Be easy...

  OK, the Dawgs beat the Nerds this weekend. I figured it would happen, just not in the ugly manner that it did. I have two main issues with the game: first, why are our defensive players still trying to pick up fumbles instead of just falling on the ball (Hamilton, and not Houston-but either way I would have been more comfortable with both just falling on the ball); and Second, after the number of fumbles our RBs have given up, you'd think they wouldn't let go of the ball unless it was a helmet-on-ball hit. A win is a win, even if it was as ugly as Saturday's was.
  Sorry for the lack of posts and general un-updatedness lately. Both Chuck D and I are preparing for upcoming academic onslaughts, so our focus has been elsewhere. However, late next week when my school is finished for the year 2010, I will keep this bad boy up to date like never before. So for those of you who work and get pissy when there isn't a recent post, calm down and be ready to check daily, hell thrice-daily, for updates. And don't be afraid to let us know y'all are out there by leaving some insightful comments.
  Here is a slate of things that will likely be posted on in the near future: SEC Championship; BCS melee; CMR coaching moves; Dawgs Bowl outlook; Dawgs Basketball; What I get for Christmas; Non-SEC Conference-hating; and more...

The wee ones strike back...

  Well the Big Ten (11, 12?) President caught a little backlash from his counterparts at BSU and TCU for his earlier comments (see below) about their respective schools. I personally find this all pretty hilarious considering how much (which is not much at all) I respect all the involved schools, their conferences, and their schedules. While I respect the BSU President's counter-argument I find it lacks punch. I will be the first one to tell you that USC and Miami aren't any good, but at least they have won National Championships in the past decade. Also, because the SEC gets dragged into this, I have to analyze his comments that BSU is knocking down top programs doors to play them. The Dawgs didn't have a home-and-home with BSU, but I doubt BSU would have wanted that considering the whooping the Dawgs put on them when they did play which was only a few years ago. In the scheme of college football, BSU is a relative newcomer (TCU has been a power in the past) so in my eyes they need to earn their keep before they can demand to play top programs. They have the record/"notoriety" that they do because they go undefeated against BAD TEAMS. Although I don't really side with the OSU President in that the Big Ten is a "murder's row" conference...I do agree that the SEC is and if you want the prestige and power you have to earn it by playing/beating TOP CALIBER teams week in and week out.
  Just to back up that last point; earlier this week I saw a graphic on the Mothership that listed the top four teams (Oregon, Auburn, TCU, BSU) and the number of top 25 defenses and offense that each has faced this season. Oregon and BSU have both faced 3 top 25 def/off. this season. TCU has faced 4 total (if my memory serves me right). And Auburn, playing in the SEC, has faced 8 total! That is pretty telling information to me. Now I know that statistics can be misleading and that some of the top 25 def/off might not have been so before or after they played the Top 4, but that doesn't matter because the teams that they did play WERE top 25 when they DID face off-what happens before or after is irrelevant for these purposes.
  I don't know much, but I do know that I am looking forward to the Iron Bowl on Friday, and some Nerd Bashing on Saturday. In the true spirit of getting to know your enemy, I will do my best to immerse myself into the Nerd lifestyle-I will purchase a pocket protector, dust off the ol' TI-89 calculator (although nerds probably have TI-92s or better), load up World of Warcraft, derive the square root of this room, and try to post regularly on this blog.

Oh the hilarity...

I came across an article about the Ohio State President more or less calling out Boise State and TCU. I thought this was pretty funny, because as we all know, the Big(?) Ten is a pretty fluff conference compared to the SEC. I mean they don't even play a Championship Game! I realize that the Big Ten may play a tougher schedule week in and week out than BSU and TCU, I hope that the President was referring more to his SEC days than his Big Ten days. Again, this is all relative to the SEC, but I do not think that Ohio "weak schedule/lose big games" State doesn't really have a lot of room to talk.

Georgia Dome here we come

I don't know if everyone has heard, but Georgia just dropped its home and home games against Louisville in 2011 and 2012 to be a participant in next years Chick-fil-A kickoff game. And who is our opponent you ask, none other than Boise St. I must admit I am absolutely shocked by this move, yet I love it. Given all of the comments that the new AD has made, their is no way you could see this coming.

I think if you take a good look at this game their are some Pros and their are some Cons:

Pros-

1. We get national exposure on opening day and gameday will probably be there

2. It keeps our kids focused the entire offseason

3. It forces Bobo and company to get off to a fast start instead of the usual three games of horrible offense

4. Richt can go into Isaiah Crowell's living room tomorrow and say "Don't you want your coming out party to be on opening day, on national television, in front of a rocking crowd

5. A win could save Richt's career, a loss could cause him to lose his job at the end of the season

6. A win could give us some swagger that we haven't had in a couple years

7. Boise St. is losing about 10 starters, so we might have a chance

8. In 2012 we would have played USC (on road), Louisville (on road), Alabama (on road). Now we might be able to keep that date open

9. Chris Peterson could possibly interview for his new job in 2012 in Athens

Cons-

1. Boise St will return 12 out of 22 starters (including Kellen Moore) and I think we all agree they are currently a much better team than us

2. If we lose to Boise St, we have to play USC the next weekend and could easily be 0-2. Not good after this season

3. A win could saves Richt's career, a loss could cause him to lose his job at the end of the season

4. Losing on national television to a MWC team will not be good for our reputation

5. Aj and Durham will likely be gone which will make it very tough to win

In the end I love the move. I think a win in this game could fire up our team and lead us on the path to a very successful season. I do not think we will be ranked and they will probably be in the 15-25 range, so we don't really have that much to lose. This also gives Richt and uphill climb to keep his job, which I think is not that bad of a proposition. If he beats Boise St and then USC we will be 2-0 against 2 good teams and he will have shown me he knows how to motivate his team. If we lose both games, it will be a continuing trend of not being able to beat good teams and he will feel his seat becoming very hot. All I have to say is we better be ready because this is not the Boise St team that Dj and company beat up on in 2005.

On an unrelated note, the UGA-Auburn game was the 2nd most watched game of the season behind Va Tech-Boise St in week one. Pretty Cool

Boise State game is good for Georgia but difficult for Richt

Georgia is idle, and the Cam Newton saga continues...

I am happy to report some great news-there is no way the Dawgs will lose a football game this weekend. This is in large part because the Dawgs do not play a game this weekend, but we'll say a non loss is a win.

Pay For Play Gate 2010 featuring Cam and Cecil Newton continues on with more news/non-news from "sources" and so on. The latest (that I have seen or heard) is that Cecil Newton laid out a installment plan for Cam's footbal services to a Mississippi State Booster. Here is the fun part, apparently Mr. Newton did not lay out the plan to the Booster specifically it was laid out to the now infamous former Miss St. player Mr. Rogers, who laid it out to Booster Bell. Now here is where it gets especially speculative/suspicious, the go between and Booster Bell said that Cecil never specifically laid out the plan but he "inferred" it. Oh well then, let's get those NCAA sanctions in, as a matter of fact all you Heisman voters out there just go ahead and leave Cam off your ballot. OR we can wait and see if proof turns up to back up some of these claims. If you followed the link and read the article you'll have notices that Booster Bell is trying to recover from the wireless provider texts that were sent from Mr. Rogers (but NOT Cecil). Until that evidence, or any form of evidence for that matter, show up I am giving Cecil and especially Cam the benefit of doubt. Recall that some of the recent sports related "scandals" have been substantiated by some kind of evidence - Tiger Woods voicemail, confession; Brett Favre voicemail, gunslinger-ness, Wrangler commercials; AJ Green bank statements, confession; Roethlisberger's rapist haircut- and so on; with the Newton case there is nothing more than he-said, he-said.

Is it too early to think about next year?

Is it too early to start thinking about next year? I am undecided how I feel about our team and the direction of our current program. I want to believe that if we give CMR and Todd Grantham another year, we could become the next Alabama. I don’t know who remembers, but they lost to La-Monroe in Saban’s first year and went 11-1 the next. However, there are other times when I think that we have been outcoached far too many times and CMR’s best days are behind him. I thought that the OC and DC are coaches that other programs eventually would want to higher as their head coach. I am pretty sure that Mike Bobo wouldn’t even have a job if it weren’t for UGA.

On offense there will be the obvious absence of AJ Green. It is going to be impossible to replace what he brings to this team. He opens up the other WRs, he frees up the running game, and hell he even helps the defense by keeping them off the field and getting them better field position. The hope for next season will lie on the shoulders of our great freshman QB. I believe he gives us a great chance to improve next season. It would be great to get #1 RB recruit Isaiah Cromwell to help out Ealey and have our own version of Marcus Lattimore.

On defense I actually think there are some things to look forward too. Hopefully, CTG will have a year to recruit some players that fit into the overall 3-4 scheme a little better than the current ones. However I think we have made strides. Last year, we gave up 40 points to both USC and ARK even though we were the better team. This year we only gave up 17 and 24 respectively and both of them had better teams than us. We also look pretty aggressive all season and have been stout against the run. We need to learn the defense a little better and stop having so many blown coverages. I think the best thing that could come out of the GT game would be to win and make it to a bowl game so our young players need the extra practice. I have heard that the practice you get for going to a bowl game is longer than spring practice.

Whatever happens I am already excited.

P.S. - Fairley is the dirtiest player I have ever seen.

This Coach is not pleased with poor performances...

I know that CMR will never get this fired up, but a fan can dream.

War Eagle/Tigers/Thugs

As a Philadelphian and a die-hard Philly fan, I feel I am a qualified expert in thug players and hated fans, but I must say that compared to Auburn this past game, Philadelphians look polite.

The easiest and best example of this is boo-ing during an injury. Philadelphia booed during the Colts game when a player was hurt. At the time, the play was shown on the jumbo-tron and it was a bad call by the refs, so we booed. This received national attention and dredged up the whole we threw snow balls at Santa ordeal (which, he had coming). Here, Auburn boos because they felt that UGA was trying to delay the inevitable by faking injuries. In Philly, after the replay the fans were silent and clapped when the player left the field. Auburn just kept on booing and did not recognize when the player was removed from the field. Next thing you know Auburn will be throwing batteries during baseball games ...

Moving on to the classy Auburn D-Lineman, Fairley. He was hitting Murray late all game long and getting away with it. The hit he actually got called on would have warranted a fine in the NFL. You do not hit a QB in the back with your head down so there is direct helmet contact, especially after he has already thrown the ball. Maybe if Fairley was paying attention to the game and not planning his next illegal tackle, he wouldn't have received the penalty. Jim Johnson wouldn't stand for our Defense acting like that, but shockingly, former-Gator Chizik let it go.

I must say that I was most proud of CMR this week when the fight broke out and Richt justified it perfectly -- it's what happens when refs don't give penalties for roughing the passer and late hits all day. Of course our players are going to settle it on the field, Fairley's a big boy I think he can handle a hit from little-ol' Ealey.

This brings me to my last point, Auburn is winning by 18 points and beating up on our QB (I don't think for a second that Fairley's helmet to Murray's knee was unintentional) and its Auburn who is throwing punches? Congrats, you got yourself suspended for half of a game. And you're welcome Bama.

Philly fans may throw snow balls and batteries and have a potential for hatred that is unparalleled, but at least we recognize that we're jerks and don't pretend to be otherwise.

What's good for the goose...BUT...

• Fairley is a thug-but a dominating player

• I am proud that the offensive line stood up for Murray and retaliated for the low hit on the QB; I am also even more proud that the Dawgs took care of it during the whistle in the trenches and it was the Auburn players that elevated it to the point of penalties

• Nick Saban can send a thank you note to the Dawgs for helping facilitate the ejection (and subsequent first half suspension in the upcoming game) of two backup Auburn D-lineman.
• The Dawgs played a hell of a game and I am as pleased as I can be with a loss and (with the exception of Ogletree showing his youthful inexperience) I thought the team played well all around-and the play calling wasn't half bad either.
• I can't wait for Verne to retire to Florida.
• And finally...all I have to look forward to is whooping up on some...

Rivalry Time!

More "sources" are coming out with damning evidence against Cam Newton; so much so that it has gotten to the point that Auburn officials are doling out a "no comment" when asked about Newton's playtime this weekend. I think Newton will play, and I think Georgia will have its hands full. I think, and hope it will be a close game-after all this is the one series that CMR tends to dominate. But, I think the Tigers pull one out on the Dawgs. I am really looking for Murray to have a good game, and maybe AJ will make a few highlight catches. Either way it should be an interesting game, and I am glad I don't have to search through the tv guide to find out which channel it is on!

UGA 34 - AU 45

Sources: Cam Newton says "insert vague, out of context statement here"

Cam Newton is in the news again, but for something that original broke last week. An earlier post discussed the Miss. State pay to play discussion that supposedly occurred when Newton was being wooed. Now “sources” are reporting that during a phone conversation Cecil Newton, Cam’s father, mentioned that it would take “more than a scholarship” to get Cam to play at Auburn. “Sources” are also reporting that a dismayed Cam Newton told an individual that he would be attending Auburn at his father behest because “the money was too much.”

Do not construe this post as advancing the theory that Cam Newton is guilty of any violation or wrongdoing. I actually feel the exact opposite. The stories on Cam Newton from the past week are a clear example of the unsubstantiated claims being reported by unnamed sources as “pretty true” or “possibly true” – i.e. there is a continued slide towards the breakdown of journalistic integrity. Has anyone noticed that “more than a scholarship” and “the money was too much” are the only statements being quoted? Furthermore, has anyone noticed that only negative connotations are being attached to these statements? When I was considering which college to attend I considered more than just what scholarship I was being offered. I considered academics, the campus, girls, athletics – in effect, the school I choose had “more than a scholarship” to offer. Maybe Cecil Newton wanted assurance that his kid would be looked after by the coaching staff, or that he would have access to tutors, or any other number of perfectly plausible explanations, but ones you won’t hear on ESPN, Fox Sports, etc. With regards to the “the money was too much” statement – maybe Cam had to attend to Auburn because the alleged offer of money to play at Miss State was too much to get involved with, i.e. it was over the line. To clarify my point, what if Cam was offered money to play at Miss State and Cecil Newton, recognizing that his son had already encountered trouble, wanted to steer clear of any trouble that accepting money would possibly entail. 

Maybe Cam and Cecil Newton were up to no good a few years back, I would like to give them the benefit of the doubt. I would like to see a little more deference and discretion when reporting these so called stories. Heisman votes are already coming out and saying that now they won’t vote for Newton. If that is the case then the Heisman and the voters who determine the winner will lose a lot of respect in my, and probably a lot of other people’s, book. I won’t even go into how the NCAA has had this information since January and investigations are ongoing. 

Also, I am with Chuck in that I do not hate Auburn like I hate Florida, Tennessee, and The Nerds. Maybe it is because we have had Auburn’s number for the past decade. Although I am fairly sure that this year Auburn will have Georgia’s number…but, I’ll save those thoughts for another post.

DO WE HAVE A CHANCE?

Today’s game went exactly as one would expect. In the first quarter we came out flat, which isn’t unusual considering last weeks game, but we rebounded well and looked solid. By about the third quarter my mind was focused on Auburn. Does anyone think we stand a chance next week? I honestly haven’t decided what I think yet.

I think we can all agree that Auburn is the best team in the SEC. They have had a few close games, but they look like the Oregon of the East (scoring 60 on everyone). Cameron Newton looks like the reincarnation of Tim Tebow (except I don’t hate Cam Newton). He has 19 TD/ 15 TD rushing and receiving. To go along with Newton they have Michael Dyer (a great freshman RB) and Ontario Mccalebb who is like Carlton Thomas, only much more talented. If you put all of that together, I think Auburn scores 30 points easily.

So now the question becomes can we score 30 points? AJ Green was quoted after the game as saying that “they (Auburn) have not faced anyone like me and Aaron”. I agree and disagree with that. I honestly believed that if the playcalling goes well we have a stacked offense. If Bobo uses Murray, Green, Charles, King, Ealey, Durham, etc, etc correctly our offense can be extremely dangerous. However, Auburn has already faced Mallett/ Childs and Garcia/Jeffrey and beat them both. The whole season I have watched Auburn get destroyed on defense. There are a couple of reasons for that:

1.There offense is on the field for about 2 seconds every drive, so the defense stays out there a lot and stays tired

2. Nick Fairley is there only defensive standout and we have protected the QB pretty well lately

Add all of that up and I think we could easily score 30 points on Auburn.

We need to watch the film of the first half of the Clemson-Auburn game and watch how Clemson held Auburn to 3 points at halftime. With all of that being said, I think we can make it a good game, but I think we lose 42-31.

On another note the Georgia-Auburn game is the oldest rivalry in the South. For some reason I have never hated Auburn like I hate UF, GT, and UT. I feel like Auburn, Alabama, and Ole Miss are similar to UGA and at least have a little class. Needless to say, it makes watching the game a little easier.

Some NCAA knowledge for ya...

Note: If I don't post for a few days it is probably becuase the NCAA requested a copy of my financial statements to see if my use of the Cam Newton image below was any sort of violation...

Resident NCAA expert "La Gatter" on Cam Newton and the NCAA in general:

Thanks to Reggie Bush thinking that he could start a sports agency while at So. Cal. The NCAA now has a different set of rules for “high profile” athletes. “High profile” athletes are exactly what they sound like, athletes that are actually good and will likely go pro. The NCAA brands these athletes and once they are considered to be high profile, the NCAA then can investigate the financial background of the player his family, his siblings and his girlfriend.

The NCAA can do this because (1) the NCAA is a voluntary association for colleges and universities, (2) the NCAA is not a state actor, (3) there is no constitutional right to participate in athletics (even signing a letter of intent does not give you a property or liberty interest in your right to play), and (4) the privacy rights of athletes is lower because there is no right to participate, and so there is always the “option” not to play.

So, unfortunately I think we are on the verge of a new era of the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions seeking out star athletes and probing into their past, their families and their personal lives without cause, because the NCAA has written a need for cause out of their own bylaws.

As for individual school’s athletic departments, the Committee on Infractions has said that any school must not only report infractions that they may find, they have to host an in-depth investigation and administer appropriate sanctions on that player/coach/administrator. If the school fails to do so, they face sanctions from the NCAA, which is also the case if the punishment does not fit the crime.

Now, how Rainey and Jacques Smith managed to escape all of this is beyond me.

In response to the Cam Newton article specifically, it sounds like Miss. State will more likely be sanctioned then Newton himself for not reporting any potential infractions. But the NCAA does what it wants and gets away with it, and this year it looks like they want to take down the SEC so there’s no telling what will happen next.

The NCAA is at it again!

Just came across this Cam Newton article on usatoday.com. Looks like the NCAA is after another one of the SEC's star players-again. I may have my resident NCAA expert post on the craziness that is the NCAA-such as the request that Cecil Newton provide financial statements.

Give me a break!?

  I just awoke from a depression induced slumber after this past weekend's GA/FL result. I don't really want to break the game down; it was exciting to watch, but in the end it was a loss for the Dawgs. I don't recall where I saw this but somebody said something that really resonated with me and it went something like this: We are to Florida what the Nerds are to us-overwhelming domination of the respective series in recent history. It is sad, but true.
  In other news, and the main point of this post-"Chokegate" 2010. It is a few days old, and this post is mainly in response to this article by Tony Barnhart. Tony would suspend Grantham, and fine him substantially. Are you kidding me. Grantham is the only UGA Football coach who displays any fire/passion on the sidelines; was the gesture a bit of poor sportsmanship? Yeah maybe, but he was just gesturing what every Dawg fan was thinking. I generally like or appreciate what Barnhart has to say, but he needs to get over himself on this topic.