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Monday, October 26, 2009

Monday Links (10/26)

Happy Monday, folks. I'm glad to be back at work -- well, as glad as one can be to be back at work -- and with Florida on the slate this week, it should be a busy few days.

One problem I have at the moment, however, is a lack of material to work with. I haven't done an interview or been in Butts-Mehre for 10 days, so I'm a little out of the loop. We'll be playing a little catch-up today, but hopefully still have some good blog material, and hopefully once the interviews conclude tomorrow afternoon, we'll be back on track with all the happenings on the UGA football team.

In any case, I'm hopeful that you found plenty of great reading material to keep you entertained while I was gone. And if you didn't, well, I've got some for you now...

-- The good news: Nickell Robey seems content with his commitment to Georgia. The bad news? He seems pretty sure Willie Martinez will be at UGA next year, too. I know fans will read this and assume this means Mark Richt has already decided against staff changes, but really, he's simply saying what needs to be said. Richt is caught in no-man's land right now. He can't fire anyone now, but he can't allow rumors to hinder recruiting either. So by making no decision at this point, he maintains plausible deniability. It's best to simply take any coaching rumors or assumptions with a grain of salt until the season is over.

-- Rex Robinson compares two greats -- Herschel Walker and Tim Tebow -- as the Florida quarterback closes in on Walker's touchdown record. I'm curious: Out of everything that's at stake in this game, where does "Not letting Tebow break the record against Georgia" rank on things fans want most this week? If I told you that Georgia would lose by 20 points, but Tebow wouldn't run for a TD, would that be enough of a silver lining?

-- So you might think that a 39-point blowout win with some final-minute timeouts would be enough payback for The Celebration, right? Well, Florida doesn't think so.

-- Steve Hummer is one of those journalists you just wish wrote about your team all the time. His piece on A.J. Green is spectacular.

-- I like Battle Hymn Notes' enthusiasm, even if it is a bit of the rose-colored glasses variety. In truth, I'd expect nothing less of UGA fans than a sincere effort at convincing themselves the Dawgs have a chance to win. What I wasn't sure I could expect -- but it has proven to be true -- is that the argument really isn't that hard to make.

-- Tyler Estep looks at the challenge the Gators present for the much maligned Georgia D.

-- David Paschall writes that putting pressure on Tim Tebow will be a key in slowing the Florida offense.

-- Jeremy Fowler writes that it might be Mr. Tebow feeling the pressure right now. Here's something I found particularly interesting from this post, however: "Meyer said the Gators must do a better job spreading the ball around, but MSU Coach Dan Mullen flustered the offense with a "cover zero" defense." Hmmm... Outside-the-box approach by inferior team frustrates Tebow. So what are the odds that UGA's defensive scheme is anything other than the same stuff they've run out against Florida for years?

-- Bleacher Report asks if Georgia might benefit from switching from a 4-3 defense going forward, regardless of who remains at the helm of the D.

-- Catfish & Cornbread writes that, no matter what else has happened this season, it's this week's game that is the true measuring stick of the Georgia program. It's a simple concept, but oh so true.

-- While I was on furlough, The Grit Tree took over writing ridiculously long analysis pieces and did a fine job with it. Here's the site's first-half analysis: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

-- Dave McMahon has a bunch of interesting stats regarding the Bulldogs. One that caught my eye: Caleb King is just the fourth different player since Mark Richt became head coach at Georgia to rush for a TD and catch a TD in the same game.

-- ESPN's Chris Low has his SEC power rankings for the week posted. Here's a snippet from his comment on Georgia: "A win over Florida and ruining the Gators’ hopes of winning a second straight national championship would help ease the disappointment for Georgia this season." Here's my question: What makes Low think a loss for Florida would ruin its national title hopes? I mean, yes, it should. But does anyone really think that will happen?

-- Another week, another round of officiating blunders. This is what the SEC has set itself up for, and as the stakes rise and the quantity of these calls increases, every coach is going to decide the fine they'll pay for speaking out is worth it. We're close to a full-on meltdown for the conference, and justifiably so. For too long, the officiating in this conference has been an embarrassment, only the SEC never seems to be embarrassed by it.

-- Don't forget to get your Mumme Poll ballot in for this week.

-- Dr. Saturday takes a look at the new BCS rankings and puts a little perspective on those impressive computer rankings for Iowa.

-- Your daily Florida photo moment.

-- I remember writing about Pete Herrmann's first win as a coach in 16-ish years when the Dawgs finally got him a 'W' last season. That's nothing compared to the long wait for Ball State football coach Stan Parrish, who got his first victory in nearly a quarter-century this week. This is a great read.

-- I like Yahoo!'s rundown of the action as an Angels fan makes an a$$ out of himself.

-- Good news for "Community" fans: NBC picked up a full season of episodes.

-- I love the Hold Steady and Chuck Klosterman is one of my favorite writers. So why am I worried about what this collaboration will create?

-- I don't care how much history is on the Yankees side. It doesn't matter when Philly has classy fans like this.

-- And finally, Paste Magazine looks at the 20 worst sequels to good movies. After reviewing their list, I have two real complaints: 1.) I'm not sure I can agree with their standard for "good movie," and 2.) Any list of awful sequels begins and ends with "Caddyshack II." There is no debate. (Although, my refusal to acknowledge the existence of "Godfather III" also offers some wiggle room.)

Again, it's good to be back, and I can't thank all of you enough for the kind words posted in the comments or sent via email while I was gone.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

David,
Great having you back. Yesterday after church, we had about 25 folks over to our house. All the men were lamenting over our loss of David Hale last week. Looking forward to life as normal!

Bryan Carver Dawg97 said...

A loss to Florida is a loss to Florida so whether by 20 or by 3, if Tebow didn't score that'd be fine. Now, if it is a win vs not having Tebow score? That's a bit trickier. I personally think Corch has been waiting for this game to let Tebow score as another way to get "revenge" for the celebration. Wait...what? They had the whole rest of the game to get revenge in 2007, to shut us up then and they chose to wait a year for it? Nevermind then.

Sorry for the digression. A win or Tebow breaks the record? As much as I'd hate it to happen, I'd take the win and let Tebag have the record.

The Watch Dawg said...

Great to have you back, David.

As PWD pointed out over at GSB though, Tebow technically has 6 more rushing TD's to go to tie Herschel's record, given that Walker had 6 more that didn't count at the time (bowl game stats weren't recorded then) while Tebow's did. Also, Walker got his TD's playing in 36 games. Tebow has already started in 34 games and played in 48. I'm quite certain that none of the media outlets will rush to point out this distinction, but if nothing else, UGA fans should keep it in mind.

David Hale said...

It's a great point, Watch Dawg, and I can't figure on why we can't just add those bowl stats back in now. I mean, we have the numbers, someone just has to do the math. How hard can it be?

Anonymous said...

I am re-energized.

Great way to start the week with the Searles "story".

I also got away from college football last week and spent time with the family after two dreary trips to Tennessee.

The sun is out and I am ready to head south and wreak havoc.

Hope the staff and the team are re-energized too.

See y'all in Jax.

Anonymous said...

Welcome back David. That was a long week having you gone.

Anonymous said...

re: "-- Another week, another round of officiating blunders."

David, do you or any readers know why there apparently are no cameras allowed RIGHT on the goal line? Every week (e.g.,the UF drop near the goal line v MSU) there is a question about whether someone broke the plane, and almost always we (and the officials in the booth) are left with a view that's a little to the right or left, and not directly across.

Are there rules against cameras setting up there? Do the refs want to retain the argument not to overturn calls more often (since these angles can almost never provide indisputable proof)?

It's weird, and I can't think of good reasons for it to be like this.

genxdawg said...

David, Really nice to have you back.