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Thursday, October 21, 2010

Ye Olde Mailbag

No small talk. No jibber-jabber. Just time to get right to your questions, my answers and -

Wait, can we talk about "Mad Men" yet? Has everyone caught up?

No? Sigh ... OK, maybe next week.

On to the questions.

Branden Smith gonna play against UF? Rest of season?
- Dylan Stafford (via Twitter)


Smith was jogging on the side the last few days of practice this week, so he’s getting closer to returning. It would be hard for me to guess whether he’ll play, and suspect it will be tough-and-go next week. Given all the (deserved) attention that concussions are getting, don’t be surprised if Georgia plays it extra cautious with Smith.

What are your postseason coaching changes predictions? (Or lack thereof)
- John Younker (via Twitter)


I still think it’s too early to speculate. We’re going to have to let the season play out.

What do you make of CMR telling the coaches to simplify the gameplan and then CTG stating that they hadn’t done that?
- John Younger again(via Twitter)


I’ll get to the question, but am I the only one extremely annoyed by the ‘CMR’ abbreviations and the like? It’s become the du jour think to do everywhere. I guess I understand it on Twitter, but elsewhere it’s a bit unnecessary. But anyway …

I’m addressing the ‘simplifying’ issue a bit in a story for Friday’s paper. It’s not the first time Richt has said one thing, then a coordinator has another. (Witness Bobo and the idea of opening up the offense for Murray.) In this case, I’d be speculating if I got too much into it, but Grantham’s answer was that the players are probably understanding it a bit more because of repetition. Richt agreed with that. It’s possible that Richt meant the defensive play-calls themselves were simplified, not the schemes. Grantham was pretty adamant that nothing schematically has been altered.

What is your honest opinion of the Chris Rainey situation and what are your thoughts about Urb's " 1% of 1%" only when it is convenient for him?
- Tripp Kearley


I suspect we’ll be hearing a lot more about this issue next week. I don’t know Rainey well enough to be able to comment on Meyer’s statement that Rainey is not a violent person. (Even if he did say, or text, a violent thing.) Really, neither Georgia or Florida fans have much room to defend the off-field behavior of their teams.

Has UGA ever had 2 players on All-SEC 1st team in basketball either
pre or post season? If so, when was the last time?
- Bryan Grantham


Whoa, a basketball question! I don’t think they keep any definitive list of the preseason All-SEC teams. I do know that Georgia has NEVER had two players on the AP’s first team at the end of the season. The coaches All-SEC team, which usually takes about 10 players, last put two Georgia players on there in 1990: Litterial Green and Alec Kessler. (That year Kessler made the AP’s first team, and Green was second team.)

Is Arthur Lynch redshirting?
- Bryan Grantham, getting greedy


Yup, and it’s a smart move for the sophomore. Third-stringer Bruce Figgins is having trouble getting on the field, with Orson Charles and Aron White ahead of him, so this probably would have been a lost year for Lynch.

Is there really a photographer at the Telegraph named Jason Vorhees? That’s unfortunate.
- Peter Sanford (via Twitter)


Yes but Jason’s last name is spelled differently. Voorhees was the killer.
That reminds me of the “Seinfeld” episode where one of the plot premises was Elaine dating a man with the same name of a serial murderer. I thought it would've been funnier if they'd gone with Jeffrey Dahmer, but instead they went with the less-renowned Joel Rifkin. (Dahmer was more famous nationwide, while Rifkin was localized to New York city. East Coast bias.)

"Seinfeld" was still a great show, however.

With all the talk of concussions it seems my question (has UGA redesigned their helmets because it seems that a lot more helmets are coming off after hits this year than in years past) a week or so ago provided a bit of foreshadowing. It seems though the answer is that maybe opposing players are aiming higher.
- Anonymous (via le blog)


You know, I’ve seen this mentioned before, and I’ve actually seen it at other schools too. It doesn’t seem limited to just Georgia. But I'm not sure that helmets coming off are the biggest sign of worry. When’s the last time you saw a guy knocked out on the field with his helmet off? I don't know, I'm not really sure.

This has nothing to do with Georgia football, but what are your thoughts on the Georgia Sports and Music Halls of Fame leaving Macon?
- Anonymous (also via le blog)


I don’t know how close any of that is to happening. I’m told the music hall of fame is more likely to move. Macon seems like a good central location in what’s a very big state, but Atlanta is obviously where most of the people are. As I live in Athens, I guess I’m good either way.

With the hot topic of hard hits and concussions, I curious to hear what Murray had to say about his hit during the Vandy game. The video look bad, and then I saw the picture showing his helmet nearly coming off.
- David not Hale(yet another via le blog)


(I’m not David Hale either, as many of you keep pointing out.)

Honestly, Murray wasn’t asked about it this week, at least while I was with him. I do know that Bobo said it was “alarming” how many times Murray is putting himself out there to get hit, although Bobo said it with a bit of a smile. It seems Georgia’s coaches are still getting used to the idea of Murray being a dual-threat quarterback; They need him to be able to run and open up the field, but with only Hutson Mason behind him, they’re going to cringe every time a defender comes near him.

Fair to say Bobo lacks grace n dealing w/ media, his comments are often obtuse and this adds to his lack of favor among fans?
- Amy Elizabeth (via Twitter)


I guess fans would have to speak to that. Is that your impression? My dealings with Bobo have been pretty positive. He answers pretty much every question directly, and has come up for interviews every week, knowing he's under fire from fans and some media members. Believe me, I've dealt with some obtuse coaches who made it clear they thought the media and anybody questioning them were vermin; I haven't gotten that impression from Bobo.


What’s the deal with Dexter? He’s a serial killer, right? He IS Kyle Butler?
- Detective Joey Quinn


I’ll let you figure that out. When this storyline began, my first reaction was ‘Hey we’ve been through this one already, with Doakes in Season 2. Are the writers officially running out of ideas?’ But I’ve reconsidered, and now believe the writers are making it more realistic: It makes sense that, working around detectives all these years, a serial killer would arouse the suspicion of more than one person in that office, right?

Also, very intrigued to see the Julia Stiles storyline, and happy she’s on the show. Is her character going to fill the void left by Rita? Hmmm...

23 comments:

Reality Check said...

By the way...no relation to the Coach. Thanks for answering my questions, though!

Charlestowne Dawg said...

I think she's gonna fill Rita's role, but knowing his "dark secret"...

Anonymous said...

Dexter has not been up to snuff this season. Moving along way too slowly and focusing too much on the ridiculous sub storylines of Quinn/Deb and Batista/Laguerta (FYI Laguerta dies at the end of the FIRST book...).

It looks like it is about to pick up, but it will probably end up being another Season 3 meh-fest.

Anonymous said...

With you on the abbreviation thing Seth. Very lazy and obnoxious. I'm betting it stems from one of the pay-sites. Fits their personalities well.

David Basham said...

Don't worry, Seth. We won't let you forget that you are not David Hale for some time. Well, at least until you unleash a piece as well-written and perceptive as Hale's take on Georgia's egregious number of special teams gaffes.

Keep plugging away, though. Something good is bound to happen eventually.

Anonymous said...

Seth, I'm afraid I have to take you to task on the off-the-field problem thingy. The fact of the matter is that UGA's off the field issues are piddling compared to those at unnamed conference rivals. Parking violations, speeding tickets and emerging from alleys have nothing on, say, putting off-duty cops in ICU and threatening bodily harm against women. It's like the difference between firing off an AK in the parking lot and walking across a street with a beer. Yeah, both things will draw the attention of the police, but they're hardly the same, right?

Chris Rainey is "eligible to play" and Zach Mettenberg is... where? Montez Robinson? There was never a "not with the team RIGHT NOW" with them. They were kicked off. Period. Lemon. Etc.

The only difference between UGA and its rivals is that the local authorities treat incidents differently. It's terribly obvious.

Should we accept the types of off the field problems we're facing? Of course not. Should we make them seem like crimes against humanity? No, we shouldn't.

When a serious problem occurs at UGA there is no question of action. Other places? (one in particular south of here) that's not necessarily true.

RC said...

The abbreviation thing has long driven me crazy as well, Seth. The first time I recall seeing it was in reference to Coach Mike Dubose on Tider Insider, so that should tell you a lot right there.

Anonymous said...

Comparing our off the field issues to UF is pretty laughable. The guy that came closest to what Chris Rainey did was booted off the team. Don't get me wrong. Our arrest number is horrid. Don't care what it is, we have to get that fixed. But, to make what Chris Rainey did the moral equivalent of what Ealey and King (both Kings) did is what is wrong with our Country today. Folks struggle with judging one bad thing as worse than another bad thing.

Anonymous said...

I use CMR & CTG because I can't speel Rich or Grayham consistently.

Peachtree City Dawg said...

Seth, as far as the CTG, etc..people are lazy. Yet many of them can Coach football better than anyone on our staff.

Unknown said...

CMR
CTG
UGA
USA
9/11
Unless you are writing a thesis paper, it's ok (okay?) to use abbrev.

LSU fans refer to their coach (who is 7-0) as The Mad Hatter, often w/ contempt.
Discussing a coaching staff with a 3-4 record using abbreviations, I believe is not disrespectful.
And finally, what's the point in having a comment section of a blog if everyone is going to agree and no one points out the weakness in coaching of a team whose losses outnumber its wins?

Anonymous said...

@Billy

If you want doom and gloom and people pointing out how "terrible" our coaching staff is while offering purely ridiculous and laughable insight into the coaching situation then head on over to the free forums at dawgpost.com

You will get all of the negativity you could possibly desire from those guys. Enjoy.

Unknown said...

Any of you mediocrity lovers correct me if I'm wrong, but no team in the top 10 scaled back their 2-a-days this summer.

“I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious” - V. Lombardi

Excellence is not accidental.

Willb said...

Hey Seth while your not David hale your still doing a great job. I'm sure he's getting a hard time in Philly for not being whoever the last guy was there.

I would like to see more statistical columns myself. I am huge on stats! I find myself researching them for hours. Sometimes stats can really mislead you and sometime they tell a story or unlock a mystery.

The only problem for me is where to get uga football stats. The best place I have found is actually the uga football official site. Most places don't have defensive player stats. I find myself week after week going through there stats and writing columns just for myself to see about certain parts of the team with statistics to back it up.

It would be nice to see you being an unbiased schooled reporter write a few columns with statistical breakdowns.

Randall said...

I too dislike the abbreviations, but I am willing to let them slide as long as Seth continues to be unable to get through a post without typographical errors. Come on man, proof read!

Anonymous said...

Those of you complaining about abbreviations need to spend a little time in the military.

Oh yeah I remain anonymous simply to get under the skin of some :-)

I really don't know WTF difference it makes.

Peachtree City Dawg said...

Hey Billy, they get X amount of practice time. No more, no less.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Dateline Athens - July 14, 2010
(Atlanta Journal Constitution)

'Georgia will abandon a piece of football tradition this summer: two-a-day practices.

The Bulldogs have a tentative practice schedule that, for the first time anyone around the UGA program can recall, calls for no two-a-days.'

The whole story is there, but you'll have to read it yourself.

I bet Oklahoma & Oregon didn't abandon 2xDays.

run lindsay run said...

Seth, i suggest you ask Dasher, Radi, or Steve where the abbreviations came from. It seems to be a common thing on the Vent. Also, out of curiosity, do you have subscription to rivals or scout. lots of info there.

NRBQ said...

I believe you mean de rigueur, Seth.

We will each be dragged, despite all kicking and screaming, into the 21st century sooner or later.

My 20-year-old sends/receives 5000 texts per month. I can barely read them, but at least he's writing something....

South FL Dawg said...

Come on Seth, just because somebody asks about Chris Rainey's reinstatement vis-a-vis the 1% of 1% quote doesn't mean it's a defense of Georgia. Even Florida fans admit that was ironic.

Time will tell if this was an isolated incident for Rainey. But parents (esp. those with daughters) cringed at this story, not because they're Georgia fans but because they're parents. But again, time will tell.