If you ever get a chance to check out The Office webisodes on NBC.com (or Hulu), they are well worth the time. The webisodes are a great opportunity to focus on some of the hilarious characters that are often relegated to the background while the focus stays on the "core" group.
Kelly and Andy are probably my two favorite Office characters, and I have been really impressed with how well Erin has fit in to the show as well...and B.J. Novack's arrogant cluelessness is never more on display than it is here:
STRAIGHT OUT OF LACKAWANNAAAAAAAA!!!!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Thank you, Hulk Hogan..
Because you are delusional and pathetic enough to try and start a new wrestling promotion in Australia, the world is blessed with THIS:
Ahh...he's still got it.
"I only THINK I'm the man? Ask your ex-wife! I REEK of being The Man!"
WHOOOOO!!!!
Ahh...he's still got it.
"I only THINK I'm the man? Ask your ex-wife! I REEK of being The Man!"
WHOOOOO!!!!
What passes for a Florida recap these days...
By now, I guess almost everything that can be said about the Cocktail Party last week has been said…this will probably be more like my take on the current state of the Dawgs program, and then an “announcement” regarding what you can expect to see in this space going forward…
Once more, into the breach…
- Joe Cox. What a great kid. Loves the Dawgs, bleeds red and black, takes great pride in wearing the G. His teammates love and respect him, the coaches talk about him in nothing but glowing terms.
Unfortunately, all of the admirable attributes that he possesses don’t cancel out some inherent weaknesses in his game. What we heard about Joe from the coaching staff coming out of camp was that he may not have great physical skills, but he makes good decisions with the ball and he is extremely accurate. I can’t tell you that they were lying, because I wasn’t invited to watch practice for some unknown reason, but I can tell you that these reported strengths have not translated to the field once real bullets started flying. Aron White said recently that mistakes are made during games that you don’t see during practice, and maybe that is what is happening with Joe. Whatever the case, he is throwing interceptions at an alarming rate, and for every one that you can point to and say may not be his fault (like a couple of them on Saturday), I’ll point to three more that were thrown into coverage and SHOULD have been picked off but weren’t, oftentimes because multiple defenders are going for the ball at the same time and manage to play effective defense against each other.
We are not the only team that recruited Joe when he was in high school…he was an Elite 11 quarterback, after all. Maybe if he had been in a situation that allowed him to get more playing time over the last four years he could have developed into a big time quarterback. But the weaknesses in his game…locking onto receivers with his eyes, throwing the ball late and high, failing to identify where defenders are in relation to the passing lanes…those are weaknesses you don’t expect to see out of a 5th year senior, until you are reminded that the 5th year senior is also a first year starter.
What I mean to say is that I don’t think it’s fair to label Joe a “bust”…but I think we can say at this point that at best he has been average this year, and at times he has been worse than that.
So, going forward, what do we do about the quarterback situation? Many fans are screaming for the staff to bench Joe and start looking to the future (I may have even been guilty of that myself during the Florida massacre…so much of that day is a red haze, so I can’t say for sure). Coach Richt came out this week and said that Joe is the starter, and I can’t argue with his reasoning.
See, we as fans have the option of chalking up this year as “rebuilding” and start looking to next year…Coach Richt, rightfully so, does not believe that to be an option, as it sends the message to THIS year’s group of Dawgs that we have given up on this season…the season that, for most of the seniors, will be the last time they ever don pads and play a competitive down of football. How can Coach Richt look guys like Jeff Owens, Michael Moore, Geno Atkins, Bryan Evans, Prince Miller, and Joe Cox in the eye and say, “Sorry, guys…I know you have busted your butts and sweat and bled for this team for the last 4 or 5 years. But even though there are 4 (hopefully 5) games left in your Dawg career, we’ve decided those games aren’t that important, so if you’ll step aside it’s time for these young guys to play.”
I couldn’t do that. Maybe if I’m an NFL head coach, but not to these kids. If that makes me some sort of pansy, or “too nice”, then so be it.
So what you’re left with is this: Joe Cox, despite his shortcomings, is the best chance this team has to win right now. Until somebody else earns that away from him, he should start.
And don’t start telling me about what we are losing by not playing Gray and Murray now…if this season had gone like we all hoped it would, they wouldn’t be getting playing time right now anyway, right? So their progress is not being stopped, or even slowed. They are all on the same schedule as they were when the season started.
- Having said all that…why is Bryan Evans still getting playing time over Bacarri Rambo? Again, Evans is a great guy, by all reports, and has willingly played anywhere the coaching staff has asked him to. But, at this point, can anybody give a reason why Bryan Evans gives this team a better chance to win right now than Bacarri Rambo? As physically gifted as he is, he has never shown the ability to cover anybody in man coverage, and is consistently out of position when we are in zone. Rambo is a playmaker…don’t we need those guys?
- Nice to see at least some semblance of a running game. And as good as Washaun has looked, I’m OK with Caleb being the starter, based on his effectiveness in the passing game. It's not like the Evans-Rambo situation where one player is obviously more effective and we are going with the less effective one for some unexplained reason. Caleb being the starter doesn’t mean that we are not going to see a heavy dose of Washaun.
An aside…Washaun has said that when Evans leaves, he is going to ask for his old HS number back. We’ve been trying to find a replacement for our last #34 for 25 years now…maybe a combination of #3 and #4 will be the secret next year?
- Let me get this straight…we have two weeks to prepare, and the best we can come up with against a struggling Gator offense is more of the same soft-zone-give-the-receiver-six-yards-of-space crap we serve up every week? Can we PLEASE find a way to utilize this abundance of talent we have on defense?
To me, what this team is missing on defense more than anything else is ATTITUDE. Any kind of edge or nastiness that is REAL, not contrived. This team is so far removed from the "Junkyard Dawgs" that Erk wouldn't even recognize it.
The defense wasn’t as bad as the 41 points may indicate…but we never showed a consistent ability to slow them down, and they were able to score EVERY time they needed to. Kind of like every other big game we have played the last two seasons.
- Stupid penalties. Turnovers. Continuing to bang our head against the directional kicking wall, when we have a kicker who has more than enough leg to boom the ball into the end zone. Excuses, excuses, excuses. Sometimes, I hate being right.
- So, who is the MVP of this team? Drew Butler or Blair Walsh?
- Brandon Spikes is a low-life, and his hypocritical, lying, sack-of-crap coach is even worse.
- I didn’t forget the stupid, gimmicky, circus-stunt, embarrassing, low-rent, bush-league, desperate, cringe-worthy decision to try and “Blackout” this game. I’m just trying REALLY hard to do so.
- The only thing that can salvage this season for me at this point is to beat the Gnats in Atlanta.
- Bottom line…14 months ago, this team was the number one team in the country. Now, I can’t tell any difference in where we currently are as a program and where we were in the Donnan years. Tremendously talented, but manages to find increasingly stupefying ways to mutilate itself on a consistent basis.
I love Coach Richt, and there is nobody I would rather have representing the University of Georgia. I don’t want him fired, and if you do, don’t bother telling me because I probably won’t even waste my time trying to convince you of what an idiot you are.
That being said, there have to be changes made. I’m glad I don’t have to be the one to make them. Here are two that, as a fan, I want to see:
o Coach Martinez should do the honorable thing and step down. Coach Richt obviously considers Willie to be a good friend. If he is as good a friend as Coach Richt thinks he is, he will not put his friend in the awkward position of having to continually defend why he has not fired the man who has been the overseer of a precipitous decline in output ever since he got the job.
o Coach Richt should at least get more involved in the play-calling, if not take it back completely. Coach Richt made his reputation calling plays for some of the most prolific offenses in NCAA history. I understand the advantages of not having that responsibility anymore when it comes to time management, etc, but I’m starting to think that it may have been too much too fast for Coach Bobo.
This program is not in shambles. There are still a lot of tools in the toolbox. But, without a doubt, there needs to be a change in mindset, and that ALWAYS starts at the top.
GO DAWGS!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now, for the promised announcement: I don’t know how much “Dawg” blogging I am going to be doing in the near future. Don’t get me wrong…I still love this team, will be pulling like mad for 9-4, and I still live and die with this bunch.
That’s part of the reason why I haven’t blogged as much and may not blog as much in the future. I started this blog for one reason only…to have fun. I write about the things I enjoy. In doing so, I have been lucky enough to gain a (very small) audience and have had this blog added to blogrolls of Dawg fans and linked by the Benevolent Geniuses at Dawgbone. As flattering as that is, I feel like I put pressure on myself to be the type of writer that people who would get to my blog from those links would want to read, so I felt like I had to do a recap of every game, or try and weigh in on every Dawg-related issue, whether I wanted to or not, while at the same time maybe NOT post other things that interest me but may not interest somebody who got here through Dawgbone.
The point is, posting about the Dawgs started feeling like something I HAD to do, rather than something I WANT to do.
On top of all that, some things happened with my work schedule and environment that have kept me from posting as timely as I would have liked, so I felt like by the time I actually got a chance to weigh in on anything, it had already been said (and almost definitely better) by guys like Hale, Bernie, Doug, Mike, DawgSports, etc, etc.
I don’t want to post just to post. I also don’t want to post a lot about the Dawgs when I’m ticked off, because I don’t want to add to what has become a very negative atmosphere at times (not due to the guys mentioned above, btw).
So, here’s the deal…I’m still going to post about the Dawgs, when I feel like I have something to add to the conversation. But I’m probably also going to be posting about a bunch of other, non-Dawg stuff. I watch TONS of television. I read LOTS of books. I love ALL kinds of movies. I have WAY too much stupid, random stuff running around in my head. Hopefully, out of all that, there will be enough to keep you coming back. If not, I’ll just keep firing posts into the blogosphere for my mom to read.
Once more, into the breach…
- Joe Cox. What a great kid. Loves the Dawgs, bleeds red and black, takes great pride in wearing the G. His teammates love and respect him, the coaches talk about him in nothing but glowing terms.
Unfortunately, all of the admirable attributes that he possesses don’t cancel out some inherent weaknesses in his game. What we heard about Joe from the coaching staff coming out of camp was that he may not have great physical skills, but he makes good decisions with the ball and he is extremely accurate. I can’t tell you that they were lying, because I wasn’t invited to watch practice for some unknown reason, but I can tell you that these reported strengths have not translated to the field once real bullets started flying. Aron White said recently that mistakes are made during games that you don’t see during practice, and maybe that is what is happening with Joe. Whatever the case, he is throwing interceptions at an alarming rate, and for every one that you can point to and say may not be his fault (like a couple of them on Saturday), I’ll point to three more that were thrown into coverage and SHOULD have been picked off but weren’t, oftentimes because multiple defenders are going for the ball at the same time and manage to play effective defense against each other.
We are not the only team that recruited Joe when he was in high school…he was an Elite 11 quarterback, after all. Maybe if he had been in a situation that allowed him to get more playing time over the last four years he could have developed into a big time quarterback. But the weaknesses in his game…locking onto receivers with his eyes, throwing the ball late and high, failing to identify where defenders are in relation to the passing lanes…those are weaknesses you don’t expect to see out of a 5th year senior, until you are reminded that the 5th year senior is also a first year starter.
What I mean to say is that I don’t think it’s fair to label Joe a “bust”…but I think we can say at this point that at best he has been average this year, and at times he has been worse than that.
So, going forward, what do we do about the quarterback situation? Many fans are screaming for the staff to bench Joe and start looking to the future (I may have even been guilty of that myself during the Florida massacre…so much of that day is a red haze, so I can’t say for sure). Coach Richt came out this week and said that Joe is the starter, and I can’t argue with his reasoning.
See, we as fans have the option of chalking up this year as “rebuilding” and start looking to next year…Coach Richt, rightfully so, does not believe that to be an option, as it sends the message to THIS year’s group of Dawgs that we have given up on this season…the season that, for most of the seniors, will be the last time they ever don pads and play a competitive down of football. How can Coach Richt look guys like Jeff Owens, Michael Moore, Geno Atkins, Bryan Evans, Prince Miller, and Joe Cox in the eye and say, “Sorry, guys…I know you have busted your butts and sweat and bled for this team for the last 4 or 5 years. But even though there are 4 (hopefully 5) games left in your Dawg career, we’ve decided those games aren’t that important, so if you’ll step aside it’s time for these young guys to play.”
I couldn’t do that. Maybe if I’m an NFL head coach, but not to these kids. If that makes me some sort of pansy, or “too nice”, then so be it.
So what you’re left with is this: Joe Cox, despite his shortcomings, is the best chance this team has to win right now. Until somebody else earns that away from him, he should start.
And don’t start telling me about what we are losing by not playing Gray and Murray now…if this season had gone like we all hoped it would, they wouldn’t be getting playing time right now anyway, right? So their progress is not being stopped, or even slowed. They are all on the same schedule as they were when the season started.
- Having said all that…why is Bryan Evans still getting playing time over Bacarri Rambo? Again, Evans is a great guy, by all reports, and has willingly played anywhere the coaching staff has asked him to. But, at this point, can anybody give a reason why Bryan Evans gives this team a better chance to win right now than Bacarri Rambo? As physically gifted as he is, he has never shown the ability to cover anybody in man coverage, and is consistently out of position when we are in zone. Rambo is a playmaker…don’t we need those guys?
- Nice to see at least some semblance of a running game. And as good as Washaun has looked, I’m OK with Caleb being the starter, based on his effectiveness in the passing game. It's not like the Evans-Rambo situation where one player is obviously more effective and we are going with the less effective one for some unexplained reason. Caleb being the starter doesn’t mean that we are not going to see a heavy dose of Washaun.
An aside…Washaun has said that when Evans leaves, he is going to ask for his old HS number back. We’ve been trying to find a replacement for our last #34 for 25 years now…maybe a combination of #3 and #4 will be the secret next year?
- Let me get this straight…we have two weeks to prepare, and the best we can come up with against a struggling Gator offense is more of the same soft-zone-give-the-receiver-six-yards-of-space crap we serve up every week? Can we PLEASE find a way to utilize this abundance of talent we have on defense?
To me, what this team is missing on defense more than anything else is ATTITUDE. Any kind of edge or nastiness that is REAL, not contrived. This team is so far removed from the "Junkyard Dawgs" that Erk wouldn't even recognize it.
The defense wasn’t as bad as the 41 points may indicate…but we never showed a consistent ability to slow them down, and they were able to score EVERY time they needed to. Kind of like every other big game we have played the last two seasons.
- Stupid penalties. Turnovers. Continuing to bang our head against the directional kicking wall, when we have a kicker who has more than enough leg to boom the ball into the end zone. Excuses, excuses, excuses. Sometimes, I hate being right.
- So, who is the MVP of this team? Drew Butler or Blair Walsh?
- Brandon Spikes is a low-life, and his hypocritical, lying, sack-of-crap coach is even worse.
- I didn’t forget the stupid, gimmicky, circus-stunt, embarrassing, low-rent, bush-league, desperate, cringe-worthy decision to try and “Blackout” this game. I’m just trying REALLY hard to do so.
- The only thing that can salvage this season for me at this point is to beat the Gnats in Atlanta.
- Bottom line…14 months ago, this team was the number one team in the country. Now, I can’t tell any difference in where we currently are as a program and where we were in the Donnan years. Tremendously talented, but manages to find increasingly stupefying ways to mutilate itself on a consistent basis.
I love Coach Richt, and there is nobody I would rather have representing the University of Georgia. I don’t want him fired, and if you do, don’t bother telling me because I probably won’t even waste my time trying to convince you of what an idiot you are.
That being said, there have to be changes made. I’m glad I don’t have to be the one to make them. Here are two that, as a fan, I want to see:
o Coach Martinez should do the honorable thing and step down. Coach Richt obviously considers Willie to be a good friend. If he is as good a friend as Coach Richt thinks he is, he will not put his friend in the awkward position of having to continually defend why he has not fired the man who has been the overseer of a precipitous decline in output ever since he got the job.
o Coach Richt should at least get more involved in the play-calling, if not take it back completely. Coach Richt made his reputation calling plays for some of the most prolific offenses in NCAA history. I understand the advantages of not having that responsibility anymore when it comes to time management, etc, but I’m starting to think that it may have been too much too fast for Coach Bobo.
This program is not in shambles. There are still a lot of tools in the toolbox. But, without a doubt, there needs to be a change in mindset, and that ALWAYS starts at the top.
GO DAWGS!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now, for the promised announcement: I don’t know how much “Dawg” blogging I am going to be doing in the near future. Don’t get me wrong…I still love this team, will be pulling like mad for 9-4, and I still live and die with this bunch.
That’s part of the reason why I haven’t blogged as much and may not blog as much in the future. I started this blog for one reason only…to have fun. I write about the things I enjoy. In doing so, I have been lucky enough to gain a (very small) audience and have had this blog added to blogrolls of Dawg fans and linked by the Benevolent Geniuses at Dawgbone. As flattering as that is, I feel like I put pressure on myself to be the type of writer that people who would get to my blog from those links would want to read, so I felt like I had to do a recap of every game, or try and weigh in on every Dawg-related issue, whether I wanted to or not, while at the same time maybe NOT post other things that interest me but may not interest somebody who got here through Dawgbone.
The point is, posting about the Dawgs started feeling like something I HAD to do, rather than something I WANT to do.
On top of all that, some things happened with my work schedule and environment that have kept me from posting as timely as I would have liked, so I felt like by the time I actually got a chance to weigh in on anything, it had already been said (and almost definitely better) by guys like Hale, Bernie, Doug, Mike, DawgSports, etc, etc.
I don’t want to post just to post. I also don’t want to post a lot about the Dawgs when I’m ticked off, because I don’t want to add to what has become a very negative atmosphere at times (not due to the guys mentioned above, btw).
So, here’s the deal…I’m still going to post about the Dawgs, when I feel like I have something to add to the conversation. But I’m probably also going to be posting about a bunch of other, non-Dawg stuff. I watch TONS of television. I read LOTS of books. I love ALL kinds of movies. I have WAY too much stupid, random stuff running around in my head. Hopefully, out of all that, there will be enough to keep you coming back. If not, I’ll just keep firing posts into the blogosphere for my mom to read.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
SEC suspends officiating crew - now what?
So, the SEC suspended the Marc Curles crew that has been the talk of the blogosphere (for all the wrong reasons) for the last couple of weeks. Obviously, I applaud the move...anything intended to hold these officials accountable is a definite plus.
Then I got to thinking...what kind of slippery slope is the SEC headed down? If they start suspending crews every time they make ridiculous calls, they may be out of zebras by mid-November.
I'm only half-kidding.
Consider this hypothetical...Would you agree that there is at least a 50% chance that some boneheaded official (let's call him Wynn Pagers) makes a typical stupid call this week in the Alabama-Tennessee game that affects the game? OK, let's say that next week, Wynn is assigned the Cocktail Party, and he calls unsportsmanlike conduct on Caleb King for daring to cross the goal line against the Gator defense. Will not all of us Dawg fans be all over the interwebs and call-in shows calling for...nay, DEMANDING that Mr. Pagers and the rest of his crew face similar disciplinary action? I know I would...in fact, I may take the week off work solely for that purpose.
You see, now that Commish Slive has made a public effort to hold his officials accountable, it is now HIS office that will be held accountable. If he thinks that making this one move will quell the increasing public outcry regarding the repetitive incompetence of his officials, well...that's a sweet notion, but I don't see it happening.
By the way, I thought this particular quote from Slive was just a real side-splitter:
Anyway...what I hope happens is something similar to what I outlined above (except for the penalty against the Dawgs, of course). I hope there is an outpouring of criticism and demands for suspensions every week, and the storm gets so intense that the conference is FORCED to do something about their embarrassing tradition of inept officiating. Make the refs full-time, hold them more publicly accountable, just do SOMETHING.
And, while you're at it, petition the NCAA to stop making rules up that are impossible to enforce, like "excessive celebration". Leave it to the NCAA to outlaw happiness.
Then I got to thinking...what kind of slippery slope is the SEC headed down? If they start suspending crews every time they make ridiculous calls, they may be out of zebras by mid-November.
I'm only half-kidding.
Consider this hypothetical...Would you agree that there is at least a 50% chance that some boneheaded official (let's call him Wynn Pagers) makes a typical stupid call this week in the Alabama-Tennessee game that affects the game? OK, let's say that next week, Wynn is assigned the Cocktail Party, and he calls unsportsmanlike conduct on Caleb King for daring to cross the goal line against the Gator defense. Will not all of us Dawg fans be all over the interwebs and call-in shows calling for...nay, DEMANDING that Mr. Pagers and the rest of his crew face similar disciplinary action? I know I would...in fact, I may take the week off work solely for that purpose.
You see, now that Commish Slive has made a public effort to hold his officials accountable, it is now HIS office that will be held accountable. If he thinks that making this one move will quell the increasing public outcry regarding the repetitive incompetence of his officials, well...that's a sweet notion, but I don't see it happening.
By the way, I thought this particular quote from Slive was just a real side-splitter:
"A series of calls that have occurred during the last several weeks have not been to the standard that we expect from our officiating crews...I believe our officiating program is the best in the country."So, from that I gather that the commish is busy doing other things on Saturday rather than watch the football being played in his conference, because...that is just RICH. Those calls were EXACTLY the standard that I expect from SEC crews, so I don't really know what he's talking about.
Anyway...what I hope happens is something similar to what I outlined above (except for the penalty against the Dawgs, of course). I hope there is an outpouring of criticism and demands for suspensions every week, and the storm gets so intense that the conference is FORCED to do something about their embarrassing tradition of inept officiating. Make the refs full-time, hold them more publicly accountable, just do SOMETHING.
And, while you're at it, petition the NCAA to stop making rules up that are impossible to enforce, like "excessive celebration". Leave it to the NCAA to outlaw happiness.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Recap - Vanderbilt
I’ve decided I like a more free-flowing, stream-of-consciousness approach to my recaps rather than the “Great-Good-Bad-Ugly” thing I was doing earlier…unfortunately for you, that probably means I’ll be even more long-winded and rambling than normal.
My assorted thoughts from Saturday…
- I’m as guilty of the “it’s just Vandy” meme as anybody else, but regardless…that was a solid effort on both sides of the ball, and maybe the most complete game that the Dawgs have played in over a year. No matter the competition, it was exactly the kind of performance we HAD to have at this point in the season.
Can you imagine if, God forbid, we had lost that game, or even pulled out an ugly win a la ASU or South Carolina? This would have been a LONG two weeks leading up to Jacksonville. Instead, both the team and the fanbase get to feel a little better about things, which I think will help in the ramp-up to the Cocktail Party.
- Speaking of Jacksonville…the Gators sure looked beatable on Saturday, at least until the officiating crew decided to make it 11 on 16. They have not been able to establish any kind of consistent running game, and the only reliable receivers they have are Cooper and Hernandez. Call me crazy, but I ain’t skeered…more on that game coming in the next couple of weeks.
As for the officiating in that Gators-Hawgs game… I almost said “unbelievable” to describe that debacle, but the sad part is that it is all too believable. It’s like I have said for a while now...I’ve been watching SEC football in particular and football in general for most of my life. I don’t think SEC refs are crooked. I think they are too stupid to be crooked. I think that at least one or two times in every game they are going to COMPLETELY screw something up. You just hope that it doesn’t affect the outcome of the game, like it did to us against LSU or against the Hawgs on Saturday. The personal foul call against Arkansas during Florida’s last drive was just egregiously putrid. Basically, the Arky lineman was penalized 15 yards for being blocked, 25 yards away from the play.
The problem with incompetent officials is not that they are intentionally biased…it is that they are far too easily swayed by influences such as homefield advantage and which team is “supposed” to win.
One more point on the officials, and then I’ll move on...something has to be done about the “unsportsmanlike conduct/excessive celebration” rule before next year. If they are not going to take it out completely, then they have to find a way to make the rule less open for interpretation. Apparently, the Dawgs can’t even fart after a play without being called for unsportsmanlike conduct, but the Dores defensive lineman can rip Joe C’s towel off his waist and throw it in the air after a sack with no call. And don’t even get me started on Saint Timmy…if the rule is supposed to prevent players from calling attention to themselves after a play, why is Tebow allowed to stalk 8-10 yards away from everybody else and practically do a rain dance every time he runs the ball for a first down?
Moving on…
- It’s blatantly obvious what all of us have been saying for the past couple of years…a dominating defensive end is absolutely essential for a Willie Martinez defense to be effective. Justin Houston has been a difference maker ever since he came back from suspension, and he continued his great play on Saturday.
Tennessee was able to lessen his impact by rolling Crompton away from him, and we (of course) were either unable or uninterested in making any adjustments.
Other obvious observations (the only kind I’m really good at) about our defense:
- A.J. Green. Good grief. What is left to say? That 65 yard TD was a thing of beauty, and the amazing thing about was it didn’t even look like he was trying all that hard.
I’ve said it before…I think he is well on his way to becoming the 2nd greatest football player we have ever had. Feel free to give your own nominations in the comments, and maybe I’ll pull together a list we can go over during the bye week.
- Add me to the list of people who loved seeing Coach Bobo on the sideline. Even when I first heard about it, before we were able to see what effect, if any, it would have on the gameplan or playcalling, I loved the move for one simple reason: It was an acknowledgement that SOMETHING needed to change, that what had happened to this point was not acceptable and something needed to be done about it. Very comforting to see that the coaching staff is willing to change things up.
I have no idea if it helped the playcalling or not, but I do know that I loved seeing the energy that Bobo brought to the sidelines that we never get to see from him in the booth. I also think that it helped to be able to speak one-on-one with Joe and the other players when things weren’t going so well in the first half. Plus, I think it may have helped him get more of a “feel” for what was working and what wasn’t, being down there with the guys.
Whatever…I enjoyed seeing it, and the results seemed to follow, so I would definitely expect to see it again in Jacksonville.
- On the flip side, when it comes to coaching…the fake punt. Ugh. The reasons that was so disgusting:
Ugh.
- Blair Walsh is MONEY. Drew Butler is a MACHINE. Never thought I would say this, but thank God for our kickers.
- Prince Miller is a very good punt returner. Logan Gray is not. You would think that would factor into our personnel decisions on punt return. You would be incorrect.
- Brandon Boykin is a true weapon on kick return, and he continues to improve in pass coverage as well.
- Washaun Ealy and Caleb King should be our primary running backs, and we should continue to try and get the ball to Carlton Thomas IN SPACE (NOT BETWEEN THE TACKLES…HE IS BUILT LIKE A SMALL CHILD, FOR GOD’S SAKE! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL HIM?)
- Welcome back to the linebacker position, Richard Samuel.
I don’t honestly think that’s going to happen, but it’s what I would do. Yet another inexcusable fumble in this game, even though we did recover it. He wasn’t even hit that hard…the ball just came out.
Overall, this was exactly the kind of game we needed at exactly the right time.
My schedule is lightening up a little, so I may be posting a little more often. Try to contain your excitement.
Since it’s a bye week, I may even throw in a few thoughts on the fall TV season to date.
GO DAWGS!!
My assorted thoughts from Saturday…
- I’m as guilty of the “it’s just Vandy” meme as anybody else, but regardless…that was a solid effort on both sides of the ball, and maybe the most complete game that the Dawgs have played in over a year. No matter the competition, it was exactly the kind of performance we HAD to have at this point in the season.
Can you imagine if, God forbid, we had lost that game, or even pulled out an ugly win a la ASU or South Carolina? This would have been a LONG two weeks leading up to Jacksonville. Instead, both the team and the fanbase get to feel a little better about things, which I think will help in the ramp-up to the Cocktail Party.
- Speaking of Jacksonville…the Gators sure looked beatable on Saturday, at least until the officiating crew decided to make it 11 on 16. They have not been able to establish any kind of consistent running game, and the only reliable receivers they have are Cooper and Hernandez. Call me crazy, but I ain’t skeered…more on that game coming in the next couple of weeks.
As for the officiating in that Gators-Hawgs game… I almost said “unbelievable” to describe that debacle, but the sad part is that it is all too believable. It’s like I have said for a while now...I’ve been watching SEC football in particular and football in general for most of my life. I don’t think SEC refs are crooked. I think they are too stupid to be crooked. I think that at least one or two times in every game they are going to COMPLETELY screw something up. You just hope that it doesn’t affect the outcome of the game, like it did to us against LSU or against the Hawgs on Saturday. The personal foul call against Arkansas during Florida’s last drive was just egregiously putrid. Basically, the Arky lineman was penalized 15 yards for being blocked, 25 yards away from the play.
The problem with incompetent officials is not that they are intentionally biased…it is that they are far too easily swayed by influences such as homefield advantage and which team is “supposed” to win.
One more point on the officials, and then I’ll move on...something has to be done about the “unsportsmanlike conduct/excessive celebration” rule before next year. If they are not going to take it out completely, then they have to find a way to make the rule less open for interpretation. Apparently, the Dawgs can’t even fart after a play without being called for unsportsmanlike conduct, but the Dores defensive lineman can rip Joe C’s towel off his waist and throw it in the air after a sack with no call. And don’t even get me started on Saint Timmy…if the rule is supposed to prevent players from calling attention to themselves after a play, why is Tebow allowed to stalk 8-10 yards away from everybody else and practically do a rain dance every time he runs the ball for a first down?
Moving on…
- It’s blatantly obvious what all of us have been saying for the past couple of years…a dominating defensive end is absolutely essential for a Willie Martinez defense to be effective. Justin Houston has been a difference maker ever since he came back from suspension, and he continued his great play on Saturday.
Tennessee was able to lessen his impact by rolling Crompton away from him, and we (of course) were either unable or uninterested in making any adjustments.
Other obvious observations (the only kind I’m really good at) about our defense:
- Bryan Evans, God love him, should not be taking ANY playing time away from Bacarri Rambo. Rambo continues to make plays every time he is on the field, while Evans continues to show up on my television screen trying to chase somebody down from behind who has just burned him in pass coverage.
- For everything great about Rennie Curran (and there are TONS of great things), there is also this…his weakness is in pass coverage. Way too many of the open tight ends we have seen this year have been his responsibility, at least as best as I can tell…some of them have been so wide open that it is impossible to tell who had responsibility, if anybody.
- A.J. Green. Good grief. What is left to say? That 65 yard TD was a thing of beauty, and the amazing thing about was it didn’t even look like he was trying all that hard.
I’ve said it before…I think he is well on his way to becoming the 2nd greatest football player we have ever had. Feel free to give your own nominations in the comments, and maybe I’ll pull together a list we can go over during the bye week.
- Add me to the list of people who loved seeing Coach Bobo on the sideline. Even when I first heard about it, before we were able to see what effect, if any, it would have on the gameplan or playcalling, I loved the move for one simple reason: It was an acknowledgement that SOMETHING needed to change, that what had happened to this point was not acceptable and something needed to be done about it. Very comforting to see that the coaching staff is willing to change things up.
I have no idea if it helped the playcalling or not, but I do know that I loved seeing the energy that Bobo brought to the sidelines that we never get to see from him in the booth. I also think that it helped to be able to speak one-on-one with Joe and the other players when things weren’t going so well in the first half. Plus, I think it may have helped him get more of a “feel” for what was working and what wasn’t, being down there with the guys.
Whatever…I enjoyed seeing it, and the results seemed to follow, so I would definitely expect to see it again in Jacksonville.
- On the flip side, when it comes to coaching…the fake punt. Ugh. The reasons that was so disgusting:
- Down-and-distance and field position dictated that it was the perfect opportunity for the Dores to call the fake, and yet we were totally unprepared…AGAIN. I know it’s “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me”…what about “Fool me a dozen times”? Is there a folksy little saying to describe that? How about “I’m so stupid I’m surprised I manage to walk upright”?
- Even worse…we called a timeout right before it happened. What exactly did our staff and players discuss during that timeout, if not the possibility of a fake?
Ugh.
- Blair Walsh is MONEY. Drew Butler is a MACHINE. Never thought I would say this, but thank God for our kickers.
- Prince Miller is a very good punt returner. Logan Gray is not. You would think that would factor into our personnel decisions on punt return. You would be incorrect.
- Brandon Boykin is a true weapon on kick return, and he continues to improve in pass coverage as well.
- Washaun Ealy and Caleb King should be our primary running backs, and we should continue to try and get the ball to Carlton Thomas IN SPACE (NOT BETWEEN THE TACKLES…HE IS BUILT LIKE A SMALL CHILD, FOR GOD’S SAKE! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL HIM?)
- Welcome back to the linebacker position, Richard Samuel.
I don’t honestly think that’s going to happen, but it’s what I would do. Yet another inexcusable fumble in this game, even though we did recover it. He wasn’t even hit that hard…the ball just came out.
Overall, this was exactly the kind of game we needed at exactly the right time.
My schedule is lightening up a little, so I may be posting a little more often. Try to contain your excitement.
Since it’s a bye week, I may even throw in a few thoughts on the fall TV season to date.
GO DAWGS!!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Much better
I know, it was only Vandy...but that was the most complete game the Dawgs have played since beating Arizona State last year.
Justin Houston is a difference maker for this defense, and A.J. Green is making his case as the 2nd greatest player to ever wear the Red and Black.
I'll be back in a day or so with the full recap, but I just wanted to get a positive post up to replace the last one that has been up all week...yeah, I've been busy.
GO DAWGS!!!
Justin Houston is a difference maker for this defense, and A.J. Green is making his case as the 2nd greatest player to ever wear the Red and Black.
I'll be back in a day or so with the full recap, but I just wanted to get a positive post up to replace the last one that has been up all week...yeah, I've been busy.
GO DAWGS!!!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
What are our goals?
Let me preface my thoughts with a couple of disclaimers, if you will. Number one, I have not and will not use this space to call for anybody's job. I have the utmost confidence that the staff that we have has the ABILITY to make the adjustments that HAVE to be made in order to turn this ship around. I love everything that Coach Richt stands for, and I don't think he has forgotten how to coach since winning two SEC championships and averaging 10 wins a year.
Number 2, this is the hardest post I have ever had to write. I have not been posting much the last few weeks specifically because I did not want to post some of the things that I have been thinking. But I also want this blog to be a place to be honest with my opinions....so, here we go.
"Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we will catch excellence."
- Vince Lombardi.
Chasing perfection. Demanding excellence. Expecting nothing but the best from yourself and from those around you. These are the signs of a leader, and part of what leads to the ultimate success as a football team.
This team, as recently as 14 months ago, was considered to be the number one team in the country. Now? We have really good kickers, and we are very dangerous on kickoff return. Other than that, there is not one facet of the game that we are consistently good at, much less excellent.
I am not in the locker room, I am not on the practice field, I am not on the sideline, so I can only go by a) what I see on the field, and b) what I hear from our coaching staff during press conferences and interviews. But, from what I can tell, the biggest problem that our team has is this...our coaching staff does not demand excellence. They are not chasing perfection.
There have been several examples that have led me to this opinion. A few of them (all quotes are paraphrased):
- Coach Richt saying that penalties don't bother him. For two years running, we have been one of the most penalized teams in the country. Many of our penalties have come at critical junctures in games, costing us big plays and/or points. And, despite what Coach Richt has said, many of these do NOT seem to be penalties of aggression. Holding penalties, offsides, false starts, personal fouls AFTER the play, etc...these are penalties of laziness and lack of focus. But, based on the fact that the problem continues and that our head coach is quoted in the media as saying that it really doesn't bother him, our coaching staff apparently thinks there is no work to be done in that area. That is not demanding excellence.
- Our kickoff coverage team is a constant source of embarrassment and big plays for the opposition. And yet, not only do we continue to approach that facet of the game with the same inexplicable strategies and personnel choices, but we as fans are condescended to and basically told that we don't know what we are talking about for questioning those strategies. Former players are quoted as saying that we continue with the same approach because our kickoff coverage coach enjoys the challenge. That is not chasing perfection.
- Over the last several years, our defense has been exposed over and over as a group that can be exploited due to lack of assignment discipline, poor tackling, and a failure to adjust to what an opponent is doing to have success. But the problems continue with no end in sight. Why are these results considered to be acceptable? That is not demanding excellence.
- On punt return, we have been relegated for the last several games to bringing our backup QB to come in and call for fair catches while we defend against the fake, rather than just coaching our punt return team to be aware of the fake and continuing to give our playmakers a chance to make plays. Rather than attempting to be excellent, we instead choose to just give up on that aspect of the game.
- Earlier this year, when the team was 3-1, many of us in the fanbase, as well as many media members, could see these problems and others, but when our coaching staff was questioned about them, the pat response seemed to be along the lines of, "Well, we are winning games...so it must not be all bad."
To me, that is the crux of the problem. From all indications, the goal of our coaching staff is to be just good enough to win. Why should our fanbase, or our team for that matter, be happy that we beat South Carolina at home on the strength of Rennie Curran's fingernail on the last play of the game? Why should it be enough that we beat a 2nd tier Pac 10 team at home on a last second field goal? Are we not supposed to be an elite team? Is that not what we are supposed to be striving for? Excellence?
- Our stated goal every year, according to Coach Richt? Win the SEC East. I get the thinking...win the east, and you are competing for the SEC title, and if you are competing for the SEC title you are in contention for the National Championship, etc...
But here is what I wish our goal was: Excellence. I know it's just a quote from a movie, but I think it is applicable: "We will be perfect in every phase of the game...offense, defense, special teams."
Because, as Coach Lombardi knew, if you shoot for perfection and fall short, then excellence is still within your grasp. But if you aim is just to be "good enough" to win and you fall short, well...yesterday happens. And Alabama 2008, and Florida 2008, and UT 2006/2007, and West Virginia 2006, etc, etc.
One other caveat...I am in no way blaming our players. I know that they work hard, and I think that they will honestly tell you that they are giving everything that they have and trying their very best. It is up to the coaching staff to define what "everything you have" and "very best" means...to set the standard for what is considered excellence.
I want Coach Richt to retire from UGA 20-25 years from now. I can think of no other coach that I want running this program that I love and support. I am not advocating firing coaches...but I do believe that Coach Richt has to change the mindset surrounding this program. To set the standard at "Perfect" and hold people accountable for striving to attain it.
The talent is there for this team to be successful. We have what should be a very winnable game this week against Vandy followed by a week off to prepare for the Cocktail party. It will be very difficult to affect the type of changes I believe that we need in that amount of time...but I do believe it's possible.
On top of that, I believe it is a necessity.
GO DAWGS.
Number 2, this is the hardest post I have ever had to write. I have not been posting much the last few weeks specifically because I did not want to post some of the things that I have been thinking. But I also want this blog to be a place to be honest with my opinions....so, here we go.
"Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we will catch excellence."
- Vince Lombardi.
Chasing perfection. Demanding excellence. Expecting nothing but the best from yourself and from those around you. These are the signs of a leader, and part of what leads to the ultimate success as a football team.
This team, as recently as 14 months ago, was considered to be the number one team in the country. Now? We have really good kickers, and we are very dangerous on kickoff return. Other than that, there is not one facet of the game that we are consistently good at, much less excellent.
I am not in the locker room, I am not on the practice field, I am not on the sideline, so I can only go by a) what I see on the field, and b) what I hear from our coaching staff during press conferences and interviews. But, from what I can tell, the biggest problem that our team has is this...our coaching staff does not demand excellence. They are not chasing perfection.
There have been several examples that have led me to this opinion. A few of them (all quotes are paraphrased):
- Coach Richt saying that penalties don't bother him. For two years running, we have been one of the most penalized teams in the country. Many of our penalties have come at critical junctures in games, costing us big plays and/or points. And, despite what Coach Richt has said, many of these do NOT seem to be penalties of aggression. Holding penalties, offsides, false starts, personal fouls AFTER the play, etc...these are penalties of laziness and lack of focus. But, based on the fact that the problem continues and that our head coach is quoted in the media as saying that it really doesn't bother him, our coaching staff apparently thinks there is no work to be done in that area. That is not demanding excellence.
- Our kickoff coverage team is a constant source of embarrassment and big plays for the opposition. And yet, not only do we continue to approach that facet of the game with the same inexplicable strategies and personnel choices, but we as fans are condescended to and basically told that we don't know what we are talking about for questioning those strategies. Former players are quoted as saying that we continue with the same approach because our kickoff coverage coach enjoys the challenge. That is not chasing perfection.
- Over the last several years, our defense has been exposed over and over as a group that can be exploited due to lack of assignment discipline, poor tackling, and a failure to adjust to what an opponent is doing to have success. But the problems continue with no end in sight. Why are these results considered to be acceptable? That is not demanding excellence.
- On punt return, we have been relegated for the last several games to bringing our backup QB to come in and call for fair catches while we defend against the fake, rather than just coaching our punt return team to be aware of the fake and continuing to give our playmakers a chance to make plays. Rather than attempting to be excellent, we instead choose to just give up on that aspect of the game.
- Earlier this year, when the team was 3-1, many of us in the fanbase, as well as many media members, could see these problems and others, but when our coaching staff was questioned about them, the pat response seemed to be along the lines of, "Well, we are winning games...so it must not be all bad."
To me, that is the crux of the problem. From all indications, the goal of our coaching staff is to be just good enough to win. Why should our fanbase, or our team for that matter, be happy that we beat South Carolina at home on the strength of Rennie Curran's fingernail on the last play of the game? Why should it be enough that we beat a 2nd tier Pac 10 team at home on a last second field goal? Are we not supposed to be an elite team? Is that not what we are supposed to be striving for? Excellence?
- Our stated goal every year, according to Coach Richt? Win the SEC East. I get the thinking...win the east, and you are competing for the SEC title, and if you are competing for the SEC title you are in contention for the National Championship, etc...
But here is what I wish our goal was: Excellence. I know it's just a quote from a movie, but I think it is applicable: "We will be perfect in every phase of the game...offense, defense, special teams."
Because, as Coach Lombardi knew, if you shoot for perfection and fall short, then excellence is still within your grasp. But if you aim is just to be "good enough" to win and you fall short, well...yesterday happens. And Alabama 2008, and Florida 2008, and UT 2006/2007, and West Virginia 2006, etc, etc.
One other caveat...I am in no way blaming our players. I know that they work hard, and I think that they will honestly tell you that they are giving everything that they have and trying their very best. It is up to the coaching staff to define what "everything you have" and "very best" means...to set the standard for what is considered excellence.
I want Coach Richt to retire from UGA 20-25 years from now. I can think of no other coach that I want running this program that I love and support. I am not advocating firing coaches...but I do believe that Coach Richt has to change the mindset surrounding this program. To set the standard at "Perfect" and hold people accountable for striving to attain it.
The talent is there for this team to be successful. We have what should be a very winnable game this week against Vandy followed by a week off to prepare for the Cocktail party. It will be very difficult to affect the type of changes I believe that we need in that amount of time...but I do believe it's possible.
On top of that, I believe it is a necessity.
GO DAWGS.
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