Philosophical Question...

So, $cam and crew have made me think about some deep issues. Of course, he's announced he's going pro, and Fairley has too. They really had a perfect storm of recruiting and senior leadership, which is usually what it takes to win a championship unless you are insanely talented. So those 2 mercenaries are going to play exactly 14 games for the War Chickens. So here's the question:

Would you take a 14-0 national championship run with 2 JUCO one hit wonders if it meant you went into the tank the next year?

It's easy to just say "of course", but you have to think about the longevity of the program and what is best. Is it best to build a program around a Murray or a season around a Newton? Just looking at their roster, it's staggering what they lose. Their 22 seniors consist of:

Etheridge - DB
Washington - DB
Bynes - LB
Burns - WR
Byrum - K
Caudle - 2009 starter & back-up QB
Fannin - 3rd down back
Carter - DE
Pugh - Center
Goggans - DE
Ziemba - OL
Zachary - WR
Clayton - DL

They lose 4 of their starting 5 on the OL and their 2 back-ups at the guard spots were also seniors. They lose 2 of 3 starting WR, they lose their starting, Heisman trophy winning QB and replace him w/ a guy named Barrett Trotter, who looks a lot more like Joe Cox and went to a school w/ the word "Christian" in the name. Just sayin'.

With Fairley leaving, they'll lose 3 of their 4 DL. 2 of their 3 LBs graduate. 2 of their starting 4 DBs graduate and their other 2 are juniors.

Their kicker and their punter were seniors. And their best kick returner was Washington. They will AT LEAST lose 14 of 22 starters on offense and defense (7 on both sides of the ball). And both their specialist. And 4 of those 8 coming back are juniors. Except for Dyer and McCaleb, there's not that many ball players in that bunch, either.

They play @ Clemson, @ South Carolina, @ Arkansas, @ LSU, and @ Georgia.

They also host Florida, Miss. St. and Bama.

I'm calling it. They're going 6-6 next year and they might not make a bowl. So, would you trade a BCS title for 5-7 and not going to a bowl the next year. (I know, I know, we didn't win the BCS and almost did that this year…but it's not like you wanted to.)

Ringing the bell on the 2010 season, finally...

Well, it's all over with but the investigation. Can I say I really don't like Chizik? And, no, I don't know if I've spelled his name right, and I've made the personal decision to not really learn how to spell his name. I've always felt a little bit of a kindred spirit with LSU. I've always kind of viewed them as kind of the UGA of the West. I didn't mind them winning championships. I hate Florida, and I couldn't stand Tebow on so many levels…but I respected him. You knew Tebow did it right, even if you hated the way he did it. And I've never minded seeing Bama win a title. Their fans are way more annoying than their team. But there's nothing to feel good about this Auburn team. Newton is not cheerable. Fairley is not cheerable. Chizik can't answer a question on the podium w/ a straight answer. Just answer the question Gene. I still believe they're cheaters. I'll always think that.

But it's over now, and I'm reminded of a few things. Spread offenses don't work in the SEC. Oregon runs a spread. They have a mobile QB and use multiple formations and motions. Auburn runs the wing T. Florida ran the wing T. The spread that works in the SEC is not with a QB that can run, but with a Running Back that can throw. You don't need Pat White to run the spread in the SEC, you need Charley Trippi. How many times have we seen an SEC D-line absolutely dominate a National Title game? We have one guy that looks like Justin Houston. Auburn has 4-5, and that made all the difference. But can someone please explain to me why Cam doesn't talk to any cameras after the game. That situation over there smells.

Kelley made some ballsy decisions that our guy would never make, but he also made some stupid decisions. He should have gone for the FG on the 1. Get w/in 5 and the TD takes the lead, and who knows what that last drive would be like if Auburn was trailing. Cam looked tight the whole game. But, as I said last week, recruits can make a difference. I don't understand radio guys that poo-poo recruiting. Newton, Fairley and Dyer didn't play for Auburn last year. Those 3 were clearly the difference in the game. They needed all three to win the game. And, boy, Ontario McCaleb is fast, but he gets a lot of pub for not doing much. He always has a few highlights, but he's useless between the tackles. I am curious to see if Richt follows through with his vow to be cutting edge. A fake FG in the Dome would let me know that's true. The thing I like about Oregon is that they expect everyone on the team to be football players

That being all said, things can change real fast. 4 years ago, Stanford was 1-11 and we called that conference the PAC-1. And we joked that no one would ever compete w/ USC. Now USC is on probation, their coach is playing at Soldier Field this weekend, and Stanford and Oregon will finish #4 & #3 respectively. I do really buy what Richt says that he doesn't believe we're not that far off. We're not. Auburn went 8-5 last year. How far off were they? They lost to a bad UK team in Auburn and lost to a bad UGA team. They got boat-raced by LSU and Akansas lit them up. Something changed. Are we capable of it? I know that we'll have the best player at the most important position in almost every game we'll play. The interesting thing is that we'll play our best two QBs the first 2 weeks of the season. But it starts w/ defense, guys. That's it. We've got to get better on defense.

Oh, and S & C means something because Auburn sure does look different in their unis than we do. We've got some work to do, but be encouraged, it's a new beginning. I like my job and I'd work my rear end off it I knew I'd lose it next year if I didn't perform. Bet you'd do the same. Let's hope Mark Richt does the same.

Go Dawgs!
Beat Boise!

It can change in a hurry...

It may sound a little crazy, but you need to read this article:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/football/news/story?id=5985211

The Under Armour game is Wednesday night, and a few could commit then. It's been a bad, bad few months. But it can change in a hurry. Bama went 6-6 and signed a few guys named Ingram, Julio, Darreus, and Cody. Auburn went 7-5 and signed a few guys named Dyer, Newton, and Fairley. Both went 12-0 the next year. We've got a lot to fix. And I don't know if Richt can do it. I don't know if Coach T will work, but I hope he does. I don't know if Coach Richt will be bold, but I hope he can. But I know a few game changers can sho nuff change the game. Talent never hurts, and we desperately need some talent. Better talent. S&C is a big deal, but Justin Houston and Alec Ogletree seem to look fine w/ our program. I think they're just made that way. We need a few more guys made that way. The dream team could help.

Mark Richt won't save his job starting on Jan. 3. He'll save it on Feb. 3.

Shifting through the wreckage....again

Well, I'm a positive spin guy, so I'll look for it. I told all of you, win or lose in Memphis, it really didn't change the fact that this season was a train wreck. We have had a lot to fix all year. If we'd have won 54-0, we'd still have had a lot to fix. And that's the positive note. Perhaps winning would have clouded the judgment of everyone in our program. Perhaps we'd have felt like last year. We kind of felt good after a crappy season because we beat Auburn, Tech, and won the bowl. And we don't need to feel good about this in any way. Sure, you want to have a winning record, but, more than anything, our guys (the 20 year olds and the 50 year olds) need to have bellies full of hot urine for the next 8 months. So, if it inspires us more…good. We don't need to feel good. We need to be angry and arrive on Peachtree St. w/ a bad, bad taste in our mouths.

Watching games this weekend, it's hard not to be discouraged about our staff. There are so many out there that could do more w/ what we've got: Edsall @ Uconn and Patterson, to name a couple. But I just don't think it's going to happen. And, frankly, it's hard to base that decision on one game. To me, we had to beat Tech and get to a bowl. I just don't think you change your mind because of the bowl.

In the long run, losing a bowl doesn't mean that much. Heck, even going to a meaningless bowl and losing means nothing. Just a few examples.

-UGA loses Music City and then goes 13-1 SEC champs
-Florida loses Cap. One and goes 13-1 Nat. champs
-Bama loses to Utah then goes 14-0 Nat. champs

It just doesn't mean all that much in the long run. BTW, I looked back and Greeney threw 2 picks in that Music City Bowl. Go figure. He also came out and struggled in the next 2 monster games to open the season and guys named Fred Gibson and David Pollack bailed us out. Greeney got on track after that and led us on a magical run. Of course, he didn't wear gloves.

The list is so long about what we need to fix, but here's mine:

-We are weak, weak, weak up front. We've got to get bigger, meaner, stronger, and nastier on both lines
-Our DBs stink, for the most part
-Our RBs are nothing special
-Our WRs don't work to get open
-We coach scared and timid
-We have no sense of urgency or fire

On a side note, after TCU's win in Pasedena today, UGA's win over Hawaii in the '08 Sugar Bowl remains the only win of a BCS school over a non-AQ school in a BCS bowl. How did he get that team so up to play that game? And how were we so good that year? That wasn't 2002 or 2005, that was 2007 and not that long ago. I loved everything about that team. We were mean, nasty, got lots of personal fouls and didn't care because we were going to stone you, sack you, intercept you, then outscore you -- dramatically. And we were going to wear black when we did it. I just don't get it. What happened?

And the last side note. Boy, it's a been a bad week for Jim Delaney, the Big 10 commissioner. You're premier player on your premiere team gets suspended along w/ 4 others for breaking NCAA rules, the Sugar Bowl President rats you out by saying he basically talked you into not suspending them for the bowl because he wanted a good game, you go 0-4 on Jan. 1, and even your shiniest new toy, Nebraska, loses in the Holiday bowl to an unranked and bad Washington team. Mark Richt had a bad week. Jim Delaney's was worse.

And it's entirely possible that UCF is better than Uconn.

Give me Liberty....

If it makes you feel any better, we've been to the Liberty Bowl twice: 1967 and 1987, and followed those up w/ pretty special seasons.

In '68, we were SEC champs and had a strangely undefeated regular season, going 8-0-2. We lost the Sugar Bowl to Arky, but we were voted National Champions by a few polls. Unlike Alabama, we don't feel the need to prove our manhood by claiming that national championship. That team had a pretty good player named Bill Stanfill.

In '88, we opened up w/ a monster win over UT in Athens. We lost an inexplicable game in Lexington that year, which cost Dooley his 7th SEC title in his final season. We did finish 9-3 with a win in the Gator Bowl. Yes, that team had Worley, Henderson and Hampton…and Goldberg and Ben Smith. Unfortunately, it also had Wayne Johnson at QB. We also wore our shiny, new red pants our first two road games that year, in Starkville and in Columbia. We went 1-1 in them, and Dooley bagged them for the year. Goff never went back to them and in his 7 years never deviated from white or red on silver.

AND…Arkansas played in the Liberty Bowl last season and is now 10-2 and in the Sugar Bowl. So, it can happen.

Just some fun stats.

Let me get this straight....

Georgia, Tennessee, Michigan, Texas, Southern Cal, and Florida all have a combined record of…38-34? By the way, in all-time wins, Michigan is #1, Texas is #2, Tennessee is #9, USC is #10 and UGA is #11. Pretty crazy and unbelievable season. That, alone, should tell us how crazy it all is. UGA is 3 years removed from a #2 ranking. UT is 3 years removed from an SEC East Title. Texas is 1 year removed from a 13-1, undefeated regular season, Big 12 title, and BCS champ. Game appearance. Southern Cal is 2 years removed from a string of about a million Rose Bowls in a row. Florida is a year (a year!) removed from a 13-1, undefeated regular season and 2 years removed from a National Championship. Michigan is 3 years removed from spanking Florida on New Year's Day.

In the meantime, in 2008 Auburn went 5-7. In 2009, Auburn went 7-5. In 2010, Auburn is 12-0. There are no promises, but it can change for the worse in a hurry and it can change for the better in a hurry. And we can talk about coaching all we want, but the answers are pretty clear to me. UGA no longer has Knowshon Moreno. Texas no longer has Colt McCoy. Florida no longer has Tim Tebow. Southern Cal no longer has all those studs…okay, I'll name a couple: Taylor Mays, Mark Sanchez, Clay Matthews, Brian Cushing. Michigan no longer has Mario Manningham and Chad Henne…or anyone on defense. Tennessee simply had the luckiest season in 2007 in the history of college football.

Auburn? Insert Cameron Newton and Nick Fairley = SEC championship.

We weren't that much different from 2006 to 2007. Matthew got better, but by the Auburn game in '06 he was pretty dang good. The difference was simple: Knowshon Rockwell Moreno. Yes, we need to coach better and make some better decisions. We need to play D better. But, dang, we need better players. For me, Richt has the 2 most important months of his career ahead of him. We need guys that can play now. It sure does make it easier to call plays when you can run a toss sweep on 3rd and 4 and it sure is easier to play defense when your offense can burn a little clock or you've got a safety you can trust if you choose to blitz or you have David Pollack wreaking havoc in offensive backfields. I don't know if Van Gorder made Pollack or vice versa, but I know Eric Berry made both Chavis and Kiffin look pretty smart. I think it's the players.

Kudos to Richt on landing Murray. Do you realize how big of a get he was 2 years ago? Whew, we'd be in a pickle if he'd have chosen Florida. But this is the biggest issue. For all the talk about Strength and Conditioning, it doesn't seem to affect Houston, Green and Ogletree because they are beasts. We need more beasts. Richt gets it, and I think HIS motivation for the Boise game was what I suspected. He said so on his show:

"We’re trying to recruit guys right now who, when we open in the Dome next year against Boise State .. can come right in and we can introduce them to college football .. when you talk about impact players, that’s why I've been talking about a recruiting “dream team” .. if we can get the best players in the state to stay home we can show how good the football is in this state."

Are you listening Isaiah Crowell?

It's crunch time for Richt. Win this crappy bowl and sign the best class we've ever had. Bama did that and signed some guys named Ingram, Jones, and Cody in winter of '08. That turned out alright in '09. Heck, it wasn't so bad in '08. Get to that Dome and find a way to beat the Broncos and a way to beat the Cocks and home and get this thing rolling. It's that simple. It doesn't matter how you win, just win. In 2002, we opened up with 2 ugly wins against Clemson and South Carolina. It didn't matter. We were 2-0. Just find a way to win them and let the momentum take #11 for a ride.

Is it August yet?

And let me just say that if we land Crowell, talk all August about how he's having trouble pass blocking, lose to Boise, and Crowell plays 5 snaps because we aren't sure he can pick up the blitz...I might just lose my mind right there. If he can't pass block, I think I've got the play for him. It's called "Toss Right." I'll bet they already run that one down in Columbus.

Why Herschel is better than Bo

BO vs HERSCHEL

Anyone who's watched SEC football for the past, oh, 50 years knows that when it comes to running backs, there's Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson, and everyone else. So who's the better college running back? Bo? Herschel? There are a few ways you can look at this one.

1. Freshman impact. No contest here. Herschel set the freshman rushing record at 1,616 yards - and he did that in the equivalent of 9 games (he missed the bulk of the Ole Miss game, and a half against both UT and TCU). Bo? 829 yards. Ho hum. Or let me put it this way: Bo rushed for fewer yards as a freshman than Jasper Sanks did as a sophomore. Herschel should have won the Heisman as a freshman. Bo? Bo wasn't diddly as a freshman. Advantage: Herschel, and Bo doesn't really deserve to be mentioned in his company here.

2. Season rushing stats. Let's take a look at their seasons in terms of yards gained per season and put them in order.

1. 1,891 yards. Herschel, 1981.

2. 1,786 yards. Bo, 1985.

3. 1,752 yards. Herschel, 1982.

4. 1,616 yards. Herschel, 1980.

5. 1,213 yards. Bo, 1983.

6. 829 yards. Bo, 1982.

7. 475 yards. Bo, 1984.

Auburn fans will quickly remind you that Bo's 1984 season was shortened by injury. I will remind Auburn fans that Herschel missed a game and a half his freshman year and a game his junior year based on injury. OK, so let's go ahead and play the "what if" game. What if Bo and Herschel hadn't missed any time due to injury? To let you know how I came up with these numbers, I did it like this. Herschel missed 1.5 games in 1980 due to injury. Take 1,616, divide by 9.5, multiply by 11 for the revised total. Here are the "no injuries" numbers:

1. 1,936 yards. Herschel, 1982.

2. 1,891 yards. Herschel, 1981.

3. 1,871 yards. Herschel, 1980.

4. 1,786 yards. Bo, 1985.

5. 1,213 yards. Bo, 1983.

6. 1,045 yards. Bo, 1984.

7. 829 yards. Bo, 1982.

Bo don't know Herschel's yards. Put another way, Herschel's 3 years are 3 of the top 5 rushing totals in SEC history. Bo's second best year doesn't even make the top 20.

Advantage: Herschel, and it's not close.

3. Career rushing stats.

Herschel: 5,259 yards in 3 years

Bo: 4,303 yards in 4 years.

Some Auburn fans will tell you that a healthy Bo Jackson would have outrushed Herschel over 4 years. Fine. Let's play that game, too. I'll even give Bo a 1984 equivalent to his best season, 1985. Don't forget, though, that Herschel had another full year to play when he left. Giving Herschel the equivalent of his best year, you get these numbers:

Herschel: 7,150 yards

Bo: 5,614 yards

Sorry, Aubies. Advantage: Herschel, and again, it's not even close.

4. Durability. To make it through the always-brutal SEC schedule, a running back must have durability. The best home-run running back in the world doesn't do squat from the bench.

Per game: Herschel has two of the top 4 rush attempts in a game. Bo doesn't even make the list.

Per season: Herschel has the top 2 seasons. Bo's best season is at #15.

Career: Herschel had more rushes in 3 years than anyone in SEC history had in 4.

No contest here. Compared to Herschel, Bo was a china doll. Bo took himself out of games. Herschel put himself back in them. Advantage: Herschel, and Bo isn't in the same class.

5. Team impact. Good players get good stats. Great players get great stats. Elite players lift the teams around them. Let's look at the team records and accomplishments.

National championships: In Herschel's 3 years, Georgia won a national championship and played for another. In Bo's 4, Auburn won none and played for none.

SEC championships: Georgia won 3 in Herschel's 3 years. Auburn won 1 in Auburn's 4.

Winning percentage:

Georgia: .917 (33-3), Auburn: .755 (37-12)

At home: Georgia: 1.000 (19-0), Auburn: .846 (22-4)

Away: Georgia: .909 (10-1), Auburn: .714 (10-4)

SEC: Georgia: 1.000 (18-0), Auburn: .708 (17-7)

Win streaks:

Home: Georgia: 19, Auburn: 10

SEC: Georgia: 18, Auburn: 9

AP final ranking:

Georgia: 1, 6, 4, Auburn: 14, 3, 14, unranked

Bowls:

Georgia: Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Auburn: Tangerine, Sugar, Liberty, Cotton

Advantage: Herschel, and Bo is nowhere near.

6. Heisman balloting:

Herschel:

1980: 3rd (highest ever point total for a freshman)

1981: 2nd

1982: 1st (margin, 695 votes over John Elway)

Herschel beat out such names as John Elway, Eric Dickerson, Anthony Carter, and Dan Marino.

Bo:

1982: not on the ballot

1983: not on the ballot

1984: not on the ballot

1985: 1st (margin, 45 votes over Chuck Long, the closest vote ever)

Bo beat out such names as Chuck Long, Robbie Bosco, Vinny Testaverde, and Allan Pinckett.

Advantage: Herschel, and Bo doesn't approach him.

7. Other arguments.

Bo was a great baseball player. So was Nolan Ryan, but no one mistook him for a football player.

Bo had a better pro career. By what standards? Consider this:

Bo never had over 1,000 yards. Herschel did it for two different teams.

Bo never finished in the league's top 10 in any statistic in any season. Herschel was in the top 10 in rushing yards twice, rushing scores 5 times, receptions twice, yards from scrimmage 4 times, and rush/recieve TD's twice.

Bo never finished in the top 50 for any stat in his career. Herschel is in 5 categories. Herschel is the only player to have 10,000+ yards gained on offense and 5,000+ yards on kickoff returns. Herschel is one of only six players to exceed 60 TDs rushing and 20 TDs receiving.

Bo is only one of two players with two 90+ yard rushing TDs, but Herschel is the only player in NFL history to score a 90+ yard TD rushing, receiving, and kickoff return in the same season, and he did it in his 30's.

In conclusion:

The SEC has seen a lot of great players, and a lot of great running backs. None of them have been better in four years than Herschel Walker was in three, and that includes Bo Jackson. Bo had one great year. So did Charles Alexander from LSU and Kentucky's Mo Williams, who both exceeded 1,600 yards in a season. So did Florida's Emmitt Smith, Auburn's Rudi Johnson, and Georgia's Garrison Hearst, who all exceeded 1,500 yards in a season. No one, however, has had the sustained excellence that Herschel had throughout his career.

No one comes close. Not even Bo.

-Anonymous