't catch itself. If you guard the man, the ball can be swatted away at the last minute. It's also in theory easier to teach this technique because finding and tracking the ball in flight isn't easy. Changing to defending the ball means ... again in theory ... that you wouldn't have DBs seemingly lost as to the location of the ball as it's caught over their shoulder for a TD. The problem is the switch to these schemes and techniques are significant events.

They aren't made easier when the DB with the most natural ability (Branden Smith) is on the bench with a concussion.

Should we have played softer zone coverages with Sanders Cummings and Vance Cuff out there? Maybe. Revis Island is a scary and inhospitable locale. It's a rocky place where a WR's seed can find no purchase.

Unfortunately, Bulldog Islands are still excellent vacation spots, and I'm pretty sure the last ARK TD was booked as a Rewards Stay.

Maybe Grantham needs to tone the coverage down in terms of aggressiveness? I can't say, but things look messy because change of this magnitude is messy.

All that said...the disorganization and inconsistent ability to figure out who should be on the field or where to line up is a totally different thing. It bugs the hell out of me. Otherwise...like I said yesterday. I'm trying to show more patience.

PWD

Patience for the Defense

While I have virtually zero patience for the progress of our veteran offensive line's play to date, I am digging deep and hunkering down on the patience front for the defense. Consider a few stats through the first three games. (Image: Hitting Mallet - by Jim Hipple)

Scoring Defense:

• Overall: Our defense is allowing 18.3 points/game in 2010. Through the same 3 game period in 2009, we were allowing 34.0 points per game. That's an improvement of 15.7 points per game. For the season last year, our defense allowed 25.8 points/game overall and 28.0 points/game against Div I opponents.

• Vs. SEC Opponents: So far, we're allowing 24 points/game against SEC foes. Last year, against the same two opponents we surrendered an average of 39 points/game. That's an improvement of 15.0 points per game. Overall on the season, UGA allowed a staggering 31.4 points per game against SEC opponents in 2009.
  

Now consider those stats in light of the fact that both Arkansas and South Carolina are better offensively this year than last. Plus, Georgia is implementing a new scheme while dealing with the loss of 4 or 5 players to the NFL draft from last year's squad.

Granted the stat sample is still very small, but the overall trend line defensively in terms of year over year improvement in points allowed is trending in the right way.

I was blown away by those stats. Did they shock you at all?

PWD

Ten vs. Eleven

It's awfully hard to win a football game when you're routinely putting yourself into a position to play 10 vs. 11. Watching the Arkansas game live that's what I felt we were doing. (Image: T. King came to play - By Jim Hipple)

Obviously, we're having problems with the offensive line blocking effectively or consistently. To compensate for this problem on passing downs, we're asking our TEs and/or our RBs to block for various versions of Max Protect packages. The hope -- they will supplement the OL's inadequacies and give Murray time to throw to the 2-3 WRs actually running routes.

The problem with this approach is pretty simple. Our running backs and tight ends either cannot or will not block effectively on a consistent basis. If you have a guy who isn't running a route or blocking, he's basically just a bystander. That means you're playing 10 vs. 11, and you're dead on arrival.

Some suggestions on fixing this:

A. Fix the Offensive Line. I know you're saying "duh." But it really is this simple. This group has more combined starts than almost any group in the nation. Searels needs to get a Crowbar, Jaws of Life or a Gigantic Lever and pull our offensive linemens' heads out of their respective butts. These guys CAN play, and they are talented. This isn't like 2003 where we have inexperienced, injured kids trying to fend off LSU's man eaters. We had a veteran, mostly healthy group dealing with the worst defense in the SEC last year. Our guys have proven their ability to perform at an above average to elite level through much of '07, portions of '08 and the last half of '09. But they are grossly under performing right now. And there's no clear reason why. It would be a bigger concern if they hadn't proven their ability before. That's why it's so frustrating.

B. Maybe Bruce Figgins, long considered an above average or better blocker, should be in the game on passing downs where we're going Max Protect.

C. Should Orson Charles be better utilized flexed out at WR instead of asking him to do something that he can't or won't do effectively and consistently.

D. Consider putting an offensive tackle at TE. If you're not going to send the TE out anyway, what difference does it make to have a TE in there? Get a kid that wants to and/or knows how to block on the field.

E. Maybe play 4 or 5 WR sets with some quick check down options. One of them can be a TE if you're looking to create pre-snap mismatches in personnel. I don't care who it is, but if the kid isn't going to block...send him out for a pass.

F. Consider running the guys that can't or won't block until they can't eat supper.



G. Maybe teach the kids who can't consistently how to do it or get someone else in there. Coach Dave Johnson might not have been much of a recruiter as TE coach, but his TEs could damn sure block. When Tony Ball was coaching RBs it seemed like they could pass block. What's going on with McClendon and Lilly in this area right now? (Video: That's what it should look like. Ht - Carter)

We shouldn't have to wait for Caleb King and Chapas (who are both better blockers than Ealey and Thomas*) to get healthy. These are issues our current personnel should be able to address.

Going Forward:
We have a massive talent advantage over Mississippi State, Colorado, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky. There's no reason why Georgia can't roll into Florida with only two losses. But they aren't going to do it playing 10 vs. 11. Nor are they going to do it feeling sorry for themselves or giving less than max effort.

In my opinion, we tried playing 10 vs. 11 for five years on defense with Martinez and Jancek, and it was the root of our issues. We got nothing out of the SAM linebacker spot in the 4-3 defense against the pass, and we got nothing out of the MIKE against the run in the 4-3 (with the exception of Ellerbe's run from mid-'07 - the Bama '08 game when he got hurt). That's how we rolled for 5 years, and that got a bunch of guys fired and a lot of opposing offensive coordinators pay raises.

This team can be more. But it won't be more routinely playing a man down.

All of this is fixable.
It may not seem like it right now, but it's fixable. Luckily, the schedule is set up to give us the opportunity to fix it.

Will it get fixed though? That's up to the players and coaches. It makes me nervous that I haven't already read about a players only meeting. That should've happened on Sunday at the latest.

PWD


*Not for nothing, but I've made a lot of jokes privately and a few on this blog about Carlton Thomas' size. But I'll say this for him...Near the end of the game, he stuck his face mask into some large LB's chest on a blitz and really did deliver a nice block that saved Murray from another brutal hit. However, the physics of asking a guy his size to do that routinely aren't very good over the long term. That said, I do want to acknowledge that he delivered a ridiculously good block at least once when he was grossly outmatched physically. It wasn't as good of a block as Tony Milton's legendary decleater at Kentucky in '04 to save our QB from a blitz, but it showed a lot of courage.

OHHHHHH!-&-Two

First of all, congrats to the Hawgs. They did exactly what they needed to do for Petrino's first road win in eight tries. They protected the tall, power-armed Ryan Mallett on all but one drive and he picked Georgia's secondary clean. Mallett hit three absolutely wide open receivers for long touchdowns and engineered a efficient second quarter drive for a touchdown that showed why Arkansas was picked to challenge Alabama for the SEC West crown. Congrats to the Hawgs, enjoy your trip to Dallas or Orlando on New Year's Day. (Image: Kris Durham makes a play. Image by Jim Hipple)

On to the Dawgs. The defense was fundamentally better. There were fewer missed tackles and our defensive line was much improved on inside runs. The trouble was scheme execution. The Dawgs couldn't get to the quarterback enough, despite a variety of blitz packages. The defense registered only one sack and it was in the waning minutes of the fourth. Without pressure on Mallett, our DBs weren't able to keep up with Arkansas receivers in man-to-man coverage. When they could keep up, they couldn't make a play on the ball. On the few occasions that our pressure hurried Mallett, there always seemed to be a shallow crossing route consistently open for him. Grantham still has a bunch of work left to do.

On offense, I am just absolutely puzzled. How can an offensive line that experienced and who dominated at the end of last year be so mediocre? Last week, they couldn't run block. This week, they couldn't run block or protect. And when the line did protect, Washaun would completely whiff his protection assignment. On that last offensive play, I thought Ealey had gotten Murray beheaded.

I know a bunch of folks are getting all over Bobo, but I really think the problem is with the line. We have to be able to run the ball. Without it, our passing game isn't as effective. I don't know how many times I can say that. Bobo's offenses have put up points in prior years. The team has to execute. Look, Bobo made some curious calls on specific plays, but those didn't get us beat. The thing I can fault Bobo with was not giving more variety in formations in the first half. If we absolutely cannot run it, show some shotgun looks and run some swing passes and a few quick, horizontal passes to the wideouts. We never tried to mix it up much other than the Wild Dawg, which wasn't very effective without solid blocking.

Lastly, I'm really sick of the fourth quarter pep talk. It seemed to work, but why didn't we have that same sense of urgency and desire that we showed for most of the fourth quarter when we started the game? Richt publicly stated how important this game was to the program and we looked stuck in second gear for three quarters. Move the pep talk to the first quarter, please.

So here we are, fighting to cling to any scrap of national relevance. We aren't going to Atlanta. Adding to that, our head coach is facing a confidence crisis. The Bulldog Nation is about to become a very nasty place, divided between those who want a change and those who want to persevere. I'm still thinking about which side I'm on, but I'll say this: Since 2005, our program, when compared with our peers, is behind. Is it recruiting? Is it coaching? Is it discipline? I think it's a mixture of all of those things. Mark Richt is a great man and has proven himself a good coach. For many, the memories of past glories are forgotten and all that remains is the pain and aggravation of the present. Is all that Richt has accomplished enough to maintain our faith in him? The fact that I'm asking the question shows the problem.

Quinton

P.S. I know the TV announcers went on and on about A.J. missing the game. Get over it. We knew the default position all week was that A.J. would not play. Would it have changed the outcome? First, A.J. doesn't play defensive back. Second, Durham's no A.J., but he made his share of plays. Our offense can't be solely dependent on a single wide out. There's another team in the SEC who's been missing the Heisman Trophy winner and has still absolutely destroyed people. A.J.'s a great player and he would have made a difference, but he was suspended. We can't change that or use it as an excuse for a loss.

Bruce Pearl's Lies

The heat is really cranking up on Pearl at Tennessee.  It turns out that not only did he lie to the NCAA, but he lied to the public about why he lied to the NCAA. Here are a variety of editorials and updates on the situation:

-- Pearl's Ill-timed Lies (explains what he did) - Sportsline.com
-- Pearl Must Go - Sportsline.com
-- Pearl's Contract Explained -- ESPN.com
-- UT's problems in Football, Basketball and Baseball -- MrSEC
-- Bruce Pearl compared to Jimmy Swaggert -- Local TN paper

To understand why lying to the NCAA is such a big deal, it helps to remember who you're dealing with.  NCAA investigators are often retired FBI agents who are big sports fans.  You know who doesn't like to be lied to?  FBI agents. You know who knows when they are being lied to?  FBI agents.

Roger Clemens is learning about lying during an investigation.  Had Clemons simply admitted to juicing before he testified before Congress or even pleaded the Fifth Amendment and avoided their questions, he wouldn't be facing jail time.  Lying to the Feds is an excellent way to make a small thing a gigantic thing.  Pearl knew better and as the Sportsline guys stated...he lied about something that wasn't worth lying about in the first place.

PWD

Fran Tarkenton on the Dawgs

Before the ULL game, Georgia legend and former co-host of That's Incredible, Fran Tarkenton was asked on his Atlanta radio show about the 2010 Bulldogs. He's always very candid and this time was no exception. When he was asked about Grantham, he laughed and said (paraphrase):

"Fans love it when a new coach comes in and promises that the players will suddenly tackle better and run faster. Remember, the 3-4 defense is not a magic elixir. It's been around since the early 1970s. At the end of the day, you still have to make plays."

Basically, he was insinuating that our optimism as fans preseason was overblown. Upon further reflection after Saturday's game, Tarkenton's comments about the defense seem even more valid because (not to put words into his mouth) you can't talk your way to victory. You have to go out and make plays.

He went on to say (and remember this is all pre-ULL) that UGA has too much talent to go worse than 8-4. If the defense does evolve and Murray emerges, we could win 9 or 10 games. As I said yesterday, I absolutely believe that he was correct there.

However, this team with this many kids who struggle with motivation can't start at 0-2 in the SEC heading into Starkville. Mullen might be the most overrated coach in the league right now, but that team still has hope. And when hope and enthusiasm faces self pity and disinterest, hope often overcomes its talent.

We need a win in the worst way on Saturday.

PWD

Tech's Talent and the UNC Game

One of the amazing events of the weekend really was Tech's loss to a depleted Kansas squad.  I'm not ready to throw dirt on the reigning ACC Champs nor am I ready to ignore Saturday as Mark Bradley did and say...well the ACC sucks so bad Tech can still win the league.

The problem at Tech ... talent matters.  You have to replace talent with talent to maintain your program.  You can only out scheme, out hustle, or out cheat the other guy so much.  At some point, you need play makers. 

Tech's 2007 recruiting class was Gailey's finest with a Scout.com ranking of 15th in the Nation.  The class had 9 players ranked at four stars or better according to Scout. Tech's problem...only three of those players remain on the roster -- Nesbitt (Heisman Candidate*), Nick Claytor (OT) and Jason Peters (DE).  And two of those players have made minimal impact on the GT program.

After Gailey's best class, Paul Johnson's subsequent recruiting classes were ranked 37th ('08), 32nd ('09), and 41st ('10).  Granted Gailey needs a few non-traditional pieces for his system, but it's not like getting "his players" into his system will necessarily make things better.  There's not a dramatically better back for Tech's offense than Dwyer. Nor is there a better WR than the super freak D. Thomas.  Nor is there a better DE fit than D. Morgan. Plus, Morgan Burnette was the best GT defensive back since...well...Swilling in '91?

The UNC game will be an interesting one because the Heels have had an extra week to prepare for the triple option.  Four of Johnson's seven losses at Tech have come to teams with more than seven days to prepare for his team.  The extra time isn't a magic cure all as Willie Martinez found out in 2008, but it's an enormous help.

I'm expecting the Tarheels to win this one in a squeaker in Chapel Hill.  If that happens, what become of Tech this season as they still have four more losable games on the schedule?

Our game with Arkansas is bigger for our program than their game with UNC.  Of that there's no question.  But both games represent an excellent opportunity to judge where both programs are going.

PWD


*Kidding.

Separated at Birth

Some Arkansas fans post their Separated at Birth pics for the Georgia team.  There's some good stuff in here.  My favorite is probably Justin Anderson.

PWD

College Football Pick 'em Reminder

No Thursday games this week, so you have a couple of extra days.  Be sure to get your picks in by Saturday morning.

Random Thoughts from SC

I've finally passed my cooling off period, and I can post this without being a full bore rant.

Preseason, I thought this team would go 9-3 or 10-2. I also felt that the South Carolina game was one of the biggest hurdles on the schedule due to timing, and I still feel like it's a 9 or 10 win team.

What bothers me isn't the loss. Realistically, the quality of the tackling doesn't bother me that much either because I didn't think that would be totally fixed yet anyway. What bothers me is the cause of the loss. We didn't drop this one because a freshman QB nutted up in a hostile place.

We lost because we didn't want it as badly as they did. Richt can say there wasn't an effort issue on Saturday. I disagree. However, it sounds like we do agree (as do several of UGA's players) that there was an issue with intensity, timidity, toughness, and GATA-itude. And I can't comprehend that.

How do you come out flat for a game this important? There were a variety of players who genuinely looked as if they had zero interest being in the stadium, playing football or wearing a G on their helmet. I don't get it, and it's not the first time.

Grantham was billed as the injection of whoop ass into the program that would bring the violence, tempo and expectations back to our pre-2005 levels. What's so frustrating to me is that the defense was just a pancake flat (or more so) than the rest of the team. In fact, I sincerely believe that had we brought the intensity (on both sides of the ball) of the ULL game to Columbia, we wouldn't won.

Having said all of that, it's not all bad news. Some broader thoughts:

The Bad:

-- Defensive GATA-itude. Already discussed.

-- The Offensive Game Plan. I am a card carrying registered Mike Bobo Apologist(TM). The guy takes entirely too much heat, but I can't back him on Saturday. I challenge anyone to watch what we did and articulate the plan. I talked to a buddy who said he believes the plan was the same as the Georgia Tech 2009 plan. The flaw being that SC's defense isn't as craptacular as Tech's. Maybe.

-- The complete unwillingness for leaders to step up. At some point, you have to say "This is bullshit." You can't watch what's happening around you and let things continue to slide. And you can't just TALK about leadership or making plays. You actually have to step up and make the plays. Several of our offensive players basically spit the bit on Saturday. Their number was called, and they wanted no part of putting the program on their back. That has to be resolved against Arkansas.

-- The Belly Button Rule(TM). If you have a skill player who can comfortably hide in your biggest lineman's navel, you shouldn't run him up the middle unless he has Olympic Speed (See Demps, J.). Additionally, if the player wears green shoes, make delicous buttery cookies and lives in a tree, you shouldn't run him up the middle. Get those guys the ball on the edge...not up the gut.

-- The Run Defense. As I mentioned earlier before ULL, having Ben Jones and Cordy Glenn miss almost the entire fall camp with injuries and illness would hurt the unit's cohesion and conditioning. However, at some point having more combined starts than probably any other OL in the country should matter. This group is wildly under performing.

-- Trusting Your Talent. Blutarsky has been pounding this theme for a few years, and he's dead on. You have to trust your talent. There's no reason on earth to send a 5 star alpha-QB with two full spring practices under his belt into his second game armed with the Joe Tereshinski Florida '05 Plan of Fail(TM). You can either play or you can't. Plan accordingly.

The Good:

-- We lost 4 or 5 players to the NFL draft from last year's defense while the Gamecocks returned virtually everyone offensively and added a workhorse elite running back. Yet, the D allowed 20 fewer points this year. That's progress. We can b*tch about a lot of things from Saturday, but that is unmistakeably better production.

-- The defense was in the right place to make a tackle more often than not. Approximately 140 of Lattimore's 180+ yards rushing came after contact. The players were in a position to make the play. Think back to 2009 in Neyland. Our guys were absolutely baffled against Kiffin's Vols. This is a more correctable situation than that.

-- Pass Blocking. Murray had enough time to make some plays.

-- Pass Defense/Pass Rush. Our guys looked dramatically better than last year.

-- Richt has said the right things in the aftermath. He spent much of the past several years in public denial. He has admitted the timidity issue, and he acknowledged the need to bench players who are under performing. We'll see if that actually happens, but that was NOT the case last year as we saw with Bryan Evans. If we're bringing a meritocracy back to Athens, it will do wonders for turning the program around. That and taking the training wheels off our talent.

It's not as bleak as it looks:
From UT '06 to UT '07, the Bulldogs lost 6 straight games to SEC East opponents. It took a near miracle stop in Nashville to avoid a seventh loss in a row. Yet...as bad as things looked after that Vandy win (and it was looking very bleak), we still went to Jacksonville and beat the Gators senseless. Things are never as good or bad as they look.

Most of our issues are fixable. Obviously it shouldn't be a recurring theme that we need to GATA more. But it is. If we Get After Their Ass (GATA) against the Hawgs, we'll be fine. And...well..getting AJ back wouldn't hurt either.

PWD

Kickoff Time for UGA vs. Mississippi State Announced

The Georgia Bulldogs will kickoff against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at 7:00 pm EST from Starkville.  The game will be telecast on Fox Sports Net (FSN). 

The full TV slate for the Sept. 25th weekend:

12:21 ET, UAB at Tennessee (SEC Network)
3:30 ET, Alabama at Arkansas (CBS)
7:00 ET, Kentucky at Florida (ESPNU)
7:00 ET, Georgia at Miss. State (FSN)
7:30 ET, Fresno State at Ole Miss (CSS)
7:45 ET, South Carolina at Auburn (ESPN)
9:00 ET, West Virginia at LSU (ESPN2)

Source: SECSports.com

This week's Georgia vs. Arkansas will kickoff at 12:00 pm EST on ESPN.

Some Initial Thoughts

I'm going to try to be measured here after a frustrating 17-6 loss in Columbia.  Some first impressions:

• Marcus Lattimore is deserving of his hype.  He's the next great SEC tailback.  That guy's powerful, he runs hard, and is difficult to wrap up.  SC is going to be able to do a lot of things on offense with a strong runner they can rely on to bail them out.  He looked like Cecil Collins today.
• Despite that, we still haven't learned to tackle.  I'll give Lattimore credit for breaking some tackles, but there were several critical plays where we didn't even make attempts to wrap him up with arms.  Instead we tried to knock him down, not take him down.  He's too good a back for that crap.  Can someone teach our defense the fundamentals of tackling?  
• Despite those problems, the defense played better than it feels like they played.  They were physically overpowered much of the day, but only gave up 17 points.  In the third and fourth quarters, they had some really nice defensive series and made Garcia look confused  and tentative.  The thing is, you just kept expecting SC to start feeding Lattimore and grind the game out and that's exactly what they did late in the fourth to ice it.   
• Our offensive line is way overrated.  Carolina has a good defensive front, but our running game was nonexistent after the first drive. Without a strong running game, our offense doesn't work.  It's that simple.  Searles has some work to do.  Chapas's injury hurt, but our best second half rush was for five yards.  We have to do better.
• Bacarri Rambo.  Ouch, buddy.  Flush this whole game and get ready for Petrino's passing schemes. 

The season isn't necessarily over with regards to the SEC Championship, but it's now teetering.  I expect both SC and Florida to lose at least one conference game.  Both have to play Bama and they have to play each other.  We can still get to Atlanta.  After today's performance, though, it's just too difficult to really conceive of this team playing for a championship.

Quinton

Bruce Pearl Fined $1.5 million by UT

Bruce Pearl fined by UT for providing misleading information to the NCAAs. More important to UGA basketball fans, Pearl will be banned from off campus recruiting for a period of 1 year beginning Sept. 24th.

UPDATE: The Vols assistants are being taken off the road as well!

Hamilton also reduced each of Pearl's assistant coaches' salaries by 25 percent. Beginning Sept. 24, assistant coach Jason Shay will not be permitted to recruit off campus for three months, associate head coach Tony Jones will be prohibited from off-campus recruiting for nine months and assistant Steve Forbes will be prohibited from off-campus recruiting for a year.

As Bulldog in Exile said, Hamilton had to make an example out of somebody to save his own ass. And unfortunately for Bruce Pearl's (and his crocodile tears), it's the basketball coach.

PWD

Weather for Saturday

This Saturday marks my 20th consecutive game between Georgia and South Carolina attended in person. To no one's surprise, the forecast for Saturday is the same as it is every single time we play them in The Newark of the South.

Tarzan hot.



The various forecasts have the game time temperature pegged for 85-90 degrees at kickoff and rising through the game topping at 90-95 degrees with oppressive humidity. On the bright side, you'll lose a few pounds of sweat. So you'll exit either drunker or thinner due to the lost tonnage.

The two hottest games I've ever attended were at Alabama (2002) and at Clemson (2003). After that I'd wager that the next 5 hottest games I've attended were all in Columbia, and I've attended well over 200 home and away games in person.

Nobody enjoys playing in that kind of heat, but it does favor the deeper team which is clearly the Bulldogs. Overall, my prediction for Saturday is pretty simple. If the Net Turnover margin is -2 or better in our favor, I think we win. If we waltz into the Chicken Coop and turn it over 4-5 times like we did in 2000 and 1996, we're going to lose.

We're more talented. Period. And the only way we're losing on Saturday is to blow ourselves up.

What are the hottest games you've attended in person?

PWD

Michael Wilbon on AJ Green

He's indignant. I guess I'm fine with the double standard here because the rules are the rules. I just have a major problem with the wildly inconsistent enforcement of the rules.

PWD

Tennessee Basketball Under NCAA Investigation?

Per ESPN, the NCAA is going after the Vol basketball program. Bruce Pearl is an extremely aggressive and successful recruiter of Atlanta area talent. NCAA attention on the Vols can only help Coach Fox's attempts to build a recruiting base in Atlanta.

PWD

Agent misrepresented himself to AJ Green

Image by Hipple
ESPN is reporting that the agent who bought the jersey for $1,000 approached AJ Green via Facebook. The agent told AJ that he was a financial adviser and memorabilia collector.

AJ still shouldn't have sold the guy the jersey, and that's an NCAA violation. But it's an entirely different thing to sell a jersey to a random dude vs. an agent. In the agent scenario, he would essentially be laundering you money. In the laundering money scenario, it would have made more sense for AJ to just sell the guy a pack of toilet paper for $1,000. Why bother with the jersey?

I can't fathom how the suspension can stand at four games upon repeal. But this is the NCAA we're dealing with.

PWD

College Football Pick 'em Reminder

Don't forget to get your picks in before kickoff for tonight's Auburn vs. MSU game at funofficepools.com.

Thanks!

I'll try and do an update about Week 1 winners later this evening.  Until then.  Go Bizarro Dogs.

Four Game Suspension? Say What?

I must have missed something in the NCAA's report. When A.J. Green sold his jersey for $1,000 did he leave a live a baby in it or a dead hooker? Or maybe he sold the jersey to Myles Brand's zombie corpse?

Why the hell is he getting suspended for four games? Clay Travis had a great comment on this via Twitter:

On A.J., if he'd stolen ten jerseys, he probably misses a game. Sell one he owns, four games. Felonies count less than making money in NCAA.

What Clay didn't mention is...you beat up an cop in Knoxville and it's zero games on the suspension.

I also agree with Orson Swindle in that it's a very random punishment. I think the punishment will be reduced by a game or two, but who knows. This is as arbitrary a punishment as I've seen in a while by the NCAA.

By the way...I know Dean Legge is taking a ton of crap for his "AJ will play on Saturday announcement." I also know that in that profession you need to be right 100% of the time. But it's not like other media sources covering the Dawgs haven't been wrong about this exact sort of thing. It happens. You whiff, admit you were wrong, apologize and move on.

What a weird couple of months. I think we beat SC and Mississippi State with or without AJ Green. Arkansas on the other hand...that's going to be tricky.

PWD

Photos: UGA vs. UL-L (Defense and Special Teams)

All images courtesy of Jim Hipple. Click to enlarge.


Branden Smith in the open field*


Marcus Dowtin on the stop


Brandon Boykin comes up with the ball.

All images by Jim Hipple.

PWD

*In retrospect, Smith is on offense for this play. But it really doesn't matter...does it?

Photos: UGA vs UL-L (Offense)

All images courtesy of Jim Hipple. Click to enlarge.


Carlton Thomas


Caleb King scores a TD


Bring back the tear away jersey.


Check out Ben Jones blocking from his knees


Aaron Murray strikes the pose

All images by Jim Hipple.

Photos: UGA vs. UL-L (The Coaches)

All images courtesy of Jim Hipple. Click to enlarge.


Coach Todd Grantham


Coach Mark Richt


Coach Mike Bobo

All images by Jim Hipple.

PWD

Grantham Prologue

On the eve of the unveiling of Todd Grantham's new 3-4 scheme, I wanted to give a couple of links and ask a couple of questions about our new defense.  First, although these are old articles, our own Mark Schlabaugh has a couple of good pieces on the proliferation of the 3-4 and the personnel required to run it effectively.  Saban and Grantham figure prominently, but the articles notes that a bunch of teams are making the same switch this season. 

I have tried to avoid my general ambivalence and pessimism of last year or the co-existing duality of optimism and pessimism shown by Doug or Kyle.  But, the more I think about our returning personnel and the general state of the defense, the more uncertain I am about our defensive outlook.  I didn't say pessimistic, just uncertain.  

Here are the things I like.  Most importantly, I feel much more confident that our players will be fundamentally sound.  From what I've heard regarding our new defensive assistants, they are stressing sure tackling and technique.  Those two things were the most noticeable drop offs from VanGorder's death explosions to Willie's nudging, armless projectiles.  Second, we have a scheme that will require some additional prep work from week to week.  Although the 3-4 is spreading, it's still an exception from the 4-3 that most other teams in the SEC run.  That requires a different practice scheme for our opponents to simulate.  Third, I have faith in the Grantham brain.  He'll well thought of by people who know the 3-4 and has coached with some 3-4 masters.  He knows what he's doing, right?

But, I also have some misgivings.  First, how well can the Grantham mind-meld work on our linebackers?  While I want the scheme to confuse opposing QBs, sometimes the first year of a scheme change also confuses the people who are running that scheme.  Grantham has been optimistic in the preseason press, but it still has to face some very clever offensive coordinators this year.  Second, do we have the DL personnel to eat space and keep our LBs free enough to implement the stunts necessary to confuse and pulverize those opposing QBs?  Demarcus Dobbs is credible, but everyone else playing nose or end is a big, fat question mark.  They can stay fat, but they can't stay question marks.  Those guys have to step in and perform for the scheme to function properly.  (See for example Alabama's 3-4 without Mt. Cody, #31 in total defense, opposed to with him, #2 and #3 in total defense.)

So, what do you think?  Is Grantham the guy who returns us to the Russell/VanGorder "if we score more than 20 we'll win" defensive safety?  Or, will Grantham turn out to be someone about whom you say "how can that guy make that much money by producing that crappy of a defense?"  We need the former, because we've already seen enough of the latter.

Quinton

Over 250 in the College Football Pick 'em Pool

Bulldog in Exile wants to do a contest for the best name in the pool, and I thought that was a great idea. 

However, he's suggesting that there's some sort of prize involved for the person with the best user name.  In order to set your expectations properly, the prize may be something along the lines of an autographed copy of his bar tab...or a smile. Everyone could use a smile...right?

In my opinion, the best names so far are Hooters Whisperer, Jeremiah Masoli Stole My User Name, and The Turkey Insemination Crew.  You have until 11:30 or so tomorrow to join the pool.  Click here to join.

PWD

Damn Paint Fumes

An incredible article by Ed Grisamore about a little girl's fight against disease, and her family's efforts to fight childhood cancer.  The article also talks about the Bulldogs wearing a sticker on the back of their helmets for the Georgia vs. Arkansas game in honor of the Joanna McAfee Childhood Cancer Foundation.  (Ht - WRobinsDawg via the DawgVent)

It's a quality read.

College Football Pick 'Em is LIVE

If memory serves, we had well over 500 people participating last year. Our own Quinton McDawg finished around the Top 10. Me...not so much. I think Dawgnoxious finished in the Top 10...of people who did worst. To sign-up click here:

• Pool Name: Bulldog in Exile/Georgia Sports Blog College Football Pick'em 2010
• Type: College Football Pick'em. Teams are set by pool commissioner.
• Description: Bulldog in Exile and the Georgia Sports Blog are teaming up for college football pick'em. We will play weeks 1-14 , so sign up immediately to participate.

Bulldog in Exile will be managing the match-ups week to week as I'm blocked from the site at work. Our pool is very focused on the SEC. We're shooting for 12-14 games per week in the pool. We focus on SEC teams plus GT, Clemson and FSU. We also try and include interesting Top 25 games. The games we exclude are SEC games against Div I-AA games and obvious beat down games beyond the SEC. (For instance, Ohio State vs. Toledo we wouldn't include, but Florida vs. Toledo we probably would keep).

IMPORTANT -- Point Spread is for informational purposes only. You aren't picking against the spread.

The pool is based on a weighting / confidence system. The MORE confident you are that a specific team will win the MORE points you allocate for the game. The less confident you are, the less points you allocate. It's really straightforward.

If you see games on future weeks that you'd like included, you can suggest them within the software. Let me know if you have any problems.

Thanks and have fun.

PWD

About the Office Pool

Yes, I'm trying to do one. But the site is blocked from work so it's tough for me to coordinate it.  I know it's the last minute.  Trying to work with the guys to get it done before tomorrow night's game.

Previewing the Gamecocks in 2010

The Chicken faithful generally are in full throated defense of their preseason national title this time of year. And this year is no exception.

Gamecock Reasons for Optimism:

1. The Defense
Their pass defense ranked 8th in the nation last year, and they finished 15th in total defense and 24th in scoring defense. Plus, they have seven starters returning on defense. But then again, when hasn't the Gamecock defense been sturdy under Spurrier and Holtz?

2. Their OL can't possible be Worse
Kidding. It can definitely be worse. See below.

3. Marcus Lattimore
The most important Gamecock running back recruit since Derek Watson. Well...I guess you could list D. Summers, but that guy had more issues than TV Guide. Unfortunately for SC, Lattimore will be running behind the "Palmetto Curtain" (the thatched palm leaf quality SC offensive line). The SC running game ranked 91st in the nation last year...so Lattimore is pretty much their only card to play here.

4. The Youth Movement
All joking aside, the Gamecocks genuinely do have some explosive young play makers. Alshon Jeffery (WR) in particular is a true weapon that can make a QB like Garcia look very good. If he has time to throw.

Reasons for Worry:

1. The Gamecock OL
If there's an area that has performed worse for Coach Spurrier during his tenure than quarterback, it's offensive line. Over the past three seasons, they have averaged 36.7 sacks allowed per season. Add to that problem...the team's starting left tackle and a starting offensive guard are both apparently under NCAA investigation for their involvement in Hotel Gate.

A girl once told me that there are two kinds of scary. There's "Oh, my gosh this roller coaster sure is scary." And then there's "OH MY GOD THERE IS AN INTRUDER IN MY HOME!" If the anemic Gamecock OL loses two starters off a unit that has under performed as much as this group, Garcia's level of fear will be more in the second category.

2. Stephen Garcia
This has been covered to death by every SEC journalist. Once or twice per year, Garcia looks ridiculously good. For instance, his Heisman-like performance against UGA last year. And then there are the other times. For instance, his last two bowl performances were the toughest vacation footage I've seen since the movie "Very Bad Things" albeit without the dead hooker.

3. The Schedule
Road games against Auburn, Florida and Clemson would be tough enough, but they also get home games against Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Arkansas. It's sincerely one of the toughest slates in the nation.

4. Hotel Gate
Along with the two offensive linemen listed above, they also have TE Wesley Saunders involved in this mess. Saunders is currently off the team and will miss the Southern Miss game. Plus, their best DT and a back-up safety are under the same microscope.

Overall, a 7-5 regular season sounds about right based primarily on the bigger mess at Tennessee. If Spurrier had caught a break or two on the SEC West Rotation, a nine win season wouldn't have been out of the question. But he didn't. A trip to Memphis or Birmingham sounds about right. That said...if they can topple UGA in Week 2, their entire season can change.

As for the chicken fans crowing with delight over this season...what SEC team has ever had the questions SC has at QB and OL and had a breakout year? I smell retirement for the Head Ball Coach.

PWD