Additional Thoughts on a Good Win

That was much needed! Nothing will reinvigorate a down squad and fan base like a putting a whoopin' on a hated rival. I just want to add a few of my own thoughts to my esteemed colleagues earlier post, and mention a few other noteworthy items.

• AJ is the best...see below.
• Murray again looked really good, I dare say great. I also think he is getting more comfortable with running the offense. I also like the fact that he can hurt defenses with his legs, and he is finally starting to do it.
• I couldn't agree more with what Chuck said about Caleb King. I am not sure if I posted on the fact that Washaun seems to do more dancing than running, and if I didn't than know that it has been a consistent thought in my mind. Caleb sees the field and makes the necessary moves (disregarding the spin move last week!) to get upfield and get yards. 
• I liked how the D played, granted Tennessee helped out a good bit, but the players still swarmed, wrapped up and made things happen. With regards to the long TD they gave up: Grantham and Latkos's defensive philosophy is more aggressive towards the ball and in play general; it opens the door for the D to make more BIG plays than a conservative style would. Conversely, it also tends to open the door for the opposing offense to make big plays-and that is what seemed to happen on that particular play. The DBs thought Simms was going down and they moved to the line, Simms escaped a sack and his receiver was open; at least that's what I thought about it. Good effort all around though.

In related news, apparently Boss Bailey, who served as an honorary captain, gave a rousing speech to the team Friday night. According to CMR and some of the players Boss "called them out" and roused feeling of what it means to play Georgia Football. It is a little disappointing that some of the players needed a reminder, and hopefully they won't for the rest of their college careers, but I am pleased that it woke the team up. They played great, Dawg football, and added an SEC win in the process. 

I still have a little bark left

What a great day to be a Georgia Bulldog. On my list of hated rivals Tennessee has always ranked 3^rd behind Florida and Georgia Tech. So, even though we are both currently fielding JV teams, I get fired up when we get to beat up on the Orange. Didn’t it feel great today? It was the first time in the last month that we have had anything to cheer for and we looked like we belonged in the SEC today. We looked ready to play and came out with fire in our belly. I thought we mixed it up well on offense and our defense played aggressive all day. It feels great to finally win again and I wish I could have been in the stadium to hear the battle hymn.

AJ Green once again proved that he is hands down the #1 receiver in the country. The play across the middle where he got yoked but still held onto the ball was just a great play made by a great player.

Aaron Murray looks like he is starting to get very comfortable with the offense. Today he looked like he was playing on instinct, which is something that comes once you know the plays and don’t have to think all of the time. I really believe that he could be a special player at UGA if he has a good supporting cast and good coaching.

I have also decided that Caleb King is by far the #1 tailback on this team right now. His field vision is far superior to Ealey’s. Am I the only one who feels like Ealey runs into the lineman on purpose?

"Were Improving Every Week"

Does this sound familiar to anyone? I don’t know how many people listen to CMR’s (Coach Mark Richt) radio show every Monday night, but for the last four weeks when asked about the state of affairs at UGA, CMR has responded with “We are getting better every week”. I cannot begin to explain how tired I am of hearing these words. Obviously, what you are doing ISNT WORKING!!! Why can’t CMR give us some opinions with some concrete ideas that he is using to fix this team? If I had my way this is what a hypothetical Monday press conference might sound like with CMR:

Caller: Well CMR your guys sure aren’t getting it done on Saturdays.

CMR: You know what caller you are absolutely correct. We look like a bunch of high school ball players.

Caller: What is your plan to fix this ugly situation?

CMR: As of Monday every position is open. Every redshirt is taken away. If I have to play 22 freshmen I will, if they are the players who show me that they want to play. Nobody’s job is safe (except Murray and Green) and I expect these young men to show me some passion.

Caller: That is the best thing I heard from you in a while.

CMR: Well thank you caller. I realized the way I have coached my team the last three years is leading us straight to the Big South conference and instead of just rinse and repeat like normal, I think it is time for a change.

This would make me respect CMR and want him to continue to be our coach. This past week when Alabama just got done demolishing Florida. Saban was asked about the performance and blatantly said we played like crap in the second half. When Dabo held his weekly press conference he ripped into the fans about not wanting to show up for a 12:00 game. This type of honesty is refreshing and I would probably have a heart attack if CMR responded in any of these ways.

On a different note I feel really bad for Aaron Murray. He has to be thinking something like “I am the QB who has lead UGA to a 1-4 record. I can’t believe this”. I think he should hold his head high because he has played admirably.

Also the AJC must have read my last post because Mark Bradley recently posted this article. What’s wrong with UGA? Sad to say, it starts with Mark Richt.

It Just Got Worse

  I remember Richt telling the team and media that "it could be worse," and he was right. Sure there were flashes of improvement during the game, but that will be discussed later. At the beginning of the season when UGA was considered a sleeper team in the SEC, I had a deep seeded fear that somehow this would be the year that Georgia makes it to the National Championship, and that it would be the same year a SEC team would finally lose to another conference (which would equal SEC embarrassment). This weekend I had the awesome fortune of realizing part of that initial fear-UGA would lose to a crap non-SEC team and embarrass itself and the SEC. It just so happened that the team Georgia lost to wasn't even the caliber team that an overrated OSU or Oklahoma tends to be.
  The game against Colorado established one thing for sure-embarrassment. I am 100% behind the TEAM, and UGA as a whole, but that has not prevented the huge feeling of embarrassment that arose as the last seconds of the game ticked away. I am embarrassed that Georgia is 1-3; I am embarrassed that Georgia lost to a middle of the pack Big 12 team; and I am embarrassed for the SEC because a down Georgia team may be mistaken for the cream of the SEC crop-and that is not the case at all. Georgia shouldn't ever lose to Colorado; hell, I would be mad if VANDERBILT lost to Colorado! The main point is that Georgia has been an embarrassment to itself, the SEC, and the fans. Sure the players played hard, but they should be embarrassed too! That isn't near the thrashing that I could give the Dawgs; instead I'll finish with a few points/observations that are only 50 percent or so negative (PLUS a juicy bit I heard through the rumor mill that should enrage several folks in the extensive readership!).

•  The Colorado cheerleaders (at least the ones I saw) looked like middle-aged, reference librarians at the Montgomery County Public Library - no offense to the Montgomery Co, librarians.
• When will a Georgia LB that is spying the QB actually make a play instead of getting a dump pass thrown over his head for a 10 yard gain?
• When will Bobo stop running up the gut to no avail on 3rd and 4, 3rd and 3, 3rd and etc. plays. According to one of the commentators, Bobo's 3rd and 4 to-go  rush up the middle play call in the first quarter was a "waste of a good opportunity with the ball."
• Understatement of the season - I think we missed AJ Green. AJ is the real deal, everyone who reads this is probably already aware of that fact-but in case you aren't, go back and take a look at his first touchdown (1 handed) catch.
• The special teams looked good. I also stand by Walsh; he is automatic and carrying the team on his shoulders probably wore him down. I do not think any blame should be placed on him for the loss just because he missed a kick. 
• Murray also looked good. He made some great touch throws-right in the bread basket in stride.
• I was in shock that our great Tight Ends got some looks-about 4 according to my count, which is about 3 more than they received in the other games!
• If UGA is in the redzone, or the game is potentially on the line-DO NOT hand it off to one of the running backs. Maybe McClendon needs to stress ball control a little more...or better yet, maybe the O-Coordinator should stress it...or better yet, maybe the Head Coach should stress it-oh well, probably won't be stressed.
• I swear I saw Richt smiling as he was leaving the field after the game. Maybe I was just delusional.
• And Finally, does everyone remember during the first game of the season when Grantham vigorously tore into the Defense with anger and hellfire? Apparently word on the Jacksonville street is that after the game Richt had a one-on-one with Grantham and requested that he keep a cooler head on the sideline. I know, if there is any truth to this-and I believe there is or else I wouldn't post it-then that is the last straw. What is disappointing is that if we get rid of Richt, then necessarily Grantham has to go because the new coach will bring in his own personnel, just plain disappointing. 
• I really want Richt to do well enough to change my opinion of him because I know he is a good guy, but what I-and the Georgia fans I know-want is a good COACH.

It could get worse, and it sure did on Saturday night. I hope the Dawgs can pull out a few more wins, but Richt was and still is right about one thing-it could get worse.

Richt vs. Hawkins: Hotseat Showdown

It seems like Colorado head coach Dan Hawkins has been on the hot seat for years. I guess those in power out in Colorado are too busy getting high to pull the trigger-maybe we could dump Adams out there and let him straighten them up. Anyways, it appears that even Colorado folks recognize that Richt is on the hotseat. Georgia coach Richt on hot seat after slow start - The Denver Post
The Denver Post contends that the difference between Richt and Hawkins is that Richt has a proven track record. I am getting tired of this line of reasoning. Richt's resting on his "track record" laurels ended last year. I don't know how they do it in the Big 12 (or is it Little 10 now?) but in the SEC you can only rest on a track record so long. This game is a must win for Richt, and for the SEC. AJ is back and hopefully the team has a "nowhere to go but up" attitude. We will find out who's seat is the hottest at 7 pm on Saturday!

Time to Stop Giving Richt a Free Pass

One thing I cannot for the life of me figure out is why Mark Richt seems to get a free pass from the media. If this were going on anywhere else, fans and media alike would be roasting the coach. If you don’t believe me just take a look at this article recently posted on AJC by Tony Barnhardt. http://blogs.ajc.com/barnhart-college-football/2010/09/27/the-reality-georgia-is-just-not-very-good/. In it he says, “ Mark Richt will be the coach in 2011. He deserves the chance.” What have we been giving him the last three years? When you have the number 1 and number 13 picks in the draft (as well as two NFL caliber receivers- Mossaquoi and Green) and your record is 9-3, I would say you have underachieved. I could name a couple coaches who would use that talent to win an SEC championship. When you are 2-7 in the last 9 games in the SEC, I would say you have underachieved. This problem did not begin this year and it will not end this year. Once this year is over, do you think firing Bobo will be the answer? No, it will just be another way to distract from what the real problem is. He also goes on to say that “Georgia is just not that good”, which I don’t disagree with. However, what I see (from the team I love) on Saturdays has nothing to do with talent. It has to do with having no heart, being undisciplined, and not looking ready to play. Do you know how much Mark Richt gets paid? 3 million dollars!! There are not many coaches in college football who get paid that kind of money and produce the results that Mark Richt produces. It is time to hold Mark Richt accountable. It should not be important that he is a good family man. I respect him for his values, but the fact is he is getting paid 3 million dollars to win football games. Something that he is has failed to do lately. In the last nine SEC games he is being paid 1.5 million dollars per win. I have one closing thought to leave everyone with. You always hear how Mark Richt is such a good recruiter, well have you ever actually stopped to think about that? Whose players won Mark Richt two SEC championships? Answer = Jim Donnan’s players

UGA vs. Tennessee Kickoff Time Set

It looks like the UGA/Tennessee October 9th matchup will kickoff at 12:21 pm. This comes as no surprise given the current status of both programs. In other news, the AJC is reporting that the UGA/Oregon home-and-home series slated for 2015 and 2016 has been canceled. I think one good thing UGA has done the past few years is the scheduling of respectable out-of-conference opponents (Colorado, Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Clemson, omitted: Boise State-because we put them in their place). So it is disappointing this series has been canceled because it might have shaped up to be a good one. Here is the AJC article...

Georgia-Oregon games canceled; Georgia-Tennessee game time set