2010: We were in a bad place

I've hinted around at this for long enough, so hear goes...Without naming names, it is clear enough now that the whole 'team cancers' meme from last year wasn't some excuse machine?

Looking at the quotes from guys about the team bus after the Mississippi State game, it isn't hard to read between the lines about the actual tenor the discussions in the locker room and on the bus.

"We were just in a bad place."

Yeah.  No doubt.  I do have to wonder, is guys leaving because they realize there isn't playing time for them a sign that you will have to compete now, instead of getting deeded playing time due to longevity?

It is hard to say this, but I'm not disappointed with guys leaving the team.  Oh, I'm disappointed on an individual level for each player not finding what they want at Georgia, but looking at who has left and their reasons for leaving on whole, I'm not disappointed.  I felt the same way about Nate Hybl (I realize it was a different situation):  If you don't want to play here, work to beat out someone, and help the team if you don't, leave.  Especially if you are creating team chemistry issues.  Hey, I get it if you want to go somewhere else that you might have more playing time.  I understand that.  But it is also a sign of ME-team thinking, regardless of how it is couched.

One final thought, I am ok with the level of secrecy the coaches have about guys playing or not playing.  I'm hoping it is part of the trade off:  Play your asses off, work as a team and compete; we as coaches will do whatever we can to protect you and your reputation in the press and blogosphere. I applaud that.

TD

File Under: Things that Make Paul Westerdawg Happy

This:

8. In all likelihood, the team will not head to the pool at the Ramsey Center this fall camp.
“I doubt we go to Ramsey,” Richt said. “This might be the first time that we’ve gotten all 29 practice opportunities in. We haven’t gotten there yet, but we’re on track.” 

I'm ambivalent about the pool thing, honestly.  We didn't fall off the past few years because of going to the pool.  We fell off because we weren't totally and honestly committed to the single minded pursuit of playing the best football possible, from the AD to the managers, with the goal of humiliation and domination of all teams faced.

Going to the pool isn't the issue.  Going to the pool is a sign.  Not going is a sign, as well.  If this represents a dedication to that single minded pursuit, awesome.

TD

Strength or Not?

Let me start by saying this: I am cautiously optimistic about the strength and conditioning changes made earlier this year.  It is clear that the program wasn't working, based on stats and the eyeball test. I place no stock whatsoever in the typical blather coming from Athens about how tough it is and how this is the most intense summer evah!

Even if it is change for change's sake, it will be better due to JT2's intensity and no-BS approach to things.  I like the hires that have been made in Gilbert and Brown.  Both are winners who get what dedication means.  Both, by all accounts, were strong leaders who showed up to work during their playing careers.

However...

I do worry about Brown and Gilbert's approach as rookie coaches.  It isn't out of the ordinary for teams to hire former players to work the weight room.  It provides a good connection to past successes.  The current players connect better with dudes in their 20s than with dudes in their 50s and 60s.  If Brown and Gilbert are left to working accountability and work habits/ethics into the player's routines, those hires are probably wins.  I do worry about the 'this ain't how we did it' issue and falling back to whatever DVH was doing, potentially bringing back bad work habits.  If they start thinking they are still players and go all buddy buddy with the current roster, instead of being coaches, nothing improves.

I think JoeT2 is a good choice to lead the S&C program.  He has extensive experience in S&C.  He won't be confused as anyone's buddy.  I am pretty sure he eats live wasps for breakfast, just to get the juices flowing. Were there other good options? Sure.  Would I have been happier if the program had done a more thorough search? Yes.  I still think JT2 has the tools to be an effective leader of the program.  I hope he listens to the younger coaches in the program, continues to evaluate what is working in the program and what isn't and makes changes nessisary to reverse the slide.   

Now, I don't normally think that a college degree in your field is a must to be good at your job.  However, as a buddy put it when we were discussing the S&C hires: "The human body is at least moderately complex."  My biggest concern is how much does the regimen actually improve performance past mere excellence.  We are talking margins here.  Stopping a fake punt late in a game.  Executing a fake punt late in a game. One missed block. Not blocking somoene in the back on a big return.  One sack.  One blown coverage.  One less blown time out because someone needed a breather. Out jumping someone for the ball.  Cutting back inside, instead of to the sideline. One tackler shucked off.  Hunkering down one more time.

Do I think you have to have a degree in physiology to be a good S&C coach?  No.  It wouldn't hurt to have someone who could tell the players how working on one muscle group impacts other muscle groups or how to recruit and control quick reflex muscles (I have to admit, I am out of my depth here; working out for me involves dragging 300 lbs of equipment to a tailgate 5-8 Saturdays a year*).  It seems that Rex Bradberry is that guy, although he is in charge of nutrition, so I wonder how much he works on weight training.  Conditioning needs to improve, too.  Nutrition is a huge part of that, so I don't discount his role in conditioning.

As with everythig this off season, the answers won't come until we get to live football in 70 or so days.

TD

*Even fewer times now that UGA seems to want every home kickoff to be at a Big 10 like 11am.

Cordy Glenn to Enter the Ninja Draft

Cordy Glenn, a 6'5" and 330 pound offensive lineman at Georgia, announced today that he'll abandon his final years of eligibility to enter the Dark Arts of the Ninja. The news came on the heels of the University of Georgia's athletic department announcing that Glenn ran a 40 yard dash timed at 4.81 seconds. Apparently, football is too easy for a man of such size, grace and speed so he's moving on to a new field*. (Image: ABH)

Also, Cornelius Washington, a 6'5" 255+ lb defensive end, was timed in the 40 yard dash at 4.29 seconds. It's worth noting that only 8 players have run under 4.3 seconds at the NFL draft since 1999, and none of them weighed over 210 pounds.

And lastly, Brandon Wood, a 290 pound defensive tackle with eight career solo tackles in three seasons, was clocked at 4.71. It's worth noting that Tim Tebow only ran 4.72 at the combine. We must be truly stacked at DT if a player with those wheels is riding the pine.

In completely unrelated news, the University of Georgia also announced that a member of the athletic department's Strength and Conditioning Program has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in the category of Fiction.

In all seriousness, what's the point of inflating the strength numbers of our players like this? Is it to take pressure off our S&C coaches? Because it's sure not going to take any pressure off our kids when fans think they can move like that. I just don't get it.

Or as someone said on a message board today, "If our guys can run that fast, we should be able to cover kickoffs." I love our coaches, but I haven't seen this much fake demographic info on the internet since I last logged into Match.com.

See Also:
-- Cuff runs 4.24 - DawgPost.com

PWD


*Note: Not a shot a Glenn. It was a shot at the press release. He's actually one of my favorite Dawgs.

Mettenberger dismissed

Per Richt... Mett is gone. Update...Radi at UGASports.com says it was related to the Valdosta / Remerton issue.

Given how good Mettenberger looked throughout Spring, he had to have dropped a real turd in Coach Richt's punch bowl to get the boot. I would imagine the full details will come out in a day or two.

PWD

All UGA players cleared

As you know by now...everyone on the football team was cleared of wrong doing in the Taxi Cab Confessions incident last weekend. I only posted this because I wanted to acknowledge that our guys were in the clear.

PWD

Freshman QBs talked to the media

Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger were made available to reporters this week for interviews. The most interesting quote comes from Zach:

“Last year I was around a lot and the leadership wasn’t too great last year,” Mettenberger said. “I’ve been here three weeks and I already can tell that the leadership and the seniors, they are trying to win a championship again. They want to win an SEC championship. They want a spot to play in the national title. So far the leadership has been outstanding in my opinion.”

I've been saying it for weeks. Get healthy. Develop leaders. Raise expectations. If Richt does those three things, most of the rest of the issues sort themselves out. On that front, the tone coming from the off season workouts continues to be encouraging (Hale).

See Also:
-- Cox's role vital for freshmen - Ching
-- QB Quotes - David Hale
-- Young QBs Learn Early - Hale

PWD

Freshman QBs talked to the media

Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger were made available to reporters this week for interviews. The most interesting quote comes from Zach:

“Last year I was around a lot and the leadership wasn’t too great last year,” Mettenberger said. “I’ve been here three weeks and I already can tell that the leadership and the seniors, they are trying to win a championship again. They want to win an SEC championship. They want a spot to play in the national title. So far the leadership has been outstanding in my opinion.”

I've been saying it for weeks. Get healthy. Develop leaders. Raise expectations. If Richt does those three things, most of the rest of the issues sort themselves out. On that front, the tone coming from the off season workouts continues to be encouraging (Hale).

See Also:
-- Cox's role vital for freshmen - Ching
-- QB Quotes - David Hale
-- Young QBs Learn Early - Hale

PWD

Off Season Workout News

The Banner Herald's notebook article includes an update about some changes with the off season conditioning programs. The biggest adjustment seems to be going from two large groups of players to three smaller groups. Within those groups they are also breaking down into more manageable sub-groups.

The goal is to provide more individual attention and accountability with a faster tempo.

This is good to hear. It was rumored that expectations within our strength and conditioning program had slipped a little last year, and some players were coasting through the process.

Smaller groups provide more opportunities for leaders to emerge and fewer opportunities for slackers to hide from their peers. Regardless of the validity to the rumors regarding the past, it's a positive move forward for a team that's in need of more toughness and player driven leadership.

PWD

Off Season Workout News

The Banner Herald's notebook article includes an update about some changes with the off season conditioning programs. The biggest adjustment seems to be going from two large groups of players to three smaller groups. Within those groups they are also breaking down into more manageable sub-groups.

The goal is to provide more individual attention and accountability with a faster tempo.

This is good to hear. It was rumored that expectations within our strength and conditioning program had slipped a little last year, and some players were coasting through the process.

Smaller groups provide more opportunities for leaders to emerge and fewer opportunities for slackers to hide from their peers. Regardless of the validity to the rumors regarding the past, it's a positive move forward for a team that's in need of more toughness and player driven leadership.

PWD

Real Fan Pain vs. Feeling Sorry for Yourself

Image: MGoBlog
As you think about this season and listen to sports talk or read message boards, you may hear/read someone say that "Georgia is terrible." Or "It's hard being a Dawg fan this year." That sort of hyperbole isn't constructive, and it's not really true.

If you want to see what it's like to really follow a terrible team, check out MGoBlog. Brian Cook writes about sitting through a game in "subfreezing wind chill, rain, sleet and snow" (Weather from ESPN) only to watch Northwestern beat his team and leave Michigan a gut punching 3-9. He describes it as the type of game that not leaving early empirically establishes a fan as hardcore. Per Brian:

If you put up with it (and far, far fewer than the announced 107,000 did), you are hardcore. You have a black belt in fandom. You get the Fandom Endurance III merit badge. If anyone ever questions your Michigan allegiance, you can just say "I was at the 2008 Northwestern game" and they will have to step off.

For me that "I was there when we hit rock bottom" moment was the 1995 Florida game in Athens. I sat until the bitter end as Spurrier ran the WR reverse pass to break 50 points in Sanford Stadium. The problem with staying through a debacle like that...you then owe it to yourself to never leave a game early again.

It's actually a burden. You now have to live up to that rep you earned during such a bitter loss. Past You will always be looking over your shoulder like Capt. Miller at the end of Private Ryan telling Future You...."Earn This."

(Image: Capt. Miller. Not Westerdawg)

That said...while sitting in Jacksonville Municipal Stadium this year, I honestly felt less like a soldier marching across the French countryside than I felt like Izzy from Grey's Anatomy wondering why Dr. Karev won't open to me. (Note: The Cocktail Party would be playing the role of Karev).

As Meyer hung 49 or so on us, I just thought..."I'm so stupid to keep coming back here. Jacksonville is not good for me. I need a healthier relationship with a kick ass mid-season, boozy neutral site bowl game." Yet, I ran home as fast as possible and wrote this piece about why we should never leave Jax.

Where was I? Oh yeah...wuss town referencing chick shows. Before that? Oh yeah...being a fan in tough times. Apparently, I digressed wildly.

So Back to UGA's Season
Travis Fain asks what numeric rating would you give this season on a schedule of 1 to 10...in terms of satisfaction. I can't imagine giving a 9-2 season anything below 7, but an 8 seems kind of high. Is 7.5 too low? Travis went with an 8. What would you give? If we go 11-2 with a win over Ohio State, I could see that score creeping up to 8.9 maybe.

Also, Senator Blutarsky talked about the feeling of satisfaction or lack thereof related to this season. So what score would you give this season in terms of satisfaction?

See Also:
-- Pick Your Metaphor - Maize n Brew
-- A comeback that wasn't - EDSBS

PWD

Real Fan Pain vs. Feeling Sorry for Yourself

Image: MGoBlog
As you think about this season and listen to sports talk or read message boards, you may hear/read someone say that "Georgia is terrible." Or "It's hard being a Dawg fan this year." That sort of hyperbole isn't constructive, and it's not really true.

If you want to see what it's like to really follow a terrible team, check out MGoBlog. Brian Cook writes about sitting through a game in "subfreezing wind chill, rain, sleet and snow" (Weather from ESPN) only to watch Northwestern beat his team and leave Michigan a gut punching 3-9. He describes it as the type of game that not leaving early empirically establishes a fan as hardcore. Per Brian:

If you put up with it (and far, far fewer than the announced 107,000 did), you are hardcore. You have a black belt in fandom. You get the Fandom Endurance III merit badge. If anyone ever questions your Michigan allegiance, you can just say "I was at the 2008 Northwestern game" and they will have to step off.

For me that "I was there when we hit rock bottom" moment was the 1995 Florida game in Athens. I sat until the bitter end as Spurrier ran the WR reverse pass to break 50 points in Sanford Stadium. The problem with staying through a debacle like that...you then owe it to yourself to never leave a game early again.

It's actually a burden. You now have to live up to that rep you earned during such a bitter loss. Past You will always be looking over your shoulder like Capt. Miller at the end of Private Ryan telling Future You...."Earn This."

(Image: Capt. Miller. Not Westerdawg)

That said...while sitting in Jacksonville Municipal Stadium this year, I honestly felt less like a soldier marching across the French countryside than I felt like Izzy from Grey's Anatomy wondering why Dr. Karev won't open to me. (Note: The Cocktail Party would be playing the role of Karev).

As Meyer hung 49 or so on us, I just thought..."I'm so stupid to keep coming back here. Jacksonville is not good for me. I need a healthier relationship with a kick ass mid-season, boozy neutral site bowl game." Yet, I ran home as fast as possible and wrote this piece about why we should never leave Jax.

Where was I? Oh yeah...wuss town referencing chick shows. Before that? Oh yeah...being a fan in tough times. Apparently, I digressed wildly.

So Back to UGA's Season
Travis Fain asks what numeric rating would you give this season on a schedule of 1 to 10...in terms of satisfaction. I can't imagine giving a 9-2 season anything below 7, but an 8 seems kind of high. Is 7.5 too low? Travis went with an 8. What would you give? If we go 11-2 with a win over Ohio State, I could see that score creeping up to 8.9 maybe.

Also, Senator Blutarsky talked about the feeling of satisfaction or lack thereof related to this season. So what score would you give this season in terms of satisfaction?

See Also:
-- Pick Your Metaphor - Maize n Brew
-- A comeback that wasn't - EDSBS

PWD