Classic, classic American Dream...
Friday, September 5, 2008
Great stuff from #10
For those who haven't checked it out, the Total UGA forums (linked to the right) have become a very good source of Dawg news and commentary. What looks to be one recurring feature is Eric Zeier's analysis of the previous week and the upcoming game. What I like about Zeier is that he is very honest in his assessment of the team, and to me, speaks like a real (and extremely knowledgeable) fan. He also is one of my top 3 favorite Dawgs of all time, so check him out.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
CMU preview
You know, the more I think about this preview the shorter it gets.
Here's the deal...the Dawgs should be able to do WHATEVER they want to do WHENEVER they want to do it on offense. The Chippewawas finished 367th in the nation on defense last year, giving up an average of 700 yards passing and 400 yards rushing per game (actual stats would require actual research, and this defense is not worth that effort...trust me, I'm close enough). If the first team offense is as efficient this week as they were last week, look for at least 3-4 touchdowns before halftime.
On defense, it's a little different story. Dan LeFevour is a true threat on offense, and he does have multiple weapons. However, haven't we heard this story before? Wasn't Oklahoma State supposedly the best offense in the world last year? And Boise State two years before that? Why should this week be any different? I think the defense is a little ticked off after people are downgrading their performance last week...reports say the coaches have been working them overtime this week. Expect them to take that frustration out on the Chippewoos in a big way Saturday.
Also interesting is that Richt said that on defense we are studying the tapes of the Florida game last year to try and mimic the scheme and execution from that game. Remind me...how did that one turn out?
Any excuse to post that...
Prediction? Dawgs 48, Chipppewatoosies 17.
Here's the deal...the Dawgs should be able to do WHATEVER they want to do WHENEVER they want to do it on offense. The Chippewawas finished 367th in the nation on defense last year, giving up an average of 700 yards passing and 400 yards rushing per game (actual stats would require actual research, and this defense is not worth that effort...trust me, I'm close enough). If the first team offense is as efficient this week as they were last week, look for at least 3-4 touchdowns before halftime.
On defense, it's a little different story. Dan LeFevour is a true threat on offense, and he does have multiple weapons. However, haven't we heard this story before? Wasn't Oklahoma State supposedly the best offense in the world last year? And Boise State two years before that? Why should this week be any different? I think the defense is a little ticked off after people are downgrading their performance last week...reports say the coaches have been working them overtime this week. Expect them to take that frustration out on the Chippewoos in a big way Saturday.
Also interesting is that Richt said that on defense we are studying the tapes of the Florida game last year to try and mimic the scheme and execution from that game. Remind me...how did that one turn out?
Any excuse to post that...
Prediction? Dawgs 48, Chipppewatoosies 17.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Light posting today...
Real life calls...
A couple of quick hitters on the Dawgs:
- I guess I'm the last Dawg blogger to react to the Dawgs being dropped to #2, and I guess it's because I have no problem with it. First of all, I probably would have voted the same way...I saw all of the Dawgs game, and most of the USC game (which is more than could be said than for 99% of voters, I would guess), and I thought USC looked better than we did. Based on that, plus the fact that I don't think there was much separation between the two to begin with, I probably would have put USC ahead of us for this week. Secondly, the difference between #1 and #2 for us right now is meaningless...we will get our opportunities to move back up once the meat of our schedule gets here. And lastly, imagine if the situation was reversed...let's say in the opening week we were traveling to Stillwater to take on Oklahoma State, while USC was opening with somebody like San Jose State (this is the case next year by the way). Let's further hypothesize that we were a close 2nd to a #1 Trojan team. If we went across the country and cleaned the Cowboys clock, while USC had an efficient, but not COMPLETELY dominant performance at home against a much lesser opponent, would we not be howling that we should jump USC in the polls? I know I would be.
Wow...that one wasn't as quick as I planned it to be. The next one will be much quicker.
- Funny story in the Albany Herald today (h/t to David Hale). Apparently Kris Durham has been dubbed "White Lightning" by his teammates.
Be back tomorrow with my thoughts on the CMU game.
A couple of quick hitters on the Dawgs:
- I guess I'm the last Dawg blogger to react to the Dawgs being dropped to #2, and I guess it's because I have no problem with it. First of all, I probably would have voted the same way...I saw all of the Dawgs game, and most of the USC game (which is more than could be said than for 99% of voters, I would guess), and I thought USC looked better than we did. Based on that, plus the fact that I don't think there was much separation between the two to begin with, I probably would have put USC ahead of us for this week. Secondly, the difference between #1 and #2 for us right now is meaningless...we will get our opportunities to move back up once the meat of our schedule gets here. And lastly, imagine if the situation was reversed...let's say in the opening week we were traveling to Stillwater to take on Oklahoma State, while USC was opening with somebody like San Jose State (this is the case next year by the way). Let's further hypothesize that we were a close 2nd to a #1 Trojan team. If we went across the country and cleaned the Cowboys clock, while USC had an efficient, but not COMPLETELY dominant performance at home against a much lesser opponent, would we not be howling that we should jump USC in the polls? I know I would be.
Wow...that one wasn't as quick as I planned it to be. The next one will be much quicker.
- Funny story in the Albany Herald today (h/t to David Hale). Apparently Kris Durham has been dubbed "White Lightning" by his teammates.
Be back tomorrow with my thoughts on the CMU game.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Weekly data dump
This will likely end up being a weekly feature. Inevitably, a couple of days after the football weekend I still have a bunch of random thoughts running around in my head that I start trying to work into a conversation so that I can get them out of my head. Luckily for you, I have a blog now where I can flush all of that information out. Here goes...
"It's just a little bump in the road. You've always got to face adversity to be the best, and this is my real, true, big test of adversity at Georgia, so I'm going to come back and stay positive."
On whether he would definitely take a redshirt and come back next year:
"I really haven't been thinking about nothing right now because I just hurt my knee Saturday. My main thing is just to get healthy, doing rehab and try to come back 100 percent. Get my knee back healthy, then let it go from there."
(NOTE: Everyone else - from Richt to Owens' good friends Corvey Irvin and Geno Atkins -- expect him to be back.)
On the support from his teammates:
"I have a lot of guys backing me up and just trying to keep me positive and know that just look on the bright side. The storm's going to be over, I've just got to weather the storm."
On how the injury happened:
"It was just a freak accident. I jumped over the pile, I landed on one leg, my body shifted one way and my knee went the other, and it just blew it out."
On whether he's angry about the injury:
"It's all in the game. It's football. It's going to happen. I take a risk of getting hurt every time I step on the field. I know there's a risk, and I know that injuries happen. I've just got to come through it, fight through it and get back healthy. Injuries are going to come. I'm not looking down on myself thinking, if this is gonna happen, if that had happened. It's football."
On how well Corvey Irvin will replace him:
"No doubt in my mind he can do it. As a matter of fact, I look up to Corvey. He might not know it, but he pushes me. We both motivate each other. I know he's going to take over my role and be a leader of this defense."
On how well the D-line will do without him:
"They're still great. I was just a small piece of the pie. They're way bigger than me, and they're going to blow up this season."
AAAHHHH....I feel better now that none of that stuff is rattling around my brain anymore. On to the Chippewas!
P.S. - What is a Chippewa? Is it a flavor of ice cream? Sounds yummy...
- How bad must it be for Michigan fans to look over at the Buckeyes and see Terrelle Pryor? This is a guy who I think most Michigan fans thought was going to be a Wolverine all along, especially after the hiring of Rich Rodriguez. Pryor seems like he would be a perfect fit for RichRod's spread offense...kind of like a super-sized Pat White (more on him in a minute). Instead, not only does he not become a Wolverine, he goes over to the dark side and joins their most hated rival. I was trying to think of a comparison to make for Dawg fans, and then it hit me...only it's in the other direction, luckily. It's Aaron Murray. Let's see...
- Fan base assumes that he will almost certainly commit to them...check. Aaron himself has said that he grew up a Gator fan, and most Gators thought it was a foregone conclusion that he would be donning the jorts come 2009.
- Seems to be a perfect fit for said team's system...check. If you've seen clips of Aaron Murray, he seems to have everything Urban is looking for...good speed, strong and accurate arm, great decision making.
- Instead, shocks the fans by not only shunning their team, but instead choosing their hated rival...check. Aaron committed to UGA very early in the 2009 recruiting process and has been hard at work calling other high-profile recruits trying to get them to join him. What made this one even better was that we took Aaron out of the Gators home state, which just twists the knife even more. I love it.
- By the way, Aaron Murray's numbers for his first game of the season Friday night? 19-25 passing for 319 yards and 5 TD, as well as 117 yards rushing. The Dawgs' QB situation for the next few years is very exciting...even if Stafford leaves after this year, you're looking at probably Cox for a year (it will come down between him and Logan Gray), and then Gray, Murray, and Zach Mettenberger battle it out.
- Speaking of numbers (and Pat White, which I was a long time ago), how about White's numbers for Saturday? 25-33, 208 yds, 5 touchdowns. Not bad for a guy who is only supposed to be a runner, even if it was against Villanova.
- One thing Phat Phil can tell his team to help soothe the wounds from last night's embarrassment...last year, the Vols went out to Cal to start the season and lost, only to wind up in the SEC championship game. They haven't really lost anything yet, other than pride. That being said, I think last year's team was much better equipped to make that kind of turnaround, especially at the QB position.
- Everybody is writing off Clemson after their disgraceful showing against the Tide, but think about it...aren't they probably still the most talented team in the ACC? Wake Forest is tough, but Clemson certainly has more talent. They are another team that, even though they are licking their wounds right now, are still in the running for everything they were realistically in the running for 4 days ago. And if you don't think a team can bounce back from a beating like that, I say remember the Dawgs last year...they came back from the beat-down they received in Knoxville and did not lose again for the rest of the season, so it's possible.
- The more I think about UCLA's decision to pooch kick in the last minute, the more irritated I get. This is just one of those "by the book" things that drives me crazy, like Bobby Cox insisting on righty-lefty matchups even if the stats say otherwise. UCLA gave up roughly 20 yards of field position (if they cover the kick effectively) plus at least 4-5 seconds on the clock by choosing not to just kick the ball downfield. It was especially boneheaded because they were only up three points...they put UT in a situation where all they had to do was pick up about 25 yards and they could tie it up, which is exactly what they did. Just another example of the fact that UCLA tried desperately to give the game to the Vols and they absolutely refused to take it.
- Typical Spurrier..."Beecher is our guy, no matter what, we're going to stick with him." Then, after one bad performance, Smelley will be the starter on Thursday. Yeah, Smelley looked good last week, but NC State had rolled over and died by that point...he was basically playing pass skeleton. Personally, I think this is all designed by Spurrier so that he can go through those two guys as quickly as possible so he can go ahead and hand the reins to Garcia and feel justified.
- And, to go out on a good (if somewhat bittersweet) note, check out these quotes from Jeff Owens, courtesy of David Hale. Owens is such a class act, and here's hoping he's able to come back full strength next year and continue his path to his dream.
"It's just a little bump in the road. You've always got to face adversity to be the best, and this is my real, true, big test of adversity at Georgia, so I'm going to come back and stay positive."
On whether he would definitely take a redshirt and come back next year:
"I really haven't been thinking about nothing right now because I just hurt my knee Saturday. My main thing is just to get healthy, doing rehab and try to come back 100 percent. Get my knee back healthy, then let it go from there."
(NOTE: Everyone else - from Richt to Owens' good friends Corvey Irvin and Geno Atkins -- expect him to be back.)
On the support from his teammates:
"I have a lot of guys backing me up and just trying to keep me positive and know that just look on the bright side. The storm's going to be over, I've just got to weather the storm."
On how the injury happened:
"It was just a freak accident. I jumped over the pile, I landed on one leg, my body shifted one way and my knee went the other, and it just blew it out."
On whether he's angry about the injury:
"It's all in the game. It's football. It's going to happen. I take a risk of getting hurt every time I step on the field. I know there's a risk, and I know that injuries happen. I've just got to come through it, fight through it and get back healthy. Injuries are going to come. I'm not looking down on myself thinking, if this is gonna happen, if that had happened. It's football."
On how well Corvey Irvin will replace him:
"No doubt in my mind he can do it. As a matter of fact, I look up to Corvey. He might not know it, but he pushes me. We both motivate each other. I know he's going to take over my role and be a leader of this defense."
On how well the D-line will do without him:
"They're still great. I was just a small piece of the pie. They're way bigger than me, and they're going to blow up this season."
AAAHHHH....I feel better now that none of that stuff is rattling around my brain anymore. On to the Chippewas!
P.S. - What is a Chippewa? Is it a flavor of ice cream? Sounds yummy...
More piling on the ACC...
Bruce Feldman of ESPN has what I assume will be a weekly feature where he ranks the strength of the conferences. This week's are out, and he has the ACC at #7, right behind...the Mountain West. Ouch.
Full rankings are here. I don't really have to tell you who #1 is, do I?
Full rankings are here. I don't really have to tell you who #1 is, do I?
Monday, September 1, 2008
Thoughts on UT-UCLA
And now you know why players hate kickers.
Well, it was entertaining, huh? Not a lot of offense early on, but some big plays on special teams and defense and then the offenses kind of coming alive late, culminating in some tremendous back and forth at the end. It kind of reminded me of a heavyweight fight, where not much happens until the last round, and then both guys get desperate and start throwing haymakers. I started writing this post and had to revise it about four times....
Maybe it was the urnge uniforms, but I was having flashbacks to the Hobnail Boot game when UCLA came flying back down the field after the UT touchdown to take the lead late in the 4th.
I HATE the pooch kick....UCLA pooched it after their last TD in regulation, and UT ended up with the ball at the 42. I know Jones is dangerous, but aren't the odds better that you will at least be able to shut down a kick return before it gets to the 42 yard line? Not to mention the fact that it would have taken up more time...and UT kicked the tying field goal with what, :05 left on the clock? Ugh.
Early returns on the Clawfense...color me unimpressed. The UT offense looked really out of synch all night, even having problems lining up correctly several times. Not sure if it was being unfamiliar with the scheme or what, but even the vaunted UT offensive line did not perform up to their usual standards, with not a lot of holes being opened up in the running game (until the end) and Crompton under pressure all night.
Speaking of which, one thing that I believe bodes well for the Dawgs is how uncomfortable Crompton seems to be under pressure. When given time, he looks very impressive, but any time he was under pressure he couldn't keep his feet under him and his accuracy plummeted. I think the Dawgs ought to be able to pressure the QB at least as well as the Bruins D with the personnel we have on defense.
On the flip side, it was interesting to watch a QB grow up right in front of our eyes. Kevin Craft looked like an entirely different QB in the 4th quarter than he did in the first. It was like one of those bad movies...the QB who couldn't hit the side of a barn in the first quarter all of a sudden becomes John Elway at the end of the movie. Nice coaching job there by Neuheisel and Chow, I think...whatever they showed him and talked to him about at the half certainly seemed to click.
So, to recap the weekend...I'm now a little more worried about Alabama than I was, but South Carolina and Tennessee did not impress me at all.
Well, it was entertaining, huh? Not a lot of offense early on, but some big plays on special teams and defense and then the offenses kind of coming alive late, culminating in some tremendous back and forth at the end. It kind of reminded me of a heavyweight fight, where not much happens until the last round, and then both guys get desperate and start throwing haymakers. I started writing this post and had to revise it about four times....
Maybe it was the urnge uniforms, but I was having flashbacks to the Hobnail Boot game when UCLA came flying back down the field after the UT touchdown to take the lead late in the 4th.
I HATE the pooch kick....UCLA pooched it after their last TD in regulation, and UT ended up with the ball at the 42. I know Jones is dangerous, but aren't the odds better that you will at least be able to shut down a kick return before it gets to the 42 yard line? Not to mention the fact that it would have taken up more time...and UT kicked the tying field goal with what, :05 left on the clock? Ugh.
Early returns on the Clawfense...color me unimpressed. The UT offense looked really out of synch all night, even having problems lining up correctly several times. Not sure if it was being unfamiliar with the scheme or what, but even the vaunted UT offensive line did not perform up to their usual standards, with not a lot of holes being opened up in the running game (until the end) and Crompton under pressure all night.
Speaking of which, one thing that I believe bodes well for the Dawgs is how uncomfortable Crompton seems to be under pressure. When given time, he looks very impressive, but any time he was under pressure he couldn't keep his feet under him and his accuracy plummeted. I think the Dawgs ought to be able to pressure the QB at least as well as the Bruins D with the personnel we have on defense.
On the flip side, it was interesting to watch a QB grow up right in front of our eyes. Kevin Craft looked like an entirely different QB in the 4th quarter than he did in the first. It was like one of those bad movies...the QB who couldn't hit the side of a barn in the first quarter all of a sudden becomes John Elway at the end of the movie. Nice coaching job there by Neuheisel and Chow, I think...whatever they showed him and talked to him about at the half certainly seemed to click.
So, to recap the weekend...I'm now a little more worried about Alabama than I was, but South Carolina and Tennessee did not impress me at all.
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