From the Mailbag: Aurora Cable Access Edition

It's Friday, it's 3:30, it's time to party. I'm your excellent host David Hale, and with me as always is... well, OK it's just me. And that "Wayne's World" reference was probably lost on a majority of you. Nevertheless, it is Friday, so let's crack open the mailbag for a few quick questions and answers...

From Bill in Sandy Springs: ESPNU has been reshowing the Texas vs Oklahoma State game. I couldn't help but notice what a big part of the Oklahoma State offense TE Brandon Pettigrew was(currently Detroit Lion). Pettigrew had atleast 5 or 6 catches in the parts of the game that I was watching and they were all at needed opportune times. After Dez Bryant last year Pettigrew got the second most catches on the team. I Also can't even imagine the huge impact a tight end of that great talent would have on the running game. No one seems to be talking about the void that OSU needs to fill at Pettigrew's vacant position. I am wondering how much of an effect it will have on the Cowboys offense particularly QB Zac Robinson. Your thoughts?

David Hale: It's tough to say really since I didn't watch a ton of Okie State last year. The obvious answer, looking at Pettirgrew's stats and draft value would be, "They'll miss him a lot." But if you simply go by stats and draft value, well Georgia's in a whole lot of trouble with what it lost.

The Oklahoman has a good article today, however, on who might be replacing Pettigrew , so that's probably the best place to start, and the OSU tight ends coach tells the paper that Pettigrew was "a bell cow." Now, I have no idea what that means, but if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say if Pettigrew was still around, we'd all be wearing gold-plated diapers.

(Again, I'm curious how many people actually got that reference.)

Of course, if you want a homegrown opinion on how good Pettigrew is, you can get it from Matthew Stafford, who told ESPN's Page 2 that he and the former Cow Poke are new BFFs.

Robert asks: How's that new MacBook working for you, David?

DH: Types like a dream. Thanks for asking.

Anonymous asks: What about (Kalvin) Daniels? Would he be above (Washaun) Ealey and (Dontavius) Jackson?

DH: Kalvin Daniels gets mentioned by coaches often and has run the ball well so far this fall. Daniels has been running with the second unit along with Ealey of late, but that's due in part to Jackson and Caleb King missing some action with injuries. My guess, however, is if Daniels has the confidence of the coaches -- which he appears to -- that's probably another mark in favor of redshirting Ealey.

KYDawg asks: I'd like to know what our new number 7 would consider his second best or favorite position if he were not a TE/reciever. I read that at plant he played some on D and even carried the ball a few times.

DH: You ask, Orson answers...

"If I wasn't playing tight end, I would be playing receiver," Charles said. "I'd slim down and get faster and play receiver. No defense. That was pretty much a high school thing."

Anonymous asks: Hey David, how do you say that DE's name? Fa-loo-ey?

DH: It's Reuben -- like the sandwich -- Fah-low-ghe -- sounds like "Flowbee." ("It sucks, as it cuts." ... "Well, it certainly does suck.")

Via Twitter, @jeffostensen asks Carlton Thomas: how will your small stature affect your blocking ability?

DH: Again, you ask, Carlton answers...

"You just can't sit back and let him come and get in to you," Thomas said. "You've got to attack. If you let them build that momentum up, they'll win every time because they're bigger than you. But if you can get to them early before they've built up a head of steam, you can win. You might lose a couple, but you'll win more than you lose."

And finally, Anonymous asks: Why is Vance Cuff left off your "depth chart", and why have we heard nothing about him recently? I know for a fact that he recently ran a 4.28 40 in practice and is trying to break Champ Bailey record at UGA in the 40, which is 4.24 I believe. Where's the love? Pretty good corner as well.

DH: The only answer I can give is that I'm an idiot. Sorry about that. Cuff is with the No. 2 unit at corner right now, and as you'll probably remember, he saw a good bit of action at the tail end of last season. I think the confidence the coaches have in him was a big reason they saw no issue with making Makiri Pugh a full-time safety.

OK, that's it for this week. Back with practice notes later tonight...