It's been a couple weeks since the Bulldogs last took the field, and the memories of that Alabama loss are still lingering. The opponent this time around is Tennessee, a struggling team with a head coach on the hot seat -- but the same team that has given Georgia its worst beatings in each of the past two seasons.
So, what will be the keys to a Georgia revival against the Vols?
1.) Is this the same Tennessee team we've seen the past two years?
The Vols are 0-2 in the SEC and 2-3 overall. Phil Fulmer is coaching his way out of a job, and the Tennessee offense has been brutal. The missing ingredient? Well, it could be Erik Ainge, the Vols' veteran QB who shredded Georgia the past two years. UT is expected to start sophomore Nick Stephens -- who completed 10-of-17 passes for 156 yards and a TD in his first career start a week ago against Northern Illinois. Jonathan Crompton could see action, too. He was benched after Tennessee's 1-3 start.
It's just as likely (maybe more likely) that Tennessee's missing offensive ingredient so far has been departed O-coordinator David Cutcliffe. Cutcliffe, who left after last season to become head coach at Duke, had beaten Georgia 10 straight times as either the QB coach or offensive coordinator at UT.
2.) Can Georgia cut down on the penalties?
For the first five games of their season, the Bulldogs were the most penalized team in the country. In 10 of its past 11 games, Georgia has racked up at least 70 yards in penalties, and it is averaging more than 10 flags per game this season.
Head coach Mark Richt said he had been hesitant to push back too hard on his overly penalized players for fear of curbing their aggressiveness, but that ended this week. At practice, when a flag is thrown, push-ups are done on the spot or laps are run immediately after.
"I'm wearing them out," Richt said. "I'm wearing them out physically. Before I was a little reluctant to make such a strong point, I was concerned about some aggressive play and all that kind of thing, but my strategy and my thoughts were wrong. The penalties have not slowed down and have cost us. I did a poor job on the front end of this."
3.) How does Georgia respond to the Alabama loss?
If the second half of the game against the Tide was any indication, this shouldn't be a big concern for Georgia. The Dawgs came out and played well against a team that had manhandled them in the first half and nearly completed a comeback bid in the fourth quarter before finally falling 41-30.
Of course, they were playing for the win then. Now, the dream of that undefeated season -- and potentially a national title -- are gone. While Georgia's players consistently said they were focused on the next game and not the big picture when they were the toast of the country in the preseason, it's fair to wonder if having some of those dreams vanish will affect their performance this week. Several writers and some players have even wondered where the energy is this week, particularly with a fierce division rival on deck.
Part of the problem could be Tennessee's poor performance thus far. Georgia is a 12-point favorite in the game, and little is expected of the Vols. Of course, the same could have been said last year, and now Tennessee is basically playing for its coach's job with its back against the wall. An 0-3 SEC start would likely be the death knell for both Fulmer and the Vols' season. After the Alabama loss, however, perhaps it should be Georgia playing with its back against the wall. The Dawgs have nearly as much to lose.
4.) What's going to happen at tight end?
Bruce Figgins could get the start -- his first of the season -- despite a shoulder injury that will require surgery. Last week, Figgins didn't know if he would play this week, but he has practiced fully and looks to be a go for the game. Beyond that, who knows?
Redshirt freshman Aron White has looked very good in practice this week with a potential starting gig within his grasp. Richt said White has vastly improved his blocking, and White was already a good pass-catcher. With incumbent starter Tripp Chandler battling a shoulder injury and early season struggles and Figgins likely to head for surgery and a medical redshirt next week, White has a great chance to establish himself as a key cog in the Dawgs' offense.
In an unlikely side note, former defensive lineman/former right tackle/former left tackle Kiante Tripp has spent the past three weeks practicing at tight end, too. Richt said the move is semi-permanent, and the idea of the athletically gifted Tripp playing a roll in the passing game is intriguing. He has an Antonio Gates body type and, like Gates, was an accomplished basketball player. Tripp's hefty size (he's at 290 pounds now) makes it unlikely the transition will be a smooth one this season, but if he makes some strides and can slim down over the offseason, it will be interesting to see what Georgia does with him.
5.) Can the D deal without Dannell?
Preseason All-SEC middle linebacker Dannell Ellerbe will not play this week after injuring his knee in the first quarter against Alabama. Akeem Dent and Darryl Gamble met with intermittent success as Ellerbe's replacements the rest of the game, but it was Dent's roughing the passer flag that may have been the early momentum swing that cost Georgia any shot at a 'W.'
Gamble will get the start at Mike, while Dent and Darius Dewberry will likely split time at Sam. Dewberry has failed to make much noise since returning from a two-game suspension, but will have to step up against Tennessee's solid running game.
At Will, Rennie Curran may finish this game with 20 tackles. In fact, I heard somewhere that Superman wears Rennie Curran pajamas. Actually, each of Rennie Curran's biceps has its own congressman. In fact, Rennie Curran does not have a "CTRL" button on his computer because Rennie Curran is always in control. Rennie Curran is a beast in the classroom, too. He doesn't read his text books though. He just stares them down until he gets the information he wants. During the game, Rennie Curran plans to donate blood to the Red Cross -- but it won't be his own.
6.) Will Willie Martinez decide to blitz more?
Everyone's favorite whipping boy after Georgia's loss was Coach Willie. The big complaint? Martinez refused to play aggressively enough to slow down Alabama's John Parker Wilson, who was nearly flawless in the passing game. The real problem, however, was that Wilson got the ball off so quickly -- often on a three-step drop -- that the pass rush really never had time to get pressure, and the blitz was ineffective.
That result was surprising, as Wilson likely played the best game of his career, but he's a veteran and knows how to read a defense. That won't be the case when the Dawgs line up against Tennessee. The Vols' QBs have struggled mightily this season, and neither have a lot of experience. This is the perfect opportunity for Martinez to bring the blitz and force Stephens and/or Crompton into mistakes.
7.) What will Brannan Southerland bring to the offense?
No disrespect to Shaun Chapas, who did an admirable job filling in for Southerland the past five games, but Brannan brings an added dimension of experience and leadership to the offense that Chapas doesn't have.
Georgia has struggled in short yardage, and Southerland is one of the nation's best in that role. The Bulldogs' offensive line is young and has had difficulty opening running lanes. There may not be a better run-blocking fullback in the country than Southerland. Bottom line: Chapas is a good player, Southerland is a great one.
Brannan returned to action for the first time since undergoing a second foot surgery against Alabama, but he was limited to special teams. He'll likely split playing time with Chapas this week, but both Southerland and Richt said he would not be limited at all.
8.) Can the Bulldogs run the ball this week?
I tend to throw much of the stats out the window from the Alabama game. The fact is, things went sideways so quickly, that there's really not a lot you can take from the game other than that Alabama was the better team. I'd argue the Tide weren't THAT much better, but they caught some early breaks (and Georgia made some early mistakes) and the Bulldogs were completely one-dimensional after the first quarter.
This week, Georgia needs to establish the run early, particularly with Tennessee's secondary being its biggest strength. If Knowshon Moreno can find some running room -- he's coming off an elbow injury he says has fully healed, by the way -- it might force the Vols' exceptional safeties, Eric Berry and Demetrice Morley, to sneak up to play the run a bit more, thus opening things up for Matthew Stafford and the passing game. If the Bulldogs can control the ground game, win the time-of-possession battle, then force Tennessee to play catch-up, this game should be an easy one. If they chuck the ball all over the field early as they've done the past two games, Tennessee has a real chance to win for the third straight year.
9.) Will the Dawgs look ahead?
If I told you before the season that it might be a real concern that Georgia will be looking past Tennessee toward its showdown with Vanderbilt, you would have assumed I'd lost my mind. That could be the case, however, particularly if the Dawgs jump out to an early lead on Tennessee. Remember, Georgia led the Vols 24-7 with 4:50 to play in the first half, only to lose 51-33. With the general consensus this week being that Tennessee is toast, Georgia cannot risk losing focus early. The Dawgs need to deliver the knockout punch and not let Tennessee hang around.
10.) Can Georgia stay healthy?
Georgia cannot afford to lose this game if it wants any shot at the SEC East. That's priority No. 1. But a close second is this: Georgia cannot afford to lose any more players. Against Alabama, Moreno banged up his elbow, Kris Durham sprained his ankle and is out for the foreseeable future, Ellerbe hurt his knee and Chandler injured his shoulder. Add to that the injuries to Jeff Owens, Quintin Banks, Southerland, Trinton Sturdivant, Rod Battle, Kenneth Harris, Tavarres King, Jeremy Lomax and suspensions to Clint Boling and Dewberry, and Georgia has routinely been without key players. The Bulldogs were blessed with good depth, but even that is becoming incredibly thin. So yes, Georgia needs a win, but ideally, they need to do it with all of their players walking off the field under their own power.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Thursday Links (10/9)
For your reading pleasure...
-- I have a piece on the development of Richard Samuel in today's paper. I expect we'll see a little more of him this week, and Tony Ball said Samuel's lack of offensive involvement the past two games was not a benching, but rather just a product of the numbers game at RB.
-- ESPN's Chris Low writes that Georgia has a healthy amount of added motivation this week against Tennessee. He picks the Bulldogs to win easily.
-- Georgia landed a big defensive tackle for its next recruiting class, writes Dean Legge.
-- The Gainesville Times has more on the dismissal of Walter Hill.
-- The Chattanooga Times Free Press writes about Darryl Gamble's opportunity this week at MLB.
-- Thank goodness Mike Blackberry of the Tennessean speaks Pterodactyl so he could nail down an interview with Arian Foster, who espoused some opinions on the Vols' problems.
-- The Times Free Press has a Q&A with Tennessee QB Nick Stephens -- which will probably be good since I know nothing about him.
-- The Banner-Herald's David Ching blogs about what Georgia's WR corps could look like next year without Hill and the injured Tony Wilson. The Albany Herald's Paul Dehner does a nice job of looking at who might be available to fill the void for the Bulldogs.
-- Tony Franklin was told to "get lost" Wednesday, but apparently the spread offense is sticking around at Auburn.
-- The AJC's Chip Towers has more thoughts on Franklin's firing in his blog.
-- And then there's this from Deadspin -- let's just hope Knowshon's mohawk from the Alabama game doesn't catch on here (I'm not sure if this link warrants a warning for racy content or not, but let's give it a maybe).Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Wednesday Practice Notes -- Hill, Baldwin Leave Team
Walter Hill and Donavon Baldwin have both left the Georgia football team, head coach Mark Richt announced Wednesday.
Baldwin had been suspended since being involved in a fight at a downtown Athens bar just days before fall camp opened. Richt said he would not characterize Baldwin's departure as a dismissal from the program, but said the two mutually agreed that the junior defensive back would benefit by transferring to another school.
"We felt like it would be in his best interest to finish at another school," Richt said. "He's going to transfer out, and I'm not sure where yet."
Richt said Baldwin would have one year of eligibility remaining after his transfer, but that football was not the overriding reason for Baldwin's departure.
"He has a better chance to graduate somewhere else other than Georgia right now," Richt said.
Hill, a redshirt freshman, has suffered from numerous injuries this season, including a broken hand in fall camp and a foot injury in recent weeks. He had not played in a game this season.
Hill was a top basketball recruit out of high school and had considered playing at Georgia, but Richt said that did not play into Hill's dismissal.
"Walter just we'll give the usual breaking team rules, but he really just didn't live up to the standards of doing things the Georgia way," Richt said. "I do think he's going to want to continue on, but I'm not certain where that might be right now."
RECRUITING CHANGES:
Richt said Hill's dismissal changes the number of wide receiver recruits he'll be looking for this year, adding that the Bulldogs would need a minimum of two. With the departure of Hill and three seniors at year's end (Mo Mass, Kenneth Harris, Demiko Goodman), Georgia could open spring camp with just five healthy wideouts. (Tony Wilson's ankle surgery could keep him out through the spring.)
"I think it gives a greater sense of urgency to sign receivers, and I think receivers out there will see a much better picture of their opportunity to come in and play early on," Richt said.
BRANNAN'S BACK:
After getting his first action of the season on special teams against Alabama, fullback Brannan Southerland will finally return to offense this week. Southerland, a senior, missed the first five games of the season while recovering from his second foot surgery in the past year. While he said he's anxious to return to action, he won't let the excitement take away any focus.
"I'll definitely be very excited and be giving it everything I've got on every play," Southerland said. "But that's one of those things I really don't have an issue with. I always stay focused and no matter how excited I get, I always bring it back in for every play and make sure that I'm focused."
Despite the fact that he has yet to play a down on offense this season, Southerland has been named an offensive captain for this week's game against Tennessee.
Southerland will compete for playing time with Shaun Chapas, but he said he'll be ready to play as many snaps as he is needed.
"I believe I'll be able to go as many snaps as I'm called upon," Southerland said. "I won't be limited to 20 reps or anything like that. I'll be able to go the whole game and do everything I need to do."
ELLERBE'S OUT:
Richt confirmed Wednesday what linebacker Darryl Gamble speculated earlier in the week: Dannell Ellerbe will not play Saturday against Tennessee.
Ellerbe has not participated in practice since injuring his knee against Alabama two weeks ago, and Richt said the team is preparing for the game without the preseason All-SEC linebacker.
"He might feel really good by Friday, but he hasn't gotten one rep," Richt said. "We were in shorts (Wednesday), and he's not getting reps because we don't plan on him playing. If we thought there was even a prayer of him getting in, we might let him do the walkthroughs, but we want those other kids to get the reps because we don't think he's going to play."
READY FOR BATTLE:
Defensive end Rod Battle has missed the past three games with a neck injury, and Richt had considered him unlikely to play against Tennessee last week, but the senior has made progress and could see action after all.
"I'd say he's more than 50 percent he will play," Richt said.
Richt said Battle will likely be a bit behind the curve physically, but should be well prepared to play when needed. Battle was listed as the probable starter at defensive end in fall camp.
"In relation to his season, he's been resting his body, so he should be pretty fresh right now," Richt said.
OTHER NEWS AND NOTES:
-- Richt said newly converted offensive lineman A.J. Harmon is progressing well since being moved from the defensive line a few weeks ago.
"He's looked fine. He's learning. He's got a great attitude," Richt said. "Coach Searels has got him on the I-don't-expect-the-world-from-you, so he's bringing him along and hasn't quite put the hammer on him. He's doing pretty good."
Richt said Harmon has been working primarily at tackle -- adding that his size and athleticism made him a good candidate for that position -- but said he could move to guard as well.
-- Auburn fired offensive coordinator Tony Franklin on Wednesday, news that surprised Richt -- though he preferred not to proffer an opinion on the dismissal.
"Any time anybody loses their job, it's sad," Richt said.
That likely means a permanent demise of Auburn's spread offense that Georgia had previously planned for, but Richt said the timing of the move was helpful to the Bulldogs.
"The good news is," Richt said, "we're not playing them this week or next week, and we'll know by then."
-- Linebacker Marcus Dowtin will play Saturday, and Richt said he practiced today with no significant limitations after suffering a back injury lifting weights last week.
"He was in the green, but it was a test it out and see how it feels kind of thing," Richt said. "I think he went the whole practice."
Baldwin had been suspended since being involved in a fight at a downtown Athens bar just days before fall camp opened. Richt said he would not characterize Baldwin's departure as a dismissal from the program, but said the two mutually agreed that the junior defensive back would benefit by transferring to another school.
"We felt like it would be in his best interest to finish at another school," Richt said. "He's going to transfer out, and I'm not sure where yet."
Richt said Baldwin would have one year of eligibility remaining after his transfer, but that football was not the overriding reason for Baldwin's departure.
"He has a better chance to graduate somewhere else other than Georgia right now," Richt said.
Hill, a redshirt freshman, has suffered from numerous injuries this season, including a broken hand in fall camp and a foot injury in recent weeks. He had not played in a game this season.
Hill was a top basketball recruit out of high school and had considered playing at Georgia, but Richt said that did not play into Hill's dismissal.
"Walter just we'll give the usual breaking team rules, but he really just didn't live up to the standards of doing things the Georgia way," Richt said. "I do think he's going to want to continue on, but I'm not certain where that might be right now."
RECRUITING CHANGES:
Richt said Hill's dismissal changes the number of wide receiver recruits he'll be looking for this year, adding that the Bulldogs would need a minimum of two. With the departure of Hill and three seniors at year's end (Mo Mass, Kenneth Harris, Demiko Goodman), Georgia could open spring camp with just five healthy wideouts. (Tony Wilson's ankle surgery could keep him out through the spring.)
"I think it gives a greater sense of urgency to sign receivers, and I think receivers out there will see a much better picture of their opportunity to come in and play early on," Richt said.
BRANNAN'S BACK:
After getting his first action of the season on special teams against Alabama, fullback Brannan Southerland will finally return to offense this week. Southerland, a senior, missed the first five games of the season while recovering from his second foot surgery in the past year. While he said he's anxious to return to action, he won't let the excitement take away any focus.
"I'll definitely be very excited and be giving it everything I've got on every play," Southerland said. "But that's one of those things I really don't have an issue with. I always stay focused and no matter how excited I get, I always bring it back in for every play and make sure that I'm focused."
Despite the fact that he has yet to play a down on offense this season, Southerland has been named an offensive captain for this week's game against Tennessee.
Southerland will compete for playing time with Shaun Chapas, but he said he'll be ready to play as many snaps as he is needed.
"I believe I'll be able to go as many snaps as I'm called upon," Southerland said. "I won't be limited to 20 reps or anything like that. I'll be able to go the whole game and do everything I need to do."
ELLERBE'S OUT:
Richt confirmed Wednesday what linebacker Darryl Gamble speculated earlier in the week: Dannell Ellerbe will not play Saturday against Tennessee.
Ellerbe has not participated in practice since injuring his knee against Alabama two weeks ago, and Richt said the team is preparing for the game without the preseason All-SEC linebacker.
"He might feel really good by Friday, but he hasn't gotten one rep," Richt said. "We were in shorts (Wednesday), and he's not getting reps because we don't plan on him playing. If we thought there was even a prayer of him getting in, we might let him do the walkthroughs, but we want those other kids to get the reps because we don't think he's going to play."
READY FOR BATTLE:
Defensive end Rod Battle has missed the past three games with a neck injury, and Richt had considered him unlikely to play against Tennessee last week, but the senior has made progress and could see action after all.
"I'd say he's more than 50 percent he will play," Richt said.
Richt said Battle will likely be a bit behind the curve physically, but should be well prepared to play when needed. Battle was listed as the probable starter at defensive end in fall camp.
"In relation to his season, he's been resting his body, so he should be pretty fresh right now," Richt said.
OTHER NEWS AND NOTES:
-- Richt said newly converted offensive lineman A.J. Harmon is progressing well since being moved from the defensive line a few weeks ago.
"He's looked fine. He's learning. He's got a great attitude," Richt said. "Coach Searels has got him on the I-don't-expect-the-world-from-you, so he's bringing him along and hasn't quite put the hammer on him. He's doing pretty good."
Richt said Harmon has been working primarily at tackle -- adding that his size and athleticism made him a good candidate for that position -- but said he could move to guard as well.
-- Auburn fired offensive coordinator Tony Franklin on Wednesday, news that surprised Richt -- though he preferred not to proffer an opinion on the dismissal.
"Any time anybody loses their job, it's sad," Richt said.
That likely means a permanent demise of Auburn's spread offense that Georgia had previously planned for, but Richt said the timing of the move was helpful to the Bulldogs.
"The good news is," Richt said, "we're not playing them this week or next week, and we'll know by then."
-- Linebacker Marcus Dowtin will play Saturday, and Richt said he practiced today with no significant limitations after suffering a back injury lifting weights last week.
"He was in the green, but it was a test it out and see how it feels kind of thing," Richt said. "I think he went the whole practice."
The Wait Continues for UGA-Vandy
Georgia's game next week against undefeated Vandy won't be the 3:30 CBS game, the network announced Wednesday. No decision on the kickoff time will be made until Sunday now.
From UGA athletics:
"CBS has selected the Alabama-Ole Miss game for its 3:30 p.m. game on Oct. 18. CBS has allowed ESPN to use one of CBS's three six-day selection options for the Oct. 18 game. The games being held in the six-day selection process for ESPN and Raycom are Vanderbilt at Georgia and LSU at South Carolina. ESPN will select one of these two games for an 8 p.m. kickoff with the other game being televised by Raycom at 12:30 p.m."
Georgia Sports Blog breaks down the potential ramifications of either time slot. For deadline purposes, I'm hoping for the early game, but the late kickoff would certainly be better for fan support and national coverage.
Georgia's Leadership Problem
Paul Dehner of the Albany Herald posted a blog yesterday with some extremely interesting comments from linebacker Rennie Curran.
The basics are this: Georgia's players haven't been taking enough of a vocal leadership role. Here's what Curran had to say:
Last week, defensive end Jeremy Lomax -- who was one of the most vocal players during and after the Alabama game -- made similar comments and basically said Georgia hasn't put in the time in the film room to recognize mistakes they are making.
Curran's point -- that players are too quick to let mistakes be corrected by the coaches -- speaks volumes about the leadership on the team. True, there aren't a lot of seniors on this Georgia team, at least among the key players, but that's not an excuse.
I wonder if all the preseason talk about high expectations, etc., has trained Georgia's players to downplay a lot of the team's issues, and that is carrying over to the practice field.
Obviously we (the reporters) are not privy to everything going on at practice (we only see about 20 minutes of it) but in many of my interactions with Georgia's top players, they are (at best) reserved. Certainly it's possible (maybe likely) that their personality in the locker room is greatly different than it is with the media -- but Lomax and Curran's comments lead me to believe there just aren't a lot of loud voices coming from the players on the practice field or film room. Both Curran and Lomax seem determined to change that.
The basics are this: Georgia's players haven't been taking enough of a vocal leadership role. Here's what Curran had to say:
"One of those things we stress is just accountability," Curran said. "I don t think there s enough of us getting on each other. It s more the coaches have been pounding on us that we need to do things like communicate, be disciplined, play harder and things like that. I think the more emphasis we put on holding each other accountable at every single position, coaching those younger guys not to make mistakes, I feel like that s what s going to take us to the next level. There s no reason why a guy like Deangelo Tyson should be making mistakes when you ve got Geno Atkins and other guys who have been there before. We ve just all got to set each other straight."There are more great Curran quotes on Dehner's blog, but I think this speaks to a real issue for the Bulldogs. Mark Richt has often said that if a team is coach-driven, it is destined to fail. If it's player-driven, you have a much better shot at winning. It sounds like Georgia has been pretty coach-driven so far this year.
Last week, defensive end Jeremy Lomax -- who was one of the most vocal players during and after the Alabama game -- made similar comments and basically said Georgia hasn't put in the time in the film room to recognize mistakes they are making.
Curran's point -- that players are too quick to let mistakes be corrected by the coaches -- speaks volumes about the leadership on the team. True, there aren't a lot of seniors on this Georgia team, at least among the key players, but that's not an excuse.
I wonder if all the preseason talk about high expectations, etc., has trained Georgia's players to downplay a lot of the team's issues, and that is carrying over to the practice field.
Obviously we (the reporters) are not privy to everything going on at practice (we only see about 20 minutes of it) but in many of my interactions with Georgia's top players, they are (at best) reserved. Certainly it's possible (maybe likely) that their personality in the locker room is greatly different than it is with the media -- but Lomax and Curran's comments lead me to believe there just aren't a lot of loud voices coming from the players on the practice field or film room. Both Curran and Lomax seem determined to change that.
Wednesday Links (10/8)
Today's UGA news...
-- The AJC's Mark Bradley writes that Matthew Stafford's success has been hampered by the line in front of him. It's true that Stafford has played behind an inexperienced line the past two years, but Get the Picture uses some actual numbers to disprove much of Bradley's discussion.
-- Chip Towers wonders why there doesn't seem to be a lot of excitement for UGA-UT.
-- The Big Lead debates which conference is better: The Big 12 or the SEC.
-- ESPN's Chris Low debates which coach is better: Les Miles or Urban Meyer. The numbers aren't anything that surprise me, but they are counter to the general opinion.
-- Low also discusses Brannan Southerland's return and David Cutcliffe's departure.
-- Herschel Walker sold cupcakes in Manhattan for "Celebrity Apprentice."
-- The Athens Banner-Herald -- despite a lack of quotable material from Georgia's linemen this week -- that the O line has worked on opening up running lanes for Knowshon Moreno and company this week.
-- As the Tennessean's Bryan Mullen writes, however, it won't be just UGA's offensive line under the gun on Saturday. Two of UT's O linemen have been suspended.
-- Britton Colquitt returns to Tennessee's special teams this week, and I think that's one of UT's big advantages in this game. The Vol's punting game has really struggled this season.
-- Red & Black's Tyler Estep blogs about Georgia's tight end issues.
-- Chip Towers takes a crack at explaining the Kiante Tripp move, too.
-- None of these have much to do with UGA, but I couldn't help but notice the insane number of ridiculous stories on the Web yesterday, including: Luke Walton's stalker (by the way, get a look at the stalker -- yikes!), a Voodoo princess in Macon, an Astros pitcher and a FEMA executive getting arrested at a wedding, and a former Power Ranger facing the death penalty. And that didn't even include Arian Foster's new language. No wonder the stock market is tanking -- the world is going crazy.
-- And one last thing: I hate to be too preachy (oh, who am I kidding, I enjoy it) but this is an issue near and dear to me. Like most of you, I get much of my news from the Web these days, but I also work for a newspaper. Without that newspaper, this blog wouldn't exist. Unfortunately, newspapers around the country are failing quickly.
A few weeks ago, before the UGA-Arizona State game, we swapped stories and info with the folks at the East Valley Tribune in Phoenix. That won't be happening again thanks to a ridiculous amount of budget and job cuts at that paper.
This is the wave of the future, folks. Newspapers are cutting jobs, cutting coverage and, in too many cases, cutting quality. It has happened in Macon, in Atlanta and all around the country.
I greatly appreciate your patronage of this blog, but if you care about your sports coverage -- from UGA to high schools to the pros -- I can't encourage you enough to buy your local newspaper. And when your local newspaper is cutting the things you care about, let them know about it.
I am certain that people still care abou the news, but if trends continue on this path, the avenues for you to get that information from professional, informed sources will be increasingly smaller.Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Figgins, Moreno Injury Update
From tight end Bruce Figgins, who is battling a shoulder injury: "It feels good. Not all the way 100 percent, but it feels good. Today, there were no problems with it. I missed no reps in practice."
On his progress during 11-on-11 drills: "Eleven-on-11 went real good. I was able to hold my blocks and get in routes and be physical. I wasn't holding back any getting hit."
On dealing with contact: "I went live on all my drills inside against the defensive line and linebackers, and I went full go on every drill. No problems. Didn't miss a rep or have to see any trainers, nothing like that."
On his chances of playing against Tennessee (he's listed as third on this week's depth chart behind Aron White and Kiante Tripp): "Right now I feel pretty good, my body feels good, but I'm taking it day by day, getting treatment and seeing trainers and Ron and the doctors, and we'll go from there."
From running backs coach Tony Ball on how Knowshon Moreno has looked in practice following an elbow injury against Alabama: "Thank God we had the open date and it gave him the chance to recover. These last couple days, he hasn't shown any effects of it. We haven't allowed him to get hit, but he hasn't shown any effects of being hampered by it when he is in there working. So we feel good about where he is right now and his health on Saturday."
Ball aslo added that he didn't expect any change on the depth chart behind Moreno, with Caleb King being the first guy off the bench and Richard Samuel No. 3.
"Both Caleb and Richard have done really well, and I've been really pleased with how Caleb has come along and performed in both the running game and protection."
On his progress during 11-on-11 drills: "Eleven-on-11 went real good. I was able to hold my blocks and get in routes and be physical. I wasn't holding back any getting hit."
On dealing with contact: "I went live on all my drills inside against the defensive line and linebackers, and I went full go on every drill. No problems. Didn't miss a rep or have to see any trainers, nothing like that."
On his chances of playing against Tennessee (he's listed as third on this week's depth chart behind Aron White and Kiante Tripp): "Right now I feel pretty good, my body feels good, but I'm taking it day by day, getting treatment and seeing trainers and Ron and the doctors, and we'll go from there."
From running backs coach Tony Ball on how Knowshon Moreno has looked in practice following an elbow injury against Alabama: "Thank God we had the open date and it gave him the chance to recover. These last couple days, he hasn't shown any effects of it. We haven't allowed him to get hit, but he hasn't shown any effects of being hampered by it when he is in there working. So we feel good about where he is right now and his health on Saturday."
Ball aslo added that he didn't expect any change on the depth chart behind Moreno, with Caleb King being the first guy off the bench and Richard Samuel No. 3.
"Both Caleb and Richard have done really well, and I've been really pleased with how Caleb has come along and performed in both the running game and protection."
Parlez Vous Pterodactyl?
I'll admit, I've been really looking forward to the Georgia-Kentucky game so I could chat with Dicky Lyons. But consider me guilty of looking ahead. Apparently Tennessee has its own insane offensive weapon in running back Arian Foster.
Check out this story from Deadspin about how Foster refused to do interviews with media unless the entire interview was conducted speaking an ancient language called "Pterodactyl." Not surprisingly, no interviews were conducted.
Yesterday, right guard Clint Boling's only answer to media questions (and I'm paraphrasing) was "we're looking forward to playing Tennessee." That seemed bad at the time, but it was, I suppose, marginally more quotable than "Veeek, Veeek, Veeek!"
Check out this story from Deadspin about how Foster refused to do interviews with media unless the entire interview was conducted speaking an ancient language called "Pterodactyl." Not surprisingly, no interviews were conducted.
Yesterday, right guard Clint Boling's only answer to media questions (and I'm paraphrasing) was "we're looking forward to playing Tennessee." That seemed bad at the time, but it was, I suppose, marginally more quotable than "Veeek, Veeek, Veeek!"
Tuesday Notes (10/7)
Head coach Mark Richt held his regular Tuesday news conference today, along with several Georgia players. Here are the major news and notes from the day:
-- It sounds like Dannell Ellerbe won't see much -- if any -- action Saturday.
Darryl Gamble said he would be getting his first career start at the Mike linebacker position, with Akeem Dent starting at Sam and Rennie Curran filling his usual role at Will.
"I haven't played a lot against Tennessee, just special teams really," Gamble said. "I think it'll be one of my better games, my first game starting at Mike. So I think it will be exciting for me."
Gamble said Ellerbe could see some action, but he wasn't anticipating any significant time for the preseason All-SEC linebacker.
"He's going to try to play, try to get a few snaps here and there to see how he feels," Gamble said. "From yesterday, he didn't practice yesterday, so I'm thinking he's not going to play much."
-- There could be another shake-up on the offensive line as well. Richt said Cordy Glenn has been practicing the past two weeks at left guard and could get the start over Chris Davis. The other four positions -- Justin Anderson (RT), Clint Boling (RG), Ben Jones (C) and Vince Vance (LT) -- look to remain unchanged.
"For a guy to be a true freshman and to look the way he has, I was amazed at how little he struggled," Richt said of Glenn. "Not that he's not struggling, but usually a freshman somewhere along the line really blows a gasket in camp or even in the beginning. He just somehow I know he had help from centers and from tackles but it's not easy to do. He's held up really good all through this whole experience. From early on, he gave us confidence he was going to be ready to play this year."
-- It sounds as if Knowshon Moreno is near 100 percent this week, although Richt said he would wear an elbow brace during the game. Moreno, however, said he has not worn any brace in practice so far this week. Richt also indicated Richard Samuel could see a bit more time at running back after he failed to play a single snap on offense last week.
"Right now, we think Knowshon will be as full speed as he would have been without that little setback," Richt said. "We might be more apt to give Richard a few more carries than he got. We've got to watch Knowshon. We have to watch his energy level. He's been good. Some guys won't go out no matter what even if they're just not full speed. If he feels like he needs a break, he'll let us know, and we'll make that sub."
-- The Dawgs also get fullback Brannan Southerland back this week, and he'll have a special honor to start the game:
"I think it's significant in that he's one of the finest leaders on this team," Richt said. "He's one of the most respected and maybe arguably the most respected player on this team. Our coaches actually voted him offensive captain, and he hasn't even taken a snap offensively if that gives you an indication of how our staff feels about his leadership ability."
Richt praised the work of Shaun Chapas as well, but admitted the Bulldogs may be more likely to use the fullback in short-yardage situations now that Southerland is back.
"We might be a little more apt to use him in short-yardage and goal-line situations because we've done that in the past. It wasn't that those plays were out (with Chapas) but we just didn't use him as much."
-- The tight end position isn't quite as bad as people think, Richt said.
Reason No. 1: Aron White
"Aron White is actually taking the bull by the horns," Richt said. "He's seizing the opportunity. He's blocking better than he has ever blocked. He's got more energy than he has ever had. When you're third string, you have a certain mentality. It's hard to have that eye of the tiger or whatever you want to call it. But now you're the starter, so now it's different for him. He's practicing extremely well, and we're thrilled about that."
Reason No. 2: Kiante Tripp
"Kiante Tripp, full-time tight end," Richt said. "He's not taking any reps at tackle right now. He did some last week when we were scrimmaging some guys just to finish out, but he's in the tight end meetings, he's getting tight end reps, he's a capable blocker and he actually has very good hands."
Reason No. 3: Bruce Figgins
"Bruce Figgins practices yesterday against the scouts. He'll practice today. He'll probably get a little bit of inside drill. He'll get some work to really see how that shoulder feels. Bruce, there's a very good chance Bruce will play."
-- With Kris Durham out and Tavarres King questionable, Richt said he expected senior Kenneth Harris to see a bit bigger role this week.
"Kenneth is a senior. He knows what to do, and there's no question he'll play," Richt said. "I can't sit here and say how many balls are going to be directed his way, but he'll definitely make a contribution at receiver."
-- The penalty problems have been a focal point for Richt this week. While he was quick to point out that good teams tend to also have lots of penalties -- see LSU, Florida, FSU during Richt's years there -- but he was putting and end to that at Georgia for the rest of this season.
"I'm wearing them out," Richt said. "I'm wearing them out physically. Before I was a little reluctant to make such a strong point, I was concerned about some aggressive play and all that kind of thing, but my strategy and my thoughts were wrong. The penalties have not slowed down and have cost us. I did a poor job on the front end of this."
-- It sounds like Dannell Ellerbe won't see much -- if any -- action Saturday.
Darryl Gamble said he would be getting his first career start at the Mike linebacker position, with Akeem Dent starting at Sam and Rennie Curran filling his usual role at Will.
"I haven't played a lot against Tennessee, just special teams really," Gamble said. "I think it'll be one of my better games, my first game starting at Mike. So I think it will be exciting for me."
Gamble said Ellerbe could see some action, but he wasn't anticipating any significant time for the preseason All-SEC linebacker.
"He's going to try to play, try to get a few snaps here and there to see how he feels," Gamble said. "From yesterday, he didn't practice yesterday, so I'm thinking he's not going to play much."
-- There could be another shake-up on the offensive line as well. Richt said Cordy Glenn has been practicing the past two weeks at left guard and could get the start over Chris Davis. The other four positions -- Justin Anderson (RT), Clint Boling (RG), Ben Jones (C) and Vince Vance (LT) -- look to remain unchanged.
"For a guy to be a true freshman and to look the way he has, I was amazed at how little he struggled," Richt said of Glenn. "Not that he's not struggling, but usually a freshman somewhere along the line really blows a gasket in camp or even in the beginning. He just somehow I know he had help from centers and from tackles but it's not easy to do. He's held up really good all through this whole experience. From early on, he gave us confidence he was going to be ready to play this year."
-- It sounds as if Knowshon Moreno is near 100 percent this week, although Richt said he would wear an elbow brace during the game. Moreno, however, said he has not worn any brace in practice so far this week. Richt also indicated Richard Samuel could see a bit more time at running back after he failed to play a single snap on offense last week.
"Right now, we think Knowshon will be as full speed as he would have been without that little setback," Richt said. "We might be more apt to give Richard a few more carries than he got. We've got to watch Knowshon. We have to watch his energy level. He's been good. Some guys won't go out no matter what even if they're just not full speed. If he feels like he needs a break, he'll let us know, and we'll make that sub."
-- The Dawgs also get fullback Brannan Southerland back this week, and he'll have a special honor to start the game:
"I think it's significant in that he's one of the finest leaders on this team," Richt said. "He's one of the most respected and maybe arguably the most respected player on this team. Our coaches actually voted him offensive captain, and he hasn't even taken a snap offensively if that gives you an indication of how our staff feels about his leadership ability."
Richt praised the work of Shaun Chapas as well, but admitted the Bulldogs may be more likely to use the fullback in short-yardage situations now that Southerland is back.
"We might be a little more apt to use him in short-yardage and goal-line situations because we've done that in the past. It wasn't that those plays were out (with Chapas) but we just didn't use him as much."
-- The tight end position isn't quite as bad as people think, Richt said.
Reason No. 1: Aron White
"Aron White is actually taking the bull by the horns," Richt said. "He's seizing the opportunity. He's blocking better than he has ever blocked. He's got more energy than he has ever had. When you're third string, you have a certain mentality. It's hard to have that eye of the tiger or whatever you want to call it. But now you're the starter, so now it's different for him. He's practicing extremely well, and we're thrilled about that."
Reason No. 2: Kiante Tripp
"Kiante Tripp, full-time tight end," Richt said. "He's not taking any reps at tackle right now. He did some last week when we were scrimmaging some guys just to finish out, but he's in the tight end meetings, he's getting tight end reps, he's a capable blocker and he actually has very good hands."
Reason No. 3: Bruce Figgins
"Bruce Figgins practices yesterday against the scouts. He'll practice today. He'll probably get a little bit of inside drill. He'll get some work to really see how that shoulder feels. Bruce, there's a very good chance Bruce will play."
-- With Kris Durham out and Tavarres King questionable, Richt said he expected senior Kenneth Harris to see a bit bigger role this week.
"Kenneth is a senior. He knows what to do, and there's no question he'll play," Richt said. "I can't sit here and say how many balls are going to be directed his way, but he'll definitely make a contribution at receiver."
-- The penalty problems have been a focal point for Richt this week. While he was quick to point out that good teams tend to also have lots of penalties -- see LSU, Florida, FSU during Richt's years there -- but he was putting and end to that at Georgia for the rest of this season.
"I'm wearing them out," Richt said. "I'm wearing them out physically. Before I was a little reluctant to make such a strong point, I was concerned about some aggressive play and all that kind of thing, but my strategy and my thoughts were wrong. The penalties have not slowed down and have cost us. I did a poor job on the front end of this."
Tuesday Links (10/7)
A few quick links before I head out to listen to Mark Richt answer a dozen or so questions about a.) injuries, b.) the Alabama game and c.) losing to Tennessee the past two years.
-- The AJC's Chip Towers writes about the ugly number of linebacker injuries.
-- Get the Picture has this week's Vegas Rankings, and guess which SEC team isn't in the top 40 -- I'll give you a clue: They just beat No. 24.
-- Get to know a little about cornerback Asher Allen. Ladies, he seems like a real catch.
-- The Red & Black has a story about how Rennie Curran spent his weekend off.
-- Check out No. 1 on Ivan Maisel's list of observations (on the righthand side of the page) and ask yourself why Bobby Petrino keeps getting jobs.
-- The Meat Packers (aka Georgia Sports Blog) takes the time to sum up Georgia's injury woes this season. I had actually meant to compile a similar list last week, but figured it would be too time consuming, which should tell you a lot about how bad things have been for the Bulldogs.
-- GSB also updates Georgia's bowl projections. I've never been to Dallas, so I guess things could be worse than a Cotton Bowl bid.
-- And finally, check out the fightin' words from LSU's Ricky Jean-Francois in the Orlando Sentinel. As if this weekend's matchup with Florida wasn't already interesting enough.Monday, October 6, 2008
Monday Practice Notes (10/6)
Dannell Ellerbe is only taking one class this semester, but his free time is being put to good use.
The preseason All-SEC linebacker suffered a knee injury in the first quarter against Alabama on Sept. 27, and he has been receiving three sessions of treatment per day since then in hopes of returning to action this week against Tennessee.
"It feels better," Ellerbe said. "It's a whole lot better from Saturday."
Ellerbe said he felt the knee was at about 60 percent, which may be enough to get him on the field Saturday.
"Chances to me, right now, I'm getting better, so I'd say it's more than a 50-50 chance," he said.
Ellerbe will need to participate in at least one practice this week, he said, to be cleared to play. If he is active for the game, however, he likely won't fill his usual role on kickoff and punt teams.
"Hopefully it'll be more than 15 or 20 plays, but I know it'll strictly be defense, probably no special teams," Ellerbe said.
MORE BUMPS AND BRUISES:
Georgia's linebacker depth took another hit last week when freshman Marcus Dowtin hurt his back lifting weights.
Dowtin, who has appeared in all five games so far this season and has collected eight tackles, said he incorrectly executed one of his workouts which led to the injury. He practiced in a green non-contact jersey Monday, but said he planned to be ready to play when the Bulldogs host Tennessee on Saturday.
"It's nothing serious," Dowtin said. "I'll be ready to play."
Wide receiver Tavarres King also hopes to be on the field against the Volunteers after missing the Alabama game with a sprained ankle.
"It's feeling pretty good," King said. "I ran on it (Monday), I rehabbed on it all last week. It felt good. Just stopping and cutting are the main things."
King said he initially suffered the injury in fall camp but it wasn't serious at the time.
After playing split end and flanker in the first four games of the season, King said he practiced in the slot Monday as a result of injuries to Kris Durham and Tony Wilson.
"We've just got guys falling," King said. "We've got to get everybody learning different things."
JUST FOR KICKS:
Freshman running back Richard Samuel wasn't on the field for a single offensive snap against Alabama, but he did make a big play with a 41-yard kickoff return. Samuel almost scored on the play, but was brought down from behind by an Alabama defender.
The lack of work on offense follows a strong start to the season in which he opened as the No. 2 running back, but he said he's happy to get on the field any way he can.
"It doesn't matter, I just want to play," said Samuel, who returned kicks occasionally in high school. "If it's running back or returner, I just want to play."
DECISION DELAYED:
Georgia fans hoping to make their homecoming plans will have to wait a bit longer before learning what time the Bulldogs' game against Vanderbilt will kick off next Saturday.
An announcement could come as early as today or could be bumped back until Sunday, depending on whether any of the possible television broadcasters chooses to exercise their option to delay selecting a game for the week.
CBS has first pick, and it will choose between the Bulldogs' clash with Vandy, LSU at South Carolina or Mississippi at Alabama for the 3:30 game. The other two games will be carried by either ESPN or Raycom.
The preseason All-SEC linebacker suffered a knee injury in the first quarter against Alabama on Sept. 27, and he has been receiving three sessions of treatment per day since then in hopes of returning to action this week against Tennessee.
"It feels better," Ellerbe said. "It's a whole lot better from Saturday."
Ellerbe said he felt the knee was at about 60 percent, which may be enough to get him on the field Saturday.
"Chances to me, right now, I'm getting better, so I'd say it's more than a 50-50 chance," he said.
Ellerbe will need to participate in at least one practice this week, he said, to be cleared to play. If he is active for the game, however, he likely won't fill his usual role on kickoff and punt teams.
"Hopefully it'll be more than 15 or 20 plays, but I know it'll strictly be defense, probably no special teams," Ellerbe said.
MORE BUMPS AND BRUISES:
Georgia's linebacker depth took another hit last week when freshman Marcus Dowtin hurt his back lifting weights.
Dowtin, who has appeared in all five games so far this season and has collected eight tackles, said he incorrectly executed one of his workouts which led to the injury. He practiced in a green non-contact jersey Monday, but said he planned to be ready to play when the Bulldogs host Tennessee on Saturday.
"It's nothing serious," Dowtin said. "I'll be ready to play."
Wide receiver Tavarres King also hopes to be on the field against the Volunteers after missing the Alabama game with a sprained ankle.
"It's feeling pretty good," King said. "I ran on it (Monday), I rehabbed on it all last week. It felt good. Just stopping and cutting are the main things."
King said he initially suffered the injury in fall camp but it wasn't serious at the time.
After playing split end and flanker in the first four games of the season, King said he practiced in the slot Monday as a result of injuries to Kris Durham and Tony Wilson.
"We've just got guys falling," King said. "We've got to get everybody learning different things."
JUST FOR KICKS:
Freshman running back Richard Samuel wasn't on the field for a single offensive snap against Alabama, but he did make a big play with a 41-yard kickoff return. Samuel almost scored on the play, but was brought down from behind by an Alabama defender.
The lack of work on offense follows a strong start to the season in which he opened as the No. 2 running back, but he said he's happy to get on the field any way he can.
"It doesn't matter, I just want to play," said Samuel, who returned kicks occasionally in high school. "If it's running back or returner, I just want to play."
DECISION DELAYED:
Georgia fans hoping to make their homecoming plans will have to wait a bit longer before learning what time the Bulldogs' game against Vanderbilt will kick off next Saturday.
An announcement could come as early as today or could be bumped back until Sunday, depending on whether any of the possible television broadcasters chooses to exercise their option to delay selecting a game for the week.
CBS has first pick, and it will choose between the Bulldogs' clash with Vandy, LSU at South Carolina or Mississippi at Alabama for the 3:30 game. The other two games will be carried by either ESPN or Raycom.
UGA's Gehan Wins Offensive Player of the Week
From UGA Athletics...
Georgia volleyball sophomore Lindsay Gehan was named the Southeastern Conference's Offensive Player of the Week according to an announcement made by the league Monday.
Gehan, a native of Dallas, Texas, helped Georgia earn its first conference victory of the season against Arkansas by tying a career-high with 15 kills on a career-high .591 attack percentage. She led a Bulldog offensive attack that posted a season-best .440 attack percentage in the match against the Razorbacks.
"It's a great credit to Lindsay's performance this weekend. She has some career-bests, but more than that, she did a great job of leading us in a position she was initially uncomfortable with after we made a switch," Georgia head coach Joel McCartney said of Gehan moving from opposite to the left side. "She's been extremely mature about the decision to make that switch, and I think it's that maturity that has enabled her to be stable enough emotionally to get in rhythm with her game. But she's done more than that now. She's stepped it up to a completely differently level with this weekend's performance."
Gehan went on to finish the week with 4.83 kills per set on a .404 attack percentage that contributed to 4.92 points per set. Her kills per set and points per set marks on the week were approximately double her season averages.
It is the first honor from the SEC for Gehan, and it marks the second Offensive Player of the Week award earned by the Bulldogs this season. Senior Maria Taylor earned the distinction on Sept. 8.
Gehan and the Bulldogs return to action this week by playing host to the LSU Tigers on Wednesday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. ET in the Ramsey Student Center. Georgia will also travel to face Auburn on Friday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m.
Georgia volleyball sophomore Lindsay Gehan was named the Southeastern Conference's Offensive Player of the Week according to an announcement made by the league Monday.
Gehan, a native of Dallas, Texas, helped Georgia earn its first conference victory of the season against Arkansas by tying a career-high with 15 kills on a career-high .591 attack percentage. She led a Bulldog offensive attack that posted a season-best .440 attack percentage in the match against the Razorbacks.
"It's a great credit to Lindsay's performance this weekend. She has some career-bests, but more than that, she did a great job of leading us in a position she was initially uncomfortable with after we made a switch," Georgia head coach Joel McCartney said of Gehan moving from opposite to the left side. "She's been extremely mature about the decision to make that switch, and I think it's that maturity that has enabled her to be stable enough emotionally to get in rhythm with her game. But she's done more than that now. She's stepped it up to a completely differently level with this weekend's performance."
Gehan went on to finish the week with 4.83 kills per set on a .404 attack percentage that contributed to 4.92 points per set. Her kills per set and points per set marks on the week were approximately double her season averages.
It is the first honor from the SEC for Gehan, and it marks the second Offensive Player of the Week award earned by the Bulldogs this season. Senior Maria Taylor earned the distinction on Sept. 8.
Gehan and the Bulldogs return to action this week by playing host to the LSU Tigers on Wednesday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. ET in the Ramsey Student Center. Georgia will also travel to face Auburn on Friday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m.
Monday Links (10/6)
I could be angry that I sent my cell phone in to be repaired a month ago, and today they sent me a letter saying it would not be covered by the warranty.
I could be angry that I stopped to fill up my car today, and while pumping the gas, looked across the street to see another station selling gas for 22 cents less per gallon.
I could be angry that the Chicago Cubs, the team I have passionately rooted for since I was 5 years old, was swept in the first round for the second straight year by a clearly inferior team.
I could be angry that the Philadelphia Eagles, my hometown football team, yet again let an easy win slip away from them amid a flurry of dropped passes, brutal play calling and abject failures when trying to stop the opposition on third down.
But it's a nice day, I'm writing this blog outside, and all I am responsible for doing the remainder of the day is watching football practice and writing a story about it... so no complaints from me. Hopefully your weekends went well, and you're feeling equally chipper as we get set for Tennessee this week.
Here are some links to kill a few minuts of your afternoon...
-- One of Georgia's first mascots is getting his own monument in Dodge County.
-- The Red & Black details Georgia's fashion history.
-- Adam Van Brimmer of the Savannah Morning News writes that Matthew Stafford holds the key to Georgia's success. I think Stafford has looked good -- but not great -- so far this season. With the Bulldogs' weaknesses in the trenches, Stafford probably needs to be great.
-- Dawgbone's Darrell Huckaby notes that Georgia Tech isn't getting much love from pollsters. I have to say -- I don't think Tech's winning a title this year, but the Yellow Jackets have been one of the top 25 teams in the country so far, in my opinion.
-- The AJC had a story over the weekend about Florida recruits getting the royal treatment at UGA.
-- The AJC's Steve Hummer also has a good piece about Knowshon Moreno's hometown fans.
-- Roger Clarkson of the Athens Banner-Herald has a good piece on a Georgia defensive recruit.
-- Interesting look at Tennessee's problems from VolsXtra's John Adams.
-- ESPN's Chris Low has Georgia third in his weekly SEC poll behind Alabama and LSU. What's more interesting is how the standings shake out after the top four. What a strange season this is turning out to be.
-- After UGA uncovered a means of detecting narcissism among Facebook users, Cracked gives us a better understanding of other character traits you'll find in the typical Internet friend.
-- Don't ask me why, but this was the single funniest thing I saw all weekend. Say hello to your mother for me, OK?
Oh, and one last thing -- don't forget today is the last day to register to vote in Georgia. If you haven't yet, make time to do it. Regardless of your politics, a democracy only functions when people participate in it.Friday, October 3, 2008
Making it the Hard Way
For the past few weeks, I had been looking for a good in-depth feature to work on during Georgia's bye week. After Jeff Owens hurt his knee in Week 1 and Corvey Irvin landed the starting job at defensive tackle, I started thinking about doing a story on Georgia Military College, where Irvin, along with Jarius Wynn, Akeem Hebron and Vince Vance had transfered from.
The more I thought about it, however, I decided I needed someone still at GMC to focus the story around. That choice was easy. Macon-area native and former Georgia player Michael Lemon is playing at GMC now after being dismissed from the Bulldogs by Mark Richt over the summer, and he seemed like the perfect candidate for a story.
By the time I did the reporting, I wasn't exactly sure whether I wanted the piece to be a story about life at GMC or a story about Michael Lemon. As it turned out, I ended up writing the latter.
It is running in Saturday's Macon Telegraph, or you can find it online HERE. I hope you'll take the time to read it. Lemon isn't perfect, but his story is one worth telling.
In any case, I also ended up with quite a bit of other info from GMC head football coach Bert Williams that was more general about the program, rather than focusing on Michael. I think much of what he had to say was quite interesting, and given the liklihood that Irvin, Hebron, Wynn and Vance won't be the last Bulldogs to transfer from GMC, I thought it was information worth posting.
In any case, please try to check out the story on Michael Lemon, and then read up on Williams' thoughts about GMC. You can also find my original story on Corvey Irvin HERE.
Bert Williams quotes...
On the challenges of bringing players into the culture of GMC: "Getting them to understand what they need to focus on to make it to where they want to go is the biggest hurdle. Getting them to get acclimated with the regimented lifestyle. One of the main ingredients to our success is the regimented lifestyle that the cadet corps has in place for all our football players here. It is obviously different from what they were used to growing up in high school. They have to be in bed at a certain time, they have to be up early in the morning, there are various places and appointments during the day they are required to make, and being late or not being there is not an option. It's a strict day in that there's a schedule you've got to adhere to."
On dealing with players who don't want to follow the rules: "The fact of the matter is that if they could take care of their business, they would've, and they wouldn't be here. The fact of the matter is, they need that structure, they need the discipline to help get them focused on getting their academic credentials to where they need to be and to change some of their personal habits that have probably held them back in succeeding academically. I've been here since '97 and I can count on my hands the number of guys we've had that truly couldn't get it academically. Almost all of them come in here with the ability, they just have terrible habits or have not been made to work, not been instructed on how to study, how to manage their time. The structure of what we do just helps make that lesson a little bit easier."
On what the GMC experience does for his players: "We teach them a lot about being successful, and it's a lot of little things. Sometimes it seems very mundane. The fact of the matter is by the time they're through here, a lot of those things become habit, and they're good habits to have as they go through the rest of their lives."
On how GMC's skills translate to Division I: "When you're used to working hard and you're used to being accountable for what you're doing and what you're not doing, and you're used to accepting responsibility, it's going to be an easy transition. Learning the scheme and learning to play football is the easy part. It's the other things that get in the way of young men accomplishing what they want to."
On the military training players receive at GMC: "Everything they do over there is military training. Every second they have their uniform on, they consider that military training. It's a lot more about accountability and responsibility. Actual military stuff, marching, they don't spend a lot of time on that. But they do spend a lot of time on learning how to handle and accept responsibility and accountability, and it pays dividends for these guys."
On the differences between GMC and DI: "Our guys learn appreciation for things they're given. We work very hard to make everything we do as first-class as possible. We do travel on buses everywhere. They're nice buses, clean, they've got the videos on there, it's not like you're on a 50-year-old school bus driving across country. Now we do drive across country a lot. But it's pretty nice accommodations. We stay in good hotels, we feed them good, we've got a nice facility here. We've got a super nice dorm now. That's a great improvement. We have very nice facilities, especially for a junior college, but these guys do learn to appreciate things. And one of the biggest differences that I see when you have guys that come from a Division I program is that they don't appreciate what they get at those places until everything's just not handed to them."
On the GMC experience: "A lot of times they are ushered through in high school. The way is paved, so to speak. Certainly they're working hard on the field, working hard in the offseason and all that stuff, but you have to pull your own weight here. You will clean the locker room. You will clean your own room to a certain standard. It's part of what they have to do in the cadet corps. Really the whole process is like a 24-hour team-building process, and not just with the football team but with the entire corps of cadets."
On Michael Lemon: "I don't remember a tough day for him as far as getting in line with what's going on. He's been an upbeat guy. The one thing that did impress me about him is he never made excuses for the mistakes he made in Athens. He accepted responsibility for what he did and where he was. He was very committed about getting on board with whatever we were doing whether it be on the football field or in the cadet corps."
The more I thought about it, however, I decided I needed someone still at GMC to focus the story around. That choice was easy. Macon-area native and former Georgia player Michael Lemon is playing at GMC now after being dismissed from the Bulldogs by Mark Richt over the summer, and he seemed like the perfect candidate for a story.
By the time I did the reporting, I wasn't exactly sure whether I wanted the piece to be a story about life at GMC or a story about Michael Lemon. As it turned out, I ended up writing the latter.
It is running in Saturday's Macon Telegraph, or you can find it online HERE. I hope you'll take the time to read it. Lemon isn't perfect, but his story is one worth telling.
In any case, I also ended up with quite a bit of other info from GMC head football coach Bert Williams that was more general about the program, rather than focusing on Michael. I think much of what he had to say was quite interesting, and given the liklihood that Irvin, Hebron, Wynn and Vance won't be the last Bulldogs to transfer from GMC, I thought it was information worth posting.
In any case, please try to check out the story on Michael Lemon, and then read up on Williams' thoughts about GMC. You can also find my original story on Corvey Irvin HERE.
Bert Williams quotes...
On the challenges of bringing players into the culture of GMC: "Getting them to understand what they need to focus on to make it to where they want to go is the biggest hurdle. Getting them to get acclimated with the regimented lifestyle. One of the main ingredients to our success is the regimented lifestyle that the cadet corps has in place for all our football players here. It is obviously different from what they were used to growing up in high school. They have to be in bed at a certain time, they have to be up early in the morning, there are various places and appointments during the day they are required to make, and being late or not being there is not an option. It's a strict day in that there's a schedule you've got to adhere to."
On dealing with players who don't want to follow the rules: "The fact of the matter is that if they could take care of their business, they would've, and they wouldn't be here. The fact of the matter is, they need that structure, they need the discipline to help get them focused on getting their academic credentials to where they need to be and to change some of their personal habits that have probably held them back in succeeding academically. I've been here since '97 and I can count on my hands the number of guys we've had that truly couldn't get it academically. Almost all of them come in here with the ability, they just have terrible habits or have not been made to work, not been instructed on how to study, how to manage their time. The structure of what we do just helps make that lesson a little bit easier."
On what the GMC experience does for his players: "We teach them a lot about being successful, and it's a lot of little things. Sometimes it seems very mundane. The fact of the matter is by the time they're through here, a lot of those things become habit, and they're good habits to have as they go through the rest of their lives."
On how GMC's skills translate to Division I: "When you're used to working hard and you're used to being accountable for what you're doing and what you're not doing, and you're used to accepting responsibility, it's going to be an easy transition. Learning the scheme and learning to play football is the easy part. It's the other things that get in the way of young men accomplishing what they want to."
On the military training players receive at GMC: "Everything they do over there is military training. Every second they have their uniform on, they consider that military training. It's a lot more about accountability and responsibility. Actual military stuff, marching, they don't spend a lot of time on that. But they do spend a lot of time on learning how to handle and accept responsibility and accountability, and it pays dividends for these guys."
On the differences between GMC and DI: "Our guys learn appreciation for things they're given. We work very hard to make everything we do as first-class as possible. We do travel on buses everywhere. They're nice buses, clean, they've got the videos on there, it's not like you're on a 50-year-old school bus driving across country. Now we do drive across country a lot. But it's pretty nice accommodations. We stay in good hotels, we feed them good, we've got a nice facility here. We've got a super nice dorm now. That's a great improvement. We have very nice facilities, especially for a junior college, but these guys do learn to appreciate things. And one of the biggest differences that I see when you have guys that come from a Division I program is that they don't appreciate what they get at those places until everything's just not handed to them."
On the GMC experience: "A lot of times they are ushered through in high school. The way is paved, so to speak. Certainly they're working hard on the field, working hard in the offseason and all that stuff, but you have to pull your own weight here. You will clean the locker room. You will clean your own room to a certain standard. It's part of what they have to do in the cadet corps. Really the whole process is like a 24-hour team-building process, and not just with the football team but with the entire corps of cadets."
On Michael Lemon: "I don't remember a tough day for him as far as getting in line with what's going on. He's been an upbeat guy. The one thing that did impress me about him is he never made excuses for the mistakes he made in Athens. He accepted responsibility for what he did and where he was. He was very committed about getting on board with whatever we were doing whether it be on the football field or in the cadet corps."
UGA Baseball Announces '09 Schedule
From UGA Athletics:
Georgia will play 30 games against NCAA Tournament teams from last season including home contests against Georgia Tech, LSU, Arkansas, Florida and Vanderbilt and a road series at Arizona as its 2009 baseball schedule was released Friday."We have some good non-conference games, but it's not as challenging as it's been in years past," head coach David Perno said. "We are very much excited about the trip to Arizona, and we are looking forward to navigating through a tough SEC schedule."
Southeastern Conference teams coming to Foley Field in 2009 include Mississippi State (March 20-22), LSU (April 3-5), Arkansas (April 17-19), Florida (May 1-3) and Vanderbilt (May 8-10).
The defending SEC champion Bulldogs open league play on the road at Alabama March 13-15. Other conference road series include Tennessee (March 27-29), Kentucky (April 10-12), Ole Miss (April 24-26) and South Carolina (May 14-16).
Georgia will play 33 games at Foley Field including a season-opening series against Youngstown State Feb. 20-22 in addition to other non-conference games against Presbyterian (Feb. 24-25), Wofford (March 4), Quinnipiac (March 6-8), Lemoyne (March 10-11), Wright State (March 24), Winthrop (April 7-8), Kennesaw State (April 21) and Jacksonville State (April 29).
The Bulldogs will have annual home-and-home tilts against Clemson (March 31 & April 1) and Georgia Tech (March 25 & April 14), and the final game of the series with the Yellow Jackets will be May 12 at Turner Field. The Bulldogs also have non-conference road trips to Pac-10 power Arizona (Feb. 27-March 1), Georgia State (March 18) and Jacksonville State (April 22).
For the 12th straight year the SEC Baseball Tournament returns to Regions Park in Hoover, Ala., May 20-24. NCAA Regionals will be held on campus sites May 29-June 1 prior to Super Regionals June 5-8 and the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., June 13-24.
The Bulldogs’ seven-game Fall World Series is scheduled for Oct. 20-22, 24 and 26-28 at Foley Field.
Salute to the Fans
I came across this story yesterday about Tennessee's fans, which I thought tied perfectly with something Mark Richt was talking about after Thursday's practice.
Richt was talking about several Quarterback Club meetings he attended on Monday, and he said that, despite the defeat against Alabama, people almost unanimously were upbeat. That led him to talking about the crowd last Saturday that stayed until the bitter end, despite the early 31-0 hole for Georgia.
"I'll say this about the Georgia fans in general they're pretty awesome," Richt said. "They were awesome that game. Dawg walk, pregame, the whole 31-0, come back in the third quarter and everybody's still there cheering us on. We go 17 points in a row and they got juiced. The majority of them didn't leave until that last on-side kick. They hung in there. That student section and everybody around the band, it was packed still."
With a bevy of recruits on hand for the game, Richt said there was no doubt Georgia's crowd made a significant difference in bringing talent to Athens down the road.
"It's very meaningful," he said. "That South Carolina game my first season when we lost, there were some mean things said coming off that field, and our recruits were down right in that area where the players come off the field, and there were some comments made. I literally had a mom say, 'Why would I want my son to play at Georgia if their own fans are going to dog you out?' And I remember addressing our fan base way back when. I said, 'You know what? I know we didn't do very good, everybody's unhappy with that, but if you're truly a Bulldog and you want to win in the future, you need to love up these guys and let the recruits know that they're welcome here. And ever since then, I've never once had an issue where I was embarrassed. I've only been proud of how our crowd reacts. That's huge."
Richt was talking about several Quarterback Club meetings he attended on Monday, and he said that, despite the defeat against Alabama, people almost unanimously were upbeat. That led him to talking about the crowd last Saturday that stayed until the bitter end, despite the early 31-0 hole for Georgia.
"I'll say this about the Georgia fans in general they're pretty awesome," Richt said. "They were awesome that game. Dawg walk, pregame, the whole 31-0, come back in the third quarter and everybody's still there cheering us on. We go 17 points in a row and they got juiced. The majority of them didn't leave until that last on-side kick. They hung in there. That student section and everybody around the band, it was packed still."
With a bevy of recruits on hand for the game, Richt said there was no doubt Georgia's crowd made a significant difference in bringing talent to Athens down the road.
"It's very meaningful," he said. "That South Carolina game my first season when we lost, there were some mean things said coming off that field, and our recruits were down right in that area where the players come off the field, and there were some comments made. I literally had a mom say, 'Why would I want my son to play at Georgia if their own fans are going to dog you out?' And I remember addressing our fan base way back when. I said, 'You know what? I know we didn't do very good, everybody's unhappy with that, but if you're truly a Bulldog and you want to win in the future, you need to love up these guys and let the recruits know that they're welcome here. And ever since then, I've never once had an issue where I was embarrassed. I've only been proud of how our crowd reacts. That's huge."
Catching Up With... Eric Zeier
Georgia fans are still coming to grips with the retirement of Larry Munson, but another Georgia legend -- former quarterback Eric Zeier -- is keeping Munson's love of the Bulldogs alive as the color analyst for games. He also can be heard on "The Tailgate Show" with Loran Smith and Neil "Hondo" Williams. Zeier starred at Georgia during the early 1990s and played for five seasons in the NFL.
I caught up with Eric earlier this week to discuss the Bulldogs' tough loss to Alabama, the upcoming matchup against Tennessee and the pro prospects of Georgia's current star quarterback.
David Hale: From your days as a player, would you prefer to have an off week like Georgia does after a tough loss or would you rather get right back on the field?
Eric Zeier: Typically I think after losing a game, the last thing you want is a bye week because you want to get back on the field, go play and erase those thoughts from your head as quickly as possible. In this case though, I think a bye week is actually pretty good. We've been hit relatively hard by injuries the first part of the year, so giving us a chance to heal up and rest up as we get going into what remains of an unbelievably tough schedule is a good thing right now. Lay on top of that that we had just come back from Arizona State, that trip back, any time that you travel, it's not the week that you travel and the game that you travel to, it's always the following week that catches up to you a little bit. So just having the chance to recoup, rest and heal up a little bit as we move into the next portion of our season is a positive thing.
DH: You talked about the trip to Arizona, and I think that's been something that wasn't really mentioned much after the Alabama loss. Do you think the after effects of that trip had anything to do with how bad the Bulldogs looked in the first half last week?
EZ: I'm sure it had some effect, it always does, but take nothing away from Alabama. That was an extremely good football team. It's not like we came out and didn't play well against a team that should not have beat us. That Alabama team deserved undoubtedly the No. 2 ranking that they hold right now. They are very good. But if you go back, when I took a look at the season, one of my concerns was that Alabama game, not knowing how good they would be at the time, just because we were traveling back from going out west. As a former player, that's when it always caught up with me. You're not physically tired from that trip, but everything is thrown off just a little bit. You get back at 7:30 in the morning, so your routine is thrown off a little bit. You're still kind of recovering from that and the entire routine is thrown off. As athletes, you're creatures of habit. We like to be in that routine, so that's where it affects you.
DH: I think most people agree Alabama was clearly the better team during that game, but where the Tide really made their mark was at the line of scrimmage. There was obviously some concern even going into that game about Georgia's young offensive line and the lack of the pass rush, and Alabama really exploited that. Do you see this as something that can be a quick fix for the Dawgs or is it just going to be an ongoing issue this season?
EZ: I would agree that Alabama won that football game in the trenches, but we helped some, too, with some penalties -- especially in that first half where we let them get off to a very quick start that we couldn't recover from. Ultimately that game was won by Alabama in the trenches. I've heard all the talk and the concern about where we are up front. My opinion is that we played very well up to that point, we played very well in the second half of that football game, scoring 30 points. I still like where we are. I really like this football team. Is there room for improvement in those areas? Absolutely there is, but that's always going to be the case that you want to see improvement and want to get better in those areas. But for the most part, I think the offensive line has played very well. The interior of our defensive line has gotten a good push throughout most of the year. Defensive ends, on the outside, we could see some improvement on that end, but across the board our defense has played very good football this year. We just happened to run into a team that is very talented, and in that first half, did not make a mistake in the way they handled the football and ran their game plan."
DH: Those penalties definitely had an impact on the game, and it seems to be a big problem for Georgia recently. In looking at the numbers, the run of flags goes back to that on-field celebration in Florida. Since that game, Georgia's penalties have nearly doubled. Do you think there's a connection there? If not, what do you think the problem is?
EZ: I've heard that question asked several times, and those numbers don't lie. So it's real that we have an issue with some of the penalties that we're taking on. I would really go back to, so many of these penalties that we are having are just mental mistakes. They're not vicious, they're not penalties where we've changed the whole demeanor of how we play or we're out trying to play dirty. It's bumping a quarterback, but you get your hands in his face a little bit or a procedure penalty here and there. It's getting to the quarterback in not quite enough time but not pulling off. I tend to look at it more as some mental discipline where we're just putting ourselves in those situations and not really playing sound, fundamental football in those areas. I fully expect that after this off week it's going to be more of a focus for our guys, and we'll start to see those come down dramatically.
DH: Looking ahead, Georgia's next game is against a Tennessee team that has struggled this season but really embarrassed the Dawgs in Knoxville last season. What do you think the keys are for Georgia to get back to playing winning football against the Volunteers?
EZ: First off all, Tennessee is still a really good football team. If you go back to last year, their struggles probably weren't quite what we're seeing this year from them. But there was so much talk last year when we went to Knoxville to play them around, is Phil Fulmer's job safe, is he fit to lead the team. The next thing you know, we get a beating put on us in the first half that was very similar to what Alabama did to us. So you know this is a very dangerous football team. They've got a tremendous amount of talent. Right now they are struggling. They don't know who their quarterback is right now, so they're undecided there. They go out to UCLA and get beat by a UCLA team that follows that up by just getting crushed by BYU. So this is a team that's wounded, but that's a dangerous football team with the kind of talent they do have. And if there's one thing that Phillip Fulmer has shown, it's that when he gets backed up against the wall, his team is coming out and playing extremely hard. I think that's what we're going to see, so it's not a rollover game by any stretch of the imagination. It's a team we've struggled with over the past couple of years. But what I really want to see from us is just being mentally sharp and being ready to go play. Eliminate some of those penalties that have taken plays, really get focused in on being physical and dominant up front on both lines -- because we've got all the talent in the world. We've played very solid football up to this point in the year, notwithstanding that Alabama game where in the first half they put it to us. But if we can get focused in on what we need to do which is getting rid of some of those penalties and playing at a very high level of physical football, we'll be just fine.
DH: As someone who had a standout career in college and played several years in the NFL, you're in a unique position to judge the future prospects of Matthew Stafford. People like Mel Kiper have him listed as the top NFL prospect in college, but what kind of a pro quarterback do you think he'll be?
EZ: Let me answer that in two ways. First of all, from a physical talent perspective, he has the physical talent to play at the next level, I don't think there's any question about that. He's got a super strong arm, he's big, he can run, he can move, he understands the game of football. He's been underneath Coach Richt and Coach Bobo, and he has had two very, very good coaches tutoring him over the past several years. So he is going to be ready to play. But as far as the success you have, so much of that depends on getting drafted into a system that is the right fit for you, where you'll have some consistency, where you're not rushed in too quickly, and you have a chance to learn, because the game is different. But so long as he gets put in the right position, he can be very good because he has all of the tools. If you find yourself in a system that doesn't necessarily match your talents, there can be some struggle there. We've seen it across all spectrums where you've got the Peyton Mannings and the Ryan Leafs. One turns into a Hall-of-Fame-type quarterback, and the other only lasts a couple years because he can't handle the situation or the stress that they are put under. So a lot of that is where Matthew ends up going. But does he have the talent and the ability to play at the next level? I don't think there's any question.
DH: I wanted to ask you about Larry Munson. Obviously Georgia fans everywhere are sad to see him go, but what are some of your best memories of Larry, both as a player and now having worked with him in the booth?
EZ: My first memory of Georgia football is actually of Larry. I'd just moved back here from Germany, and I was actually driving in my car on a Saturday when the Dawgs were playing. I turned on my radio, and there's Larry. There's none better than Larry. He's an iconic figure at the university, and once you've listened to a game that he's called, it's tough to ever think about the Dawgs being called by anyone else. It's just what you naturally relate to as a fan. That's what hit me first and foremost. As a player, you're out playing so you don't really get a chance to hear his calls or what's going on while you're there at school. My big memories are as a fan. Even as I've had an unbelievable opportunity to work with him over the past couple of years, it remains that. Almost as many people look at some of the players in a little bit of awe, that's the way I approach Larry. It's just been an awful lot of fun to work with him, and he's never going to be replaced. He's going to be the voice of the Dawgs and will never be forgotten. To have a chance to work with him for a brief period of time was an awesome experience for me.
Friday Links (10/3)
Happy Friday, folks. Just a heads up on what to expect from the blog this weekend -- I'm going to be out of town for a bit, so the updates will be less frequent. There will be a few today, probably two or three Saturday, and likely nothing Sunday unless some major news breaks. You can check out my Georgia content at Macon.com or Ledger-Enquirer.com over the weekend though.
With that said, here are today's links...
-- The AJC reports Knowshon Moreno will be ready to go for the Tennessee game next week.
-- Northside's Eric Fields, who is deciding between Clemson and Georgia, knows how to provide some bulletin board material.
-- Georgia Sports Blog has some interesting numbers regarding Matthew Stafford and Tim Tebow.
-- Get the Picture has some early thoughts on Tennessee. I'll save my comments for next week.
-- The Banner-Herald's Mark Weiszer blogs about A.J. Green's visit home.
-- Steve Spurrier doesn't exactly sound intimidated by Ole Miss's Greg Hardy.
-- The Red & Black has a story on a UGA tennis import.
-- The Lil Wayne blog at ESPN.com seems to be going well.
-- Speaking of blogs, it's sad we don't still have the Daily Dicky being updated. Nevertheless, I recommend you spruce up your MySpace page with this Dicky Lyons custom background.
-- Since none of you probably care too much about Kansas City sports (and these days, I'm not sure even the people in KC care about them), I'll guess you probably don't read Joe Posnanski often, although you may remember him from his days as a columnist in Augusta.
In any case, he is one of the best writers in the country (I recently read his book on Buck O'Neil and it was fantastic), and he also keeps one heck of an entertaining blog (way better than this one). He recently posted his thoughts on what it's like covering sports when you have to write bad things about guys you really like.
I figured I would post it here for you guys to read, too, as I think it's a very accurate depiction of what the life of a sports writer is like. I know it is easy to throw the media under the bus for being biased, but drawing that line of demarcation between being a good journalist and being a good person is not always an easy one. Hopefully Joe's post gives you a bit better understanding of why that is.Where's the Pressure?
Jeremy Lomax and Mark Richt both discussed the lack of pressure Thursday, and their diagnosis of the problems against Alabama were both somewhat interesting.
Lomax said the biggest problem for the pass rush is that they had a lot of difficulty reading whether a play would be a run or a pass -- they'd think pass, rush hard, then realize it was a run and have trouble getting off their block. They'd think run, it would be a pass, and John Parker Wilson was able to get off a quick pass on a three-step drop (which I think Lomax likes slightly less than a root canal).
Richt pretty much said the same thing. His first point was that the offense never put Alabama in a position where they had to play catch up, and the defense failed to put the Tide in enough third-and-longs to where they had to run higher-risk plays.
"They ran zone, zone, zone, they faked the zone, hitch, hitch, curl into the flat they didn't have to do anything special," Richt said. "It's hard to put pressure on that when it looks so much like the run. Unless we get on offense get enough going where them out of their comfort zone on their offensive side of the ball, it's hard to make them take a chance."
Of course, Richt also said after the game, he though Wilson had all day to throw the ball, so this analysis may either be a result of more careful film study or perhaps he just doesn't want to throw his pass rush under the bus any more than they already are.
His second explanation, however, I thought was even more interesting. Basically, Richt said, it came down to luck. (Or, one could argue, bad play calling or bad play recognition.)
"People want you to blitz and sometimes you're blitzing and playing three behind it," Richt said. "Sometimes you press, sometimes you're playing two deep behind it. But you've got to mix it up, and some of our better pressures have three deep behind it. A couple times they caught it just right, had a little hitch out there, one-two-three boom. It didn't matter if you brought seven the ball's out. The first half, they hit just about everything. The second half, it wasn't the same way. I watched it really closely. I think we played better in the second half, no doubt, but I think some of our calls just timed better with what they were doing in the second half. It seemed like everything we called in the first half got collected because they were in a good play. They just happened to be in the right call. Sometimes in the second half, they were in the wrong call and we were in the right call, and it made all the difference."
I'm not sure whether this adds fuel to the fire for those of you who blame Willie Martinez for much of the Bulldogs' problems or if it exonerates him. I guess it depends on your interpretation of the comments.
From a pass rush standpoint, however, it's sort of a good news-bad news argument. The bad news is that the Dawgs have been underprepared. The good news is, that's far more fixable than being underskilled.
"You've just got to do more film study," Lomax said. "That's what it's going to take. Get in the film room, watch more film, and I feel like us as a whole have been slacking at that. We need to be able to read stances more and know whether it s run or pass."
Lomax said the biggest problem for the pass rush is that they had a lot of difficulty reading whether a play would be a run or a pass -- they'd think pass, rush hard, then realize it was a run and have trouble getting off their block. They'd think run, it would be a pass, and John Parker Wilson was able to get off a quick pass on a three-step drop (which I think Lomax likes slightly less than a root canal).
Richt pretty much said the same thing. His first point was that the offense never put Alabama in a position where they had to play catch up, and the defense failed to put the Tide in enough third-and-longs to where they had to run higher-risk plays.
"They ran zone, zone, zone, they faked the zone, hitch, hitch, curl into the flat they didn't have to do anything special," Richt said. "It's hard to put pressure on that when it looks so much like the run. Unless we get on offense get enough going where them out of their comfort zone on their offensive side of the ball, it's hard to make them take a chance."
Of course, Richt also said after the game, he though Wilson had all day to throw the ball, so this analysis may either be a result of more careful film study or perhaps he just doesn't want to throw his pass rush under the bus any more than they already are.
His second explanation, however, I thought was even more interesting. Basically, Richt said, it came down to luck. (Or, one could argue, bad play calling or bad play recognition.)
"People want you to blitz and sometimes you're blitzing and playing three behind it," Richt said. "Sometimes you press, sometimes you're playing two deep behind it. But you've got to mix it up, and some of our better pressures have three deep behind it. A couple times they caught it just right, had a little hitch out there, one-two-three boom. It didn't matter if you brought seven the ball's out. The first half, they hit just about everything. The second half, it wasn't the same way. I watched it really closely. I think we played better in the second half, no doubt, but I think some of our calls just timed better with what they were doing in the second half. It seemed like everything we called in the first half got collected because they were in a good play. They just happened to be in the right call. Sometimes in the second half, they were in the wrong call and we were in the right call, and it made all the difference."
I'm not sure whether this adds fuel to the fire for those of you who blame Willie Martinez for much of the Bulldogs' problems or if it exonerates him. I guess it depends on your interpretation of the comments.
From a pass rush standpoint, however, it's sort of a good news-bad news argument. The bad news is that the Dawgs have been underprepared. The good news is, that's far more fixable than being underskilled.
"You've just got to do more film study," Lomax said. "That's what it's going to take. Get in the film room, watch more film, and I feel like us as a whole have been slacking at that. We need to be able to read stances more and know whether it s run or pass."
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Thursday Practice Notes (10/2)
He's wearing extra pads and two harnesses, but tight end Bruce Figgins intends to play next Saturday when Georgia returns to action against Tennessee.
Figgins said he has a torn labrum in his left shoulder – an injury he initially suffered in the spring, but severely aggravated against Arizona State two weeks ago. He said the injury will require surgery, but that is an option he's hoping to put off as long as possible.
"We're going to basically see how I feel after the Tennessee game," Figgins said. "I'm doing everything I can to play in this game coming up, watching film, in the weight room, getting treatment."
Figgins said he has no doubt he will play against the Volunteers, a game in which Georgia will be shorthanded at tight end due to a shoulder injury suffered by starter Tripp Chandler last week against Alabama.
Beyond that, however, Figgins doesn't know what the future holds. NCAA rules would allow him to receive a medical redshirt if he does not play beyond the Tennessee game, but that is an option he isn't sure he wants to take.
"I think we have a championship team this year, and I want to be a part of that," Figgins said. "But if I do take the surgery, I do qualify for a redshirt, and there's that route, too."
Figgins said he has most of his range of motion back, despite the protective gear he is wearing. During practice this week, he said he was able to catch nearly every pass thrown to him – including some that required him to reach over his head.
Some blocks he is forced to make cause pain, however, and he said further playing time could cause the injury to worsen.
Head coach Mark Richt said if the medical redshirt was not an option, Figgins would almost certainly try to play out the year, but as it stands, a final decision probably won't be made until the sophomore sees how he holds up in game action.
"If I feel like I'm strong, if I feel like I won't have a problem again, there is a possibility I could go beyond Tennessee," Figgins said. "After Tennessee game, I'll come in Sunday and have the doctors look at it and we'll go from there."
-- Richt said former Bulldog Randall Godfrey addressed the team on Monday and provided just the right amount of motivation following the loss to Alabama. Richt said the team's focus has been sharp this week, particularly after Godfrey's speech.
"We're still very much in control of our destiny as far as the Eastern Division in the Southeastern Conference," Richt said. "If we can play a more disciplined brand of football and continue to improve fundamentally, I think we can get right back on track. It was very good medicine to go back out there and practice."
-- After Knowshon Moreno was forced out of last week's Alabama game with an elbow injury, Richt said he wasn't sure if his star running back would be ready to play against Tennessee on Oct. 11. Moreno, however, never had any doubt.
"I never thought it was broken or anything. I didn't think I was going to be out," Moreno said.
The sophomore tailback, who has 10 rushing touchdowns this season, said he injured the elbow on a blocking play when his arm hit another player's helmet. Moreno said the elbow never swelled significantly, however, and he has complete range of motion.
"Everything's good, everything's fine, there's no worries," Moreno said. "I'll be there (against Tennessee), I'll be ready to go."
-- A bevy of schools with high academic reputations such as Vanderbilt and Wake Forest are having strong years on the football field, but according to ESPN columnist Pat Forde, it's Georgia that has the best combination of smarts and skill.
In a recent column for ESPN.com, Forde ranked this week's AP top 25 in order of each team's APR, which tracks academic progress for their players. The Bulldogs ranked No. 1 with a score of 965, one point ahead of Wake Forest and Penn State.
"That's pretty impressive," Richt said. "I think that's outstanding. It makes you feel like you can have a great athletic experience and a tremendous academic experience all in the same place."
You can read the entire Pat Forde column HERE.
"It's getting better," Richt said. "Will it be ready? I don't know. But he's doing everything he can to be ready. I just don't think it's close enough. He certainly couldn't play this weekend, that's for sure."
-- Defensive end Rod Battle has missed Georgia's past two games with a neck injury. Richt said Battle went in for tests Thursday, but results were not yet available.
-- Offensive lineman Chris Davis did not practice this week as a precautionary move, Richt said. Davis has been battling a hip injury for several weeks, and trainer Ron Courson advised a week off would be helpful in his recovery.
"We just wanted to give him a break on his hip," Richt said. "It had been bothering him, but Ron felt like it's doing him a world of good right now. He'll be back Monday."
UGA's McCool Gets Big Invite
From UGA Athletics:
Georgia s Courtney McCool has been invited to participate during the Atlanta stop of the 2008 Tour Of Gymnastics Superstars.
The tour, which includes Olympians Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson, will be at Philips Arena on Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m. for its 17th stop. McCool, the 2008 NCAA champion on floor exercise, will do an exhibition routine.
I am absolutely ecstatic to be given the opportunity to perform on the tour with the girls, McCool said. I cannot wait to see them. They are such an amazing group of girls and incredible athletes. We used to compete together and I am so honored to perform with them again.
McCool won a silver medal as a member of the 2004 Olympics team that competed in Greece. However, she was unable to participate in the 2004 tour due to wrist surgery.
When Mary Lee Tracey, the coach in charge of the talent and athletes on tour, contacted us and asked for an athlete who could perform floor, Courtney immediately came to mind, Georgia coach Suzanne Yoculan said. Not only is she the 2008 NCAA floor exercise champion, but more importantly she is a natural performer. This is a great opportunity for her. The entire Gym Dogs team is honored to have her represent the University of Georgia during the tour stop in Atlanta.
For more information about the 2008 Tour Of Gymnastics Superstars, including price and availability of tickets, visit gymnasticssuperstars.com.
Georgia s Courtney McCool has been invited to participate during the Atlanta stop of the 2008 Tour Of Gymnastics Superstars.
The tour, which includes Olympians Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson, will be at Philips Arena on Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m. for its 17th stop. McCool, the 2008 NCAA champion on floor exercise, will do an exhibition routine.
I am absolutely ecstatic to be given the opportunity to perform on the tour with the girls, McCool said. I cannot wait to see them. They are such an amazing group of girls and incredible athletes. We used to compete together and I am so honored to perform with them again.
McCool won a silver medal as a member of the 2004 Olympics team that competed in Greece. However, she was unable to participate in the 2004 tour due to wrist surgery.
When Mary Lee Tracey, the coach in charge of the talent and athletes on tour, contacted us and asked for an athlete who could perform floor, Courtney immediately came to mind, Georgia coach Suzanne Yoculan said. Not only is she the 2008 NCAA floor exercise champion, but more importantly she is a natural performer. This is a great opportunity for her. The entire Gym Dogs team is honored to have her represent the University of Georgia during the tour stop in Atlanta.
For more information about the 2008 Tour Of Gymnastics Superstars, including price and availability of tickets, visit gymnasticssuperstars.com.
Thursday Links (10/2)
Happy Thursday, folks. I won't spoil anything for you, but if you have DirecTV, I hope you caught the premier of "Friday Night Lights" last night -- by far the best show on TV that no one seems to be watching. If not, however, here are some other football stories to fill your morning...
-- Maybe there's nothing to this at all, but were you aware that, in the 11 games since the on-field celebration at Florida, Georgia has been penalized at nearly twice the rate as it had been the 11 games before? In their last 11 games, the Dawgs have racked up at least 70 penalty yards 10 times. In the 11 games before it -- just once. Read into it what you will, but I have a story with a few more details in today's Ledger-Enquirer and Telegraph.
-- The Athens Banner-Herald writes that A.J. Green has a chance to become one of Georgia's great receivers.
-- Bill King at the Junkyard Blawg echoes a familiar sentiment -- the coaching has been lackluster for Georgia this season.
-- The AJC's Tim Tucker wonders which game is bigger -- Tennessee or Vandy? Now that's a question I bet no one expected to be asked at the beginning of the season. Phil Fulmer has to have some interns working at Kinkos 24/7 padding his resume.
-- 'Bama's big win over Georgia has made the Tide a betting favorite, according to Covers. At -16.5 against a completely unproven Kentucky team, I'd line up to take that bet, too.
-- The Chattanooga Times Free Press's David Paschall writes that Alabama is doing a lot more recruiting in Georgia.
-- A Notre Dame fan gives the Georgia faithful some props, reports David Ching.
-- Urban Meyer has support in hating the new clock rules, according to Get the Picture.
-- A study shows that UGA is among the top 10 colleges in the nation in sexual health. That's good to know.
-- Most people go their entire lives dreaming of doing something great but never find the right direction. Not the folks who came up with this idea. (Ladies and gentlemen, you are such a wonderful crowd, we'd like to play a little tune for you. It's one of my personal favorites and I'd like to dedicate it to a young man who doesn't think he's seen anything good today - Cameron Frye, this one's for you.)
-- Poor Travis Henry. He's probably just trying to find a way to feed his nine illegitimate kids.
-- And finally, for any fans of "The Office" -- a little something to get you excited for tonight's episode.Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Wednesday Links (10/1)
Hope that exciting Florida Atlantic-Middle Tennessee game last night helped everyone get through the bye week a little easier. Here are a few links to help kill some more time until Georgia is back on the field. Just as a side note: I have to go out of town for a while today to work on a story, so this may be the only post for today.
-- I have a story about Kiante Tripp's move to tight end. I think there's a lot of upside to this move, but I agree with Georgia Sports Blog's final assessment.
-- Bleacher Report takes a look back at the start of SEC season and wagers a few guesses as to what is still to come.
-- WTOC in Savannah has some highlights of Mark Richt's visit to the local Quarterback Club.
-- The Athens Banner-Herald writes that Saturday's loss was only the second-worst thing to happen to a handful of Georgia students.
-- Thankfully, someone is finally making sure God has Tim Tebow's back.
-- Georgia told a top tight end recruit he is still wanted, according to the AJC.
-- The blackout earned Georgia its largest local television rating in two years.
-- The Red & Black has an update on the Knowshon injury.
-- Georgia Sports Blog has a roundup of predictions for Georgia's bowl destination. I'll join them in hoping we're not making a trip to Orlando.
-- In case you're looking to revisit some of the better times at Sanford Stadium in the wake of Saturday's loss, there's a new book about Georgia football coming out.
-- Georgia Sports Blog has an update on the college football hot seats, and it includes two of my favorites. In fact, my boss -- a Clemson grad -- requests signatures HERE.
-- Matthew Stafford tells Chip Towers the Georgia offense will be fine.
-- I can't decide which of these stories was the most obvious: This one, this one, this one, this one, this one or this one.
-- In honor of the Bengals signing another high-character guy, I figured this was a good time to take a look back at some great mug shots -- starting with Mr. Benson. And of course, you had to love Danny Ware's from last weekend. Michael Jackson is clearly a hall of famer. Vanilla Ice just looks happy anyone is still taking his picture. Even in jail, Hugh Grant has pretend he's delightfully sheepish and confused. Does Nick Nolte know how to party or what? Of course, James Brown gives him a run for his money. I don't care what the charge was, Andy Dick is guilty. I'll give Glen Campbell credit, at least he looks justifiably unhappy about being arrested. There's a handful of non-celebrities HERE, HERE and HERE. And my all-time favorite.
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