Just a Few Questions

Questions:

• Is it possible Richt/Bobo are thinking about playing Ramsey Saturday?  Boy, his words were cryptic.
• Is it just me, or has everyone forgotten how Alabama struggled against a VaTech team that lost to ECU & Georgia Tech?
• Is it just me, or has everyone forgotten how wretched Bo Wallace and Ole Miss looked for 3 quarters versus a Boise State team that just lost to Air Force?
• Am I the only one that thinks that AT LEAST Rumph & JSW were suspended?  MM might have been, too.  The miraculous returns are too curious.
• Will Rumph play and make a difference?
• I'm not sure our DBs are as bad as we think, but have you seen our LBs in pass coverage?  I'm not sure how to fix it.  On the replay, almost all of those big passes across the middle were over Ramik or Amarlo.  Just blitz 'em.  They seem to be better at that anyway.
• 4 games in, we have officially played the 3 best passing teams we'll play all season.  Of our 5 toughest remaining opponents, Arky, Florida, Auburn and Tech are all primarily running teams.  I don't think Mizzou, from what I've seen, and I watched a good bit of the Indiana and USCjr games, can just throw it all around.  They are much more balanced than most, though.  Very small D-Line, and that might not be good for them vs. Mr. Gurley.
• In all seriousness, are Todd Gurley's career highlights better than Herschel's?  Good Lord, how many plays over 40-50 yards has that kid had?
• So, Jeremy Pruitt doesn't put up with any lip, huh?
• People keep forgetting that team had an off week to prepare for us on Saturday.  That' guys a good coach.  I think it's possible that UT team goes 8-4.  I'm serious.  I think they beat Florida at home.  They've also got Mizzou at home, and I'm not sure they're not better than them.  Look at it like this way.  Bama's a sure loss.  They've got Ole Miss, Florida, Mizzou & South Carolina.  If they go 3-1 with those they go 8-4.  I think that's possible for that team.  Worley was throwing dimes on Saturday and those WRs are massive.

One for the Thumb!

Well, I'll start off by saying I'm completely over 'whiney Georgia fan.'  The only thing I can guess is people are stupid.  Maybe it's too much media attention.  I don't know.  People underestimate a coach's desire to win pretty.  They really don't care.  I can't tell you how much they don't care.  They just want to win and win them all.  In the end it's all that matters.  Yes, an ugly win might reveal a crack in your team, but it might not.  It might have been a bad day and you got away with it.  I've never seen a fan base that enjoys winning a bunch of games against rivals as Georgia's.  It probably won't get fixed until we win it all.  I think we're Red Sox fans.  We just assume the worst, can't stand it that the Yankees (i.e., the rest of the SEC) are winning championships, and feel like we've been incredibly talented and oh so close.  Red Sox fans have changed a lot in the last 10 years after those 2 titles.  They're not as sad or angry.  They can't be.  Like the Sox, it will probably take something of epic proportions to make it happen.  They were down 3-0 to the yanks and won game 4 in the 12th. I expect to be down 28 in the fourth to Auburn in the Dome and win the SEC in overtime.

• What I get most excited about is getting to watch #3 for a bunch more Saturdays this fall.  On the hurdle, I just shouted, "Oh my gosh."  Can he carry us?  I think he can.
• Why does Butch Jones button the top button on his polo.  Butch, please, that's weird.
• JULY 2014:  "I've never coached a bad secondary and don't plan to this year" -- Jeremy Pruitt.  SEPTEMBER 2014:  "There's a first time for everything, Coach." -- Me.
• Boy, watching the replay North got away with those off-setting unsportsmanlike penalties.  Should have just been him.
• Sheldon Dawson did an awesome job of not getting a penalty on Izzy's big return. 
• Butch has his guys playing hard.  They got South Carolina last year and they'll get someone this year.  But for the 2nd straight year, it won't be us :)
• Butch is a hot head.  I guess that's what Georgia fans want from our coach…emotion.  I kind of like winning better.
• I said last year that for 3 quarters of the game, UT had better skill talent, and they did.  Their WRs were better after our injuries and that back from Sandy Creek was better than Douglas and Green.  But we had Murray.  This year, their WRs were better and their QB was markedly better than ours.  But we had Todd Gurley.  For 2 years in a row, the team w/ the best player on the field won.
• If you see the endzone view of Mason's 1st pick, it's not as bad.  That dude fooled him into think that he's covering Rome then jumps in front of it.  If he pumps Bennett, Rome would have been wide open.  They dude gambled and got a pick on it.
• It's not luck that Worley got banged up.  It was football because we were beating the mess out of him.
• We're gonna miss Sony.  It's 5 weeks to Florida and 7 weeks to Auburn.  Those are the benchmarks.
• Time to see Brendan step up, and let's hope Keith gets better soon.  We might need #4 in Mizzou and Arky.
• I don't know what's up with Hutson.  The ball has no zip, and we saw plenty of zip in the last 3 games last year.  I don't know if it's a dead arm or what  This is not the same QB we saw to close the season.  Had he played like this last year, we wouldn't have been as confident this season.  Of course, we'd have lost to Tech.  I just can't figure it out.  Hope he gets it fixed or Ramsey fixes it.  If there are any 2 to trust with QBs, it's Richt and Bobo.  Wouldn't mind seeing Ramsey on the 3rd series this week.
• Can't wait to see those three WRs play.  They're not a little better than what we've got out there right now. They're a lot better.  We can't get open.
• You know, the game was perfect for UT.  They start off 10-0 at a noon game kickoff.  Crowd is slow going.  Hutson plays terrible.  Worley plays inspired.  It didn't matter.  I'm not sure why/how other fans don't see that.

Around the world:

• If we beat Mizzou, I really believe we might could lose to Auburn and win the East.  Don't want to do that, but it seems like one of those years. 
• We are better than Mizzou.  But we are better than South Carolina, too.
• Teddy texted me after the Mizzou game, and it's true:  How much grief would Richt have gotten for a loss like that?  Spurrier said he nor anyone else on the sidelines was thinking about going for 2 when they scored to go up 20-7.  Why in the world wasn't ANYONE thinking about that?
• There's a lot of teams with a lot of holes.  We ain't the only one.
• I will stand corrected if they gash us, but I just don't see Arky lining up and running it on us.  Our run defense ain't the problem.  Ramik is awesome against the run. 
• Boy, Bilemma is going to have nightmares about losing that game.
• At least we're not UNC's defense has given up 70 to ECU and 50 to Clemson in consecutive weeks.  I thought Fedora would be good there. 
• Clemson is going to beat USCjr. this year.  Book it.  Watson might kind of be their Murray and turn that series around.
• I think UT beats Florida in Knox County. 
• If FSU doesn't implode at some point, it will be a miracle.  It might be ugly, like a loss at Syracuse or something.
• Would somemone please beat ND?
• Ole Miss's powder blue helmets were AWESOME!

Go Dawgs!
Beat Vandy!

Tennessee Week & Last Weekend

As big as Clemson and South Carolina were, it starts to feel like SEC football season when we take on the Vols.  A couple notes from the weekend:

In General:

• The playoff talk is nauseating and stupid.  The playoff is not today, fellas.  It doesn't matter who you'd pick today.  This just in.  A&M and Bama cannot both win their division.  Auburn is also in that division.  The West looks stout.  The talk of who would go now is stupid.  At least give me a someone with a brain who can tell me how they think it will play out come december.  A&M is good, but they have to go to Auburn, Alabama and Miss. St.  It's going to be tough road for them.  I just hate the conjecture.  Can't we just enjoy the season? 
• Clemson.  Lord, and I thought  WE cold fart away a game.  I've never seen anything like that.
• I hope NC State (who has had FSU's number) pulls one on the 'Noles Saturday.  Woudn't it be sweet to see the 'Pack pick off about 4 passes?
• I think Spurrier is serious.  I think he knows they're not that good.  That South Carolina team could easily go 8-4. 
• I'm telling you, I think we're in the beginning stages of the end of the Miles era in Baton Rouge.  He can't recruit or develop a QB.  He got lucky with a Richt knockoff for a couple of years.  Otherwise, they've been very mediocre.  You can't win 24-17 in the SEC West anymore.  That team went 9-3 last year, and they could very easily go 8-4 this year.  Can they score to keep up with A&M, Ole Miss, Auburn and Bama?  Heck, Arkansas can score.  They get lucky and get UK this year, who, apparently, can only score against Florida.
• Don't look now, but that vaunted Gator defense might not be so vaunted this year.
• It's my belief they should simply invite Mariotta and Gurley to New York.  It's early still, but is anyone else even in the discussion?  Winston is out.  He hadn't be dazzling before the incident.  Hunley has been horrible.  Marshall has been average as grits and still can't throw it.  Kenny Hill?  Maybe he gets an invite.  Oh, wait, I forgot about Jeff Driskel.
• Don't talk to me about my Tar Heel's D.  Maybe ECU is plum good? 
• The terrible-ness of the ACC is staggering.  They're bad, bad, bad.

Dawgs:

• Sony Michel is fun to watch.  We are going to get every drop of eligibility out of him, Izzy, Nick, and Blazevich.
• Jeb Blazevich is our starting TE, if you haven't noticed.  I'm calling it…I think he's going to be the best we've ever had.
• Brice Ramsey is going to be fun to watch, especially when he jumpstarts his Heisman campaign by torching Notre Dame in South Bend early in the 2017 season.
• Let's hope we've seen the last punt return that matters that doesn't include Imac back there.
• I really feel like at some point, we're going to have a drive in which we go 4-wide with Gurley in the single back with Bennett, Conley, Malcom, and JSW and go, "We look awesome right now.  Why haven't we been doing this all along."  "Oh, yeah."
• Me likey Davin Bellamy.
• Loved seeing young DBs play.  Would love to see Tramel keep getting better.  I like Mauger, but Terry is huge back there and we need that. 
• On that note, lord our DBs are young.  Because of the mess we got in, we're playing Davis (Freshman), Sanders (Freshman), Mauger (So), Johnson (Freshman) and Bowman (very inexperienced).  I have to keep reminding myself of that.  We still haven't seen Fenteng.  We're going to return all those guys and Pruitt knows what he's doing.  This D would look a lot different had Tray, JHC and Wiggins had a decent head on their shoulders.

I don't think UT can stop us.  I think we can slow them down.  Their O-line is bad, and we ought to be able to get pressure.  They also have a couple of bozos runnuing their D, and we sliced through them last year with no receivers and no running backs.  Remember Bennett got hurt in the dadgum game.  For the majority of the game, we had Reggie Davis, Conley, and Wooten to go with JJ and Douglas.  Gurley is going for 200 and is going to gash them.  Remember he and Marshall in 2012 vs. them?  They don't have those 2 receivers this time around and the QB is much worse.  I think we put a number on them.  45-20.

Onward & Upward - South Carolina Recap

Well, back to the drawing board, but I'm reminded that a bunch, well, ALL, our goals are ahead of us.  I'm finally dry and rested from that crazy weekend.  Weather delays both Friday and Saturday nights. 

• The more I thought about the 1st and goal call the less it bothered me.  It's easy to say in hindsight to pound it 3 times with Gurley, but had we done that 3 times in a row to no avail, we'd have all complained that we couldn't do something more creative and we probably should have put it in the air one time.  Play calling is a bear.  You don't plan on getting a 10-yard penalty on a play call.  If Hutson sails it out of the end zone or far out of Quayvon & any defender's reach and we have 2nd and 4, none of us think it's a bad call.  I know you're risking a sack, but we've scored P.A. inside the 5 a million times under Richt/Bobo.  We did it in Jax in '07 after KM came out a few plays. We inserted him in and proceeded to fake it to him and hit Chapas or Southerland for a score.
• Even with a 10 yard sack, you figure your all-SEC kicker makes a 28 yarder.
• Overall, my bigger gripe on offense would be to see Gurley with 30 carries instead of 20.  There will be a few games this season that's necessary.  This was one. Mizzou is one.  Auburn is one.  Keep him fresh in the games we don't need it, but we should have given him more touches.
• Boy, they had our screens snuffed out.
• We need to get Sony and Izzy the ball more.
• Perhaps Leonard will re-think any NFL notions he might have had. That was an NFL-Big Boy O-line he was up against and they handled him.  Probably the most disappointing thing was that we couldn't get pressure on Thompson.  That would have changed the whole thing.
• Our secondary is just bad and untalented.  We need a couple 5-star corners, and they ain't coming until January.  But we will improve.  The next 3 teams are much worse and we'll need some time to get better and gain confidence.  Pruitt said he's never coached a bad secondary.  Well, he is now.  My guess is he knows that.  We're a druggie in rehab on D, boys.  We're healing, but it's going to take time to un-learn some bad habits and harmful addictions.  We're in therapy, but it will take time.  My hope is we get better enough for Mauk at Mizzou, who floats a lot of passes and doesn't have Mike Davis to lean on.  That's the focus now.
• Boy, Jeb Blazevich.  That kid is going to be AWESOME.  I don't mean to use hyperbole, but he really has the chance to be the best TE we've ever had.  He is incredibly athletic, runs great routes, unbelievable hands, looks like he enjoys having his hand on the ground.  He's going to be fun to watch.
• I love, love, love Conley and Bennett.  They are NOT #1 receivers, and it's killing us.  WE. CAN'T. GET. OPEN.  From the upper deck, there were several times Hutson just had no where to go with the ball.  We can't get 26 and 86 back soon enough.
• Proud of our D-line.  I like that bunch.  And Ramik and Amarlo are playing strong.  With a little improvement on the back end, our D could look a whole lot better.
• I'd like to see Izzy return every punt this week.
• The cocks got the ball back with 4:24.  The most disappointing thing was that we didn't get the ball back to our O.  We had plenty of time.  I actually told Teddy it wasn't all that bad we missed the FG.  Spurrier got conservative there and we couldn't stop them.  I was thinking it might be best and score a TD with 10 secs left instead of 4 min left.
• I think if we get the measurement at the end of the game we win in regulation.  We had 1:22 left and 2 timeouts at the 50.  We could have actually ran Gurley some.

The outlook:

• Funniest scenario of all is for us and USCe to win out and beat them for the national championship
• You know, Auburn's sieve of a defense got smoked in week 4 last year at Baton Rouge.  It was their toughest road game, and they rebounded a few weeks later with a big win in College Station that really turned around their season.  I don't think we get punished much (and the polls show that) for a 3-point loss in Columbia.  It was by far our toughest road game.  We lost by an inch.
• It's shaping up to be a crazy season.  Very 2007ish.  5 of the top 10 are from the West, so they're bound to lose.  Look at 13-25.  A lot of teams already have a loss.  UGA, USCe, USC, Clemson, Mich. St., Ohio St., Wisconsin, Stanford.  A bunch of power teams who can and will compete for their conference titles.  Arizona St. and UCLA play next week.  Down goes another.  K-State and Auburn this week. 
• I could totally see Clemson going and beating FSU this Saturday.  I think playing in the environment in Athens helps Clemson a lot in that game.  I just think it's a crazy year.  I think a 2-loss conference champion might get in that playoff simply because there won't be enough 1-loss teams to go around.  Just feels that way.
• South Carolina is not going to win out.  Too hard of a schedule.  @ Florida and @ Auburn.  Mizzou and UT at home.  @ Clemson.  I think they drop two more.  One will be a conference game.

We just need to take care of business, win the next game in front of us and score 1,000 points on Florida.

The Big One is Here...

This is not the best team we will play this year, but if we win, we can book a ticket to Jax for all the Eastern marbles.  From what I've seen, Mizzou lacks athleticism.  Tennessee looks like UGA in the '90s.  They'll put up a fight, but I don't think they'll beat anyone of consequence.  My questions heading into Saturday…

• I'm fascinated to see what Bobo's gameplan will be.  We have Gurley, but boy, is their secondary a hot pile of garbage.  ECU was running free just like A & M.  I don't know what to do.  The yahoos on the radio say to give it to Gurley.  That may be right, but those guys can't cover anything, and you KNOW they're going to stack the box.  I hope we're not so stubborn we force the run, but I hope we're not so stubborn seeing the gaps that we forget we have Gurley.  If we balance it, we'll thrash them on offense.
• I finally figured out the Quayvon stuff.  We weren't trying to move him to TE.  We created this H-Back because we run the freaking power-I.  We had a TE, Quayvon, and Maxey in together on a bunch of plays.
• If Dillard Thomas (yes, I know it's Dylan Thompson) beats us, I'll be officially embarrassed.  I know, they beat us with Blake Mitchell.  I'm still in denial.
• Mike Davis looks like he partook of the Jasper Sanks off-season conditioning program.  They're a different team with him in there, but he looks fat and out of shape.  I'm not sure he can handle the load of 32 carries, and I think that's what they'll need out of him to beat us.
• You think they'll kick it to Gurley?
• Do we put Izzy back to return punts on the road as a true freshman? 

I am flabbergasted that we haven't broken 20 since '94 in that stadium.  What is it about that place?  I'm appalled that we haven't thrown a TD pass there since Greenie in '04.  20 years and 10 years.  Good round numbers to break a streak.  I just don't see how they beat us without a turnover fest.

Walk down memory lane.  I was there in '92 as they kicked off their life in the SEC.  They were pumped.  They led 6-0 at halftime.  Garrison blew up in the second half, and even Mack Strong got in on the fun.  We won 28-6.  Could be similar. 

Oh, and I have decided that games against cupcakes mean absolutely nothing.

The Off Week and the B1G

Hokie, Hokie, Hokie High, we're the boys from VPI.

Boy, what a day for the Big 10.

• VaTech goes in and handles Ohio St. in the Shoe.  Oh, and don't look now, but ol' Urbs has lost 3 straight to BCS opponents.
• Mich. St. gets worked in the 4th qtr in Eugene like Todd Gurley on Dabo Swinney.
• Go Blue throws a goose egg up on Touchdown Jesus.
• Nebraska SHOULD have lost to McNeese St.  I mean, they really SHOULD HAVE LOST.

Go ahead and jump on the VaTech bandwagon.  They might go 12-0.  They dodge Louisville, Notre Dame, FSU and Clemson in the ACC scheduling. 

Their remaining schedule:
East Carolina
GA Tech
Western Michigan
@ UNC
OPEN
@ Pittsburgh
Miami
BC
OPEN
@ Duke
@ Wake
UVA

That's embarrassing.  Their toughest two remaining games are @ UNC and @ Duke. 

Way far look ahead…How happy would you be to play VaTech in NOLA on Jan. 1?

The First Monday

Well, what a night in Sanford.  First, my non-UGA/Clemson observations…

• I hate FSU's new unis.  They had a good thing going.  The gold numbers are unreadable, and I dislike the college football trend that all the uni combos have to be exactly alike.  The fact the FSU's old white pants had stripes was a cool tradition.
• LSU just doesn't lose games like that against Wisconsin.  They'll lose one the Mississippi State, but not that one.  That game was so LSU.  Talent just took over.
• Boy, there are some bad QBs out there.  Hill and Mason look like the class of the conference.
• Vandy is back to Vandy, and they will be getting new jerseys, too.  Turns out they WERE illegal.
• If Blake Sims wins a National Championship…well, he won't.
• I want to see Auburn more.  They won impressively, but I think that Arky team is still clearly the worst team in the West.  A lot of adulation for Jeremy Johnson, but it was 21 all at the half and Malzhan certainly didn't feel comfortable enough to let him take it the distance. 

Onto the boys in silver britches:

• Told you Todd Gurley was going to return a KO for a TD.  That might not be the last, but we're gonna see a lot of pooch kicks to the 35.  Fine by me.  We need to think about that other 2nd-level back.  Douglas is one of them and that is fine.  Other guy wasn't someone who can run it.  I think Karempelis was one in practice, but he wasn't dressed Saturday.  Just in jersey on sidelines.  He'd be helpful there.  The shot of the Clemson fan with his face in his hat is priceless after that play.
• I love Douglas.  He had some great moments last year, but guys, it's safe to say we boat-race Vandy if we have Michel and Chubb last year, and probably beat Mizzou.  Probably the most heartening thing to me from a coaching standpoint was the fact that Douglas didn't take a single snap at RB.  Those 2 kids can help us win a championship, and we played them out of the gate in a huge game.  Very glad to see us use talented freshmen out of the gate.  We only get them for so many years.  Might as well play them.
• The defense was awesome in the 2nd half, but we were really improved the whole game.  You can tell we're better.  We made plays on balls and tackled very well.  Played a ton of guys.  We're like 3rd in the SEC in total defense, and we played a real team the first week.
• Me likey Tim Kimbrough. 
• Think about this.  We won't play a team with a better kicker than Marshall Morgan.  We won't play a team with a better offensive player than Gurley.  And we won't play a team with a better defensive player than Leonard.  In fact, you could make a decent argument that we've got the best player in every phase of the game. 
• I do worry about our WRs, still.  We couldn't really get open, but maybe that was Clemson's D.  We'll play a much worse secondary in Columbia.  Can we survive w/o 26 and 86? 
• Reggie Davis was awesome on punt return, but it's clear 16 is a difference maker there.

Really, we just have to reserve judgment till Columbia.  They will be amped and ready to play.  I'll bet Mike Davis miraculously heals.  We win that one, then it's on.  We get Bellamy back on D, JSW and MM back at receiver and our young backs get more reps and we'll be something.  Think about this.  Gurley needs to average 153 per game to have 2,000 by the end of the SECCG.  I think he knows that and wants that.  I think he wants to beat Herschel's single season record (1,891).  Garrison scored something like 21 TDs in '92 for the single season record.  I think he wants all of them.  He wants to win, too.  I am still in 'escape mode' with Columbia.  Just win the game.  We'll have to win an ugly one to win a championship.  That might be it.  We get everyone else at home.

I have thought a lot about Pruitt.  Dooley had Erk for 17 years ('64-'80).  We won 4 SEC titles, and a national title in those 17 years.  The legacy of Erk's culture lingered for a few years, but it was the D that lost the '82 and '83 Sugar Bowls to Pitt and Penn St., allowing late TD passes.  Contrast that with the D sealing the deal with a pick vs. Notre Dame in the '81 Sugar Bowl.  We'd won a couple of SEC titles on the back of #34, but those 2 losses were the cracks in the dam that would break.  Dooley's last 5-6 years (which is when I really started going to games) were riddled with bad defense.  We were never the same, and gave up the dreaded third and long repeatedly.  But he had his run early with the right DC.  We had a relatively short stint with BVG, only four years.  We won the east twice and the SEC once in those 4 years, mostly on the shoulders of our D.  The remnants of that culture helped us win in 2005, but the Sugar Bowl vs. WVU was the crack of what was to come.  I thin it's possible Richt found his Erk.  He won't stay 17 years, but he might stay 5.  I don't sense he's in a hurry to be a HC.  I sense he wants to dominate the SEC, and sees no reason UGA can't do that.  I think he wants to play Saban and shut him down.  He's hungry, angry, and smart.  You coach differently when you have that on your side.  Heck, Bobo will call plays differently when he trusts that the D is not a wet paper towel.  It's early, but I think this cat has got it.

BTW, I get a little giddy thinking about this, but we are going to beat the mess, and I mean the mess, out of Tech.