Strength and Conditioning

Mark Richt rebuilt the Georgia Bulldog football program in 2001 on the core premise of Finishing the Drill. The idea was simple. If we work harder than the other guys, we're going to win the fourth quarter and therefore the game. (Image by Jim Hipple)

There's been lots of bitching and moaning here and elsewhere about our strength program. The crux of the argument usually sounds like this, "Look at us getting mauled at the line of scrimmage." Or "I hear bad things about S&C." Beyond that the feedback is usually either very vague or full of innuendo.

I'll be the first to admit that I don't really know what goes on in the weight room. But you know what? I don't care. I don't give a damn if they try ballet, dabble in yoga, bust rocks or replicate the Siberian Workout Scene from Rocky IV. The process is of no interest to me. All I care about is the outcome.

This year against BCS opposition, Georgia was outscored in the fourth quarter/OT in 8 of 10 games by a combined score of 54 UGA to 88 opposition. In the six losses, the numbers are even more lopsided at 37-61. That point differential is an unacceptable outcome.

This isn't a symptom of some larger issue. This is one of the DNA-level problems that Coach Richt has to resolve between now and next season, and it's not going to be solved by touting fake 40 yard dash times or making field trips the swimming pool.

It's time to GATA again.

PWD

Aaron Murray's Freshman Season

If you had told me preseason that Aaron Murray would throw for 2,851 yards, 24 TDs and only 6 INTs with one game remaining on the schedule, I would've thought for sure that we'd have won 9-10 games. Easily. But here we sit at 6-6. (Image by Jim Hipple)

As a point of comparison, here are the first year starter totals for other recent UGA QBs:

• Joe Cox (RSr.) - 2,584 yards / 24 TDs / 15 INTs
  
• Matt Stafford (Fr.) - 1,749 / 7 TDs / 13 INTs
  
• DJ Shockley (RSr.) - 2,588 / 24 TDs / 5 INTs
  
• David Green (RFr.) - 2,789 / 17 TDs
  
• Quincy Carter (Fr.) - 2,484 / 12 TDs
  
• Mike Bobo (RJr.) - 2,440 / 13 TDs
  
• Eric Zeier (Fr.) - 1,984 / 7 TDs

INT information isn't as easy to get your hands on prior to 2004. Also...Bobo was technically a first year starter in 1995, but he was injured so early that I didn't think it was fair to post those stats.

Murray's current passer rating of 162.7 is greater than Mike Bobo's UGA single season record of 155.8. His 61.8% completion percentage is third best in UGA history for a single season, and he's one TD away from tying the single season Georgia record Matt Stafford obtained in his final season before being the #1 pick of the draft.

All of which baffles me when I think about us being 6-6.

PWD

The unavoidable question: What If?

Russ at work (Image: Hipple)

So that was a bit unexpected huh? Raise your hand if you thought our tailbacks would rush for 340+ yards and average 9.2 yards per carry. I'm thrilled for the seniors and the entire team to get the stink of losing to Tech off them.

A game like that makes you ask yourself..."What if?" What if we had ran the ball like that all year? What if we had played defense like that all season? What if we don't turn the ball over +17 times on the season? What if we could've made it through 10 of our games with 5 or fewer penalties like we did Saturday?

Some of those are legit questions. Some aren't completely fair. It's important to remember:

• Caleb King and Washaun Ealey - King and Ealey missed almost the entire Fall camp due to injuries. King didn't return until Week 3, and he broke his jaw against LSU in Week 5. Ealey didn't debut until Week 5 from his injuries and lost practice time. Maybe Ealey could've arrived a week earlier, but he was legitimately behind. Our top running backs from the first two games haven't gotten a carry since Tennessee Tech.
  
  
• The Offensive Line - Josh Davis is a guy that I had little optimism for when he was signed. I believe it was one his HS coaches that disparaged the kid's upside so that wasn't a good sign. The past few weeks, he's played really well and shored up the revolving door at one of the tackle positions since Sturdivant went down. However, he's not the only reason the OL looked so much better. In the early season, the running backs couldn't find a 10 foot wide cut-back lane with the help of Garmin, Mapquest and Sacajawea. The vision, patience and aggressiveness was a total mess. The OL looked better versus GT because they are playing better, yes. But also because their holes weren't missed.
  
  
• Offensive Play Calling - This has been a puzzler for most of the year. As Blutarsky has said many times this year, we faced a crisis of confidence as a program. The play calling suggested that Richt and Bobo didn't believe our kids could make certain plays. In fairness, I didn't either. And the stats suggested that maybe we couldn't. But here's a stat to put your head around (borrowed and enhanced from a commenter on DawgPost.com)...We averaged 27.7 points per game this season. That's with a kid at QB whose only other scholarship offer was Duke. A kid that wouldn't be starting at Duke now. Yet, Bobo's guys in '09 averaged more points than the 2003 unit that won the SEC East and within 0.2 points from our loaded 2004 squad. It's possible that Bobo doesn't need to be run off...he needs a damn hug for working a miracle with the talent gap at QB, late blooming RBs and inconsistent OL. As for the turnovers, I point back towards the early season issues at Running Back as the QB situation.
  
  
• The Defense - John Wooden said that there's no such thing as "overachieving." If you do something, that's the level for which you can consistently achieve. In other words, it's physically impossible to do more than you can do. What we saw on Saturday defensively was what the UGA defense can do. It's what the UGA defense should've done all year. The DTs played to their ability. The LBs took the violence to the ball carriers instead of absorbing collisions, and Reshad Jones continued what was quietly a nice season. I realize Justin Houston didn't arrive until the Arkansas game, but that doesn't explain all the issues at DL this season. It doesn't explain why Rambo sat while Evans struggled, and it doesn't explain why so much talent took so long to come together. That's the reason Richt is off soul searching right now. And answering that question of himself and his coaches is the key to the future of the program.

Overall, it was an awesome effort, and I was proud of the kids. They looked like they had a great time. I know I enjoyed watching them.

PWD

Things I Learned to Hate in 2008-2009

Every year my hate meter fluctuates somewhat.  Not on hating the truly repellent things, like the University of Florida, Dennis Felton's "offense," or temperance.  No, the fluctuating hate is at the margins and often temporary, but it is still a quality vitriol.  Here are a few things I can't forgive for their actions last year. 

1. Alabama. - Some of you have always hated Alabama and will hate them forever.  I didn't really mind them too much until last year because we had beaten them in thrilling fashion during the Richt era and they were sometimes good for a crucial win over Florida or Tennessee when the East standings were tight.  This year's game set up perfectly for us: home night game, blackout, Bama showered bulletin board material at us, UF lost that afternoon, national television audience, USC lost earlier in the week, #1 was back in our grasp.  It had the feeling of a coronation in pregame warm-ups.  Then, this happened.  Total despair.  You won't endear yourself to me ever again, Bammers.  On a related note ...
2. Being #1 Before the End of a Season. - Georgia doesn't do well as #1, unless they are hitting forehands, riding horses, or doing somersaults.  Need proof?  Football started the season at #1 and produced one of the most disappointing seasons we are likely to ever produce.  Baseball was #1 before, and briefly during, the conference slate.  They ended the year with a 3-12 streak and didn't host a regional, which appeared to be a lock half way through the year.  Even the golf team, ranked #1 for almost all of the year, almost choked away a spot for match play day before falling in the final four.  If we are never #1 during a season ever again, I'm OK.  I'll wait until the end of the season for that ranking.
3. Rain - It makes the grass grow, sure, but rain really screwed us this year.  First, with the SEC Baseball Tournament title in sight, the SEC umps marched Alex McRee to the mound under heavy rain in Hoover and no hope of a break in the weather.  McRee gave up seven runs in the top of the first with water pouring off the bill of his cap.  Then, the umps called a four hour delay and we resumed play down 7-0 without McRee.  In the improved climate, LSU waltzed through the game and eventually took the title.  We were still trying to dry off.  It wasn't just baseball, though.  In the NCAA tennis quarterfinals, the Dawgs had just finished taking the doubles point from Texas when a long line of Texas thunderstorms soaked College Station and delayed play until the next morning.  Texas came out regrouped and ready.  The Horns got four singles courts in route to a 4-2 win, ending the season for UGA. 

Honorable mentions include: timeouts, Jeff Dantzler's designated driver, the Rally Rat, knee instability, and the inferno stadium bathrooms at Arizona State.

Any others that I should have listed?

Quinton

Things I Learned to Hate in 2008-2009

Every year my hate meter fluctuates somewhat.  Not on hating the truly repellent things, like the University of Florida, Dennis Felton's "offense," or temperance.  No, the fluctuating hate is at the margins and often temporary, but it is still a quality vitriol.  Here are a few things I can't forgive for their actions last year. 

1. Alabama. - Some of you have always hated Alabama and will hate them forever.  I didn't really mind them too much until last year because we had beaten them in thrilling fashion during the Richt era and they were sometimes good for a crucial win over Florida or Tennessee when the East standings were tight.  This year's game set up perfectly for us: home night game, blackout, Bama showered bulletin board material at us, UF lost that afternoon, national television audience, USC lost earlier in the week, #1 was back in our grasp.  It had the feeling of a coronation in pregame warm-ups.  Then, this happened.  Total despair.  You won't endear yourself to me ever again, Bammers.  On a related note ...
2. Being #1 Before the End of a Season. - Georgia doesn't do well as #1, unless they are hitting forehands, riding horses, or doing somersaults.  Need proof?  Football started the season at #1 and produced one of the most disappointing seasons we are likely to ever produce.  Baseball was #1 before, and briefly during, the conference slate.  They ended the year with a 3-12 streak and didn't host a regional, which appeared to be a lock half way through the year.  Even the golf team, ranked #1 for almost all of the year, almost choked away a spot for match play day before falling in the final four.  If we are never #1 during a season ever again, I'm OK.  I'll wait until the end of the season for that ranking.
3. Rain - It makes the grass grow, sure, but rain really screwed us this year.  First, with the SEC Baseball Tournament title in sight, the SEC umps marched Alex McRee to the mound under heavy rain in Hoover and no hope of a break in the weather.  McRee gave up seven runs in the top of the first with water pouring off the bill of his cap.  Then, the umps called a four hour delay and we resumed play down 7-0 without McRee.  In the improved climate, LSU waltzed through the game and eventually took the title.  We were still trying to dry off.  It wasn't just baseball, though.  In the NCAA tennis quarterfinals, the Dawgs had just finished taking the doubles point from Texas when a long line of Texas thunderstorms soaked College Station and delayed play until the next morning.  Texas came out regrouped and ready.  The Horns got four singles courts in route to a 4-2 win, ending the season for UGA. 

Honorable mentions include: timeouts, Jeff Dantzler's designated driver, the Rally Rat, knee instability, and the inferno stadium bathrooms at Arizona State.

Any others that I should have listed?

Quinton

The Year in Stop Motion

The Athens Banner-Herald released their now annual year in review stop motion video.



I really like the style of these highlights, but last year's was better.  I liked the string soundtrack more than this year's standard rap song.  You don't see many highlight videos with compelling banjo music.  It was so original. 

Quinton

The Year in Stop Motion

The Athens Banner-Herald released their now annual year in review stop motion video.



I really like the style of these highlights, but last year's was better.  I liked the string soundtrack more than this year's standard rap song.  You don't see many highlight videos with compelling banjo music.  It was so original. 

Quinton