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.