So...about our talent

While I was stuck in traffic post-game that was so bad I got out of my car and argued with two cops about the situation...remarkably not going to jail and actually getting them to more or less do what I wanted...I was partially listening to the 750 am post-game show.

During the show, Dantzler and Mike Cavan were talking about our talent level. It sounded like they were pushing the theory that it's not the coaching. Or maybe they were basically just saying that all our "Top 10 recruiting classes" were overblown. Either way, it sounds like we have huge talent problems per their conversation.

Dantzler's comment was that we're currently ranked 8th nationally by one recruiting service, but that's still only 5th in the SEC in recruiting. His shockingly lucid point being, that talent rankings are all relative.

We'll ignore the fact that 2 of the past 5 seasons, we finished higher in the Rivals recruiting rankings than the Gators. And just let Jeff's point stand on it's own for a minute. From there, I'll just agree the rankings are all relative. Moving on...

I don't care what we are ranked by Rivals, Scout or anyone else. I simply want us in the same living rooms as our rivals/peers, and I want us protecting our home state's top talent as much as possible. I figure if we're recruiting the same guys as UF, UT, Bama, LSU, and/or Miami, then we're usually recruiting the right guys.

With the exception of Cox and Gray, most of our current peers and measuring stick programs wanted most of our starters on offense and defense. Most of the elite programs can be wrong about a few players. But everyone can't be wrong about all our players.

I am not saying that this roster is as talented as the 2002 unit. There are typically less than two teams per year in all of college football that are as loaded on both sides of the ball as that group.

Nor am I saying that our talent is where it needs to be. At QB, RB and DE, we had multple recruiting whiffs that will only sort themselves out with time. As the better players aren't so darn raw or young.

But this roster ain't chopped liver either. We are most certainly more talented top to bottom than Oklahoma State and Tennessee. As well as Auburn, Kentucky and Georgia Tech.

QB is it's own fiasco right now. And that's not a trivial matter. But we're better than our record would suggest.

Or said more briefly -- we ain't the best 4-4 team in America, but we are damn sure the most talented one. And there's no trophy for that.

PWD

Res Ipsa Loquitur

Quinton

So...about those uniforms

It didn't work that day in Jax either.
(Image: Andrew Davis Tucker, ABH 11/1/98)
Preface: This is NOT my biggest issue from this weekend. If you wrote a list, this would probably be 20th on the list of 20 things. But it's topical and timely and I've already written about #1. But here's my thoughts anyway.

Blutarsky nailed this one. Well, technically Gator Ryan Stamper nailed it when he said, "That’s a bunch of fake juice."

You had an entire year to get mad about Meyer's timeouts. You had two weeks to prepare and get focused for your bitter rival. You had the excitement of playing the #1 team in the country.

And you felt that it would be a wardrobe change that would tip the scales in our favor? When they came out in their Halloween costumes, I was totally deflated. Because I knew that meant the coaching staff felt we needed a trick to give us an edge.

You know what gives real confidence?
Being prepared.

Mark Richt puts a great deal of emphasis on helping our players become good men, good fathers and good citizens. Aside from our inability to locate a nearby DMV office for drivers license related issues, he does a pretty good job. Michael Lemon's problems were an obvious glaring exception, but generally speaking Richt should be commended because he sincerely does care about his players beyond simply football.

But this is one area where he's doing them a huge disservice in preparing them for the real world and giving them a lesson about sports that will most certainly serve them well beyond the arena. And that's about preparation.

You want to be a better public speaker? Get more prepared. Know your material inside and practice your delivery. You want to be a better negotiator? Think about what your opponent or client wants/doesn't want and how you can handle his objections before the meeting. You want to be a better salesman? Know your prospect's business inside and out before making the first call.

You don't win in business by going shopping. There is no store that sells "Lucky Ties." Your lucky tie becomes lucky after you close a big deal. Not before you close your deal.

We didn't lose because we wore black outfits. We lost because we weren't prepared for the Gators. Maybe we lost because they are more talented. Maybe, but they aren't THAT much more talented. More importantly, there are teams with less talent than Georgia who gave them much tougher games.

If we win, no one cares about the unis. I only care because it screams desperation. It doesn't scream confidence. And this team needs confidence much more than it needs fake juice.

The other thing that erks me on this one. I think special uniforms should be worn by special teams. You beat the Gators, you can have a blackout against Auburn. You get a Sugar Bowl birth, you can have a blackout against Hawaii. You come into the Bama game undefeated with ESPN Gameday in attendance, then sure...a blackout is fine.

But 4-3 teams shouldn't get special treatment. They should just work harder. And by team, I mean coaches and players.

See Also:
-- You're missing the point of the uniforms - HacksawDawg (DawgVent $)

PWD

So...about that game on Saturday

Yes. Joe played badly. Yes. Logan played badly. Yes. The turnovers were a contributing factor to the game getting out of hand and our ultimate defeat. However, the defense never really stopped Florida. So what did the turnovers do except accelerate our demise?

The Gators had 11 offensive drives. Two ended in end of half/game. And one ended because they dropped too many wide open passes. That leaves two drives where we held them scoreless, plus one commendable performance where we held them to only a field goal following a turnover.

Therefore my question is simply this....

If the entire defensive coaching staff had gone to Bermuda for two weeks and simply met the team at the stadium, what would have been different about our game plan or execution? Seriously.

If that question is too inflammatory for someone to ask Coach Richt, then my question would be...why did Arkansas and Mississippi State have a better game plan defensively than we did? They have far less defensive talent on their respective teams than Georgia does, and they each had half as much time to prepare.

That's where I come down on this performance.

After the game listening to the 750am call-in show with Jeff Danztler, Mike Cavan and I think David Greene, they kept saying that someone needs to grab this program by the ears and drive it forward. They made it sound like a player needed to do it. Like there's a player leadership void.

Maybe it is player leadership at the root cause. Two of those guys know more about lockerroom dynamics than I'll ever know. But from where I'm sitting, the person that needs to grab the program by the ears is Mark Richt.

PWD

Coach Fox gets first hoops commitment of 2010

Scout.com and UGASports.com report that Cady Lalanne will sign with Georgia. He's a 6'9" 225 lb center/power forward from Orlando. The Mississippi State Scout site says that his stats from his JR year were:

Last year Lalanne averaged 17 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocked shots, and 2 assists a game while being named All-Orlando.

His other official visits were Ole Miss, UMass and Virginia Commonwealth.

UGASports.com says he has a roughly a 7'2" wing span and shoots the ball well. Rivals has him as the #142 ranked player in the country. If you're going out of state, they need to be Top 150 players. That basically means you're projected as a high major prospect. When we venture out of state to sign kids off the radar like Felton loved doing, it makes me want to put my fist through a backboard (if I could reach one).

In my opinion, the Dawgs desperately need a small forward / wing type player to go along with a beefy big man. I hear rumblings of at least one more Top 100 player that may sign, but I'm unsure of position. Fox plays it closer to the vest than Felton did with those around the program so info is tougher to come by.

Speaking of UGA hoops, the Macon Telegraph has an article about the defense today. Last week, they did a piece on the offense. Defense is going to come a helluva lot easier to this group than offense. The last coaching staff really struggled to establish or teach any sort of competent ball movement, player movement away from the ball or spacing. The triangle offense needs all three of those things. Oh...and makers instead of shooters.

I like where the basketball team is going, but it'll be a work in progress growing into the schemes. The rumblings I'm hearing are all positive.

I may not post again til Sunday. Jumping in the car heading to Jax shortly.

PWD

Ok...now, I'm pumped

Uploaded by: captkool1447

PWD

"I'm going to go out there and play my heart out."

The story of the day yesterday involved the players being asked about the timeouts at the end of the game last year from Coach Meyer. Of all the player responses, I appreciated A.J. Green's the most:

A.J. Green wasn't around for the 2007 game, but the even-keeled wide receiver seethes about the 2008 timeouts.

"That's motivation for me," he said. "That's a sign of disrespect. So I'm going to go out there and play my heart out."

At the end of the day, that's all I expect. I expect that when I lug my ass down to every game home and away to support the team. When I spend a tremendous percentage of my net income on the Dawgs and invest my time that the team is going to show up and plays their heart out for 60 minutes. When I don't see that, it sends me off the deep end.

I hope the team is pissed, and I hope they play like it.

If Georgia is focused and plays to their talent level for 60 minutes, there's now way that the 16 point spread holds up. This weekend is a formidable task for the Dawgs. They need to act like they belong on that field with the Gators and play to their ability. If it takes feeling slighted by the timeouts to make that happen, good.

Separately -- Tommy Tuberville on ESPNU picked Georgia to win this game. He thinks the Dawgs are rested, and UF is a beat up mess offensively (paraphrase).

See Also:
-- Tickets: World's Largest Cocktail Party

PWD