Georgia Fans, Time To Get a Grip
The 2009 Georgia Bulldogs are exactly who we thought they were, so why don’t you let them off the hook! All summer long the majority of reasonable bulldog fans saw a season with three or four losses. Well, we are on that schedule, as hard as it is to watch, these Bulldogs are not of championship caliber. The sooner we understand that, maybe we can cheer for them with a new perspective and level of understanding.
Now, if you have problems with the coaching that’s another blog for another day.
It has always amazed me how fans can have such unrealistic expectations when the facts point to something else. For instance, Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno were two of the more exciting and prolific offensive players Georgia has ever had. That’s ev-er, as in his-tor-y. How could you think we would not miss a beat?
Something that has always bothered me is the notion that just because a particular player is not the All-American player of yester-year, then he sucks! Really? I’ll give you an example. Joe Cox. Joe has most often been described as a QB of adequate physical ability, smart and a game manager. Well, because Georgia can’t run or run block Joe has been put in the position to try and win games, and he has. But he can’t do that week in and week out, he needs help.
By forcing Joe to be a world beater, he has to try and do more than is reasonable for him to do. Does that mean he sucks? Hell…and no. Our being so one dimensional has put Joe and the Dawgs in a bad position.
45 yards rushing vs. LSU on 24 attempts
Joe Cox was 18 for 34 for 229 yards…2 TD’s and 1 INT at the very end. I bet if Matthew Stafford had had that line you wouldn’t be running your mouth Mr. Know-It-All Dawgfan. Again, get a grip.
Not So Fast My Friends
I wrote my last blog not realizing a definitive announcement was going to be made about a specific plan for the possible reinstatement of Oregon’s LeGarrette Blount. Coach Chip Kelly has again suprised me with a thoughtful explanation as to why he feels this is the right thing.
The press conference video is in the right sidebar.
Oregon’s Chip Kelly is Ducking a Great Decision
The Oregon Ducks have rebounded from an early loss to Boise State back on September 3rd. You may remember what a blow that loss really was when senior running back LeGarrette Blount decked a trash talking Bronco, Byron Hout. The most played highlight in the history of television put new Oregon Head Coach Chip Kelly in a bad situation. Even so, he made what appeared to me to be the perfect decision.
He kicked Blount off the team in terms of eligibility to play in games, although he would remain on the team and practice. This would allow him to stay in shape, improve as a player and attempt to rehabilitate his image, which after this blow-up was severely damaged. It was bad enough that he punched the Boise State player, but on the way to the locker room he had to be restrained from entering the stands to go after Boise State fans. Suffice it to say, he lost it.
Now today, word is coming out of Eugene that LeGarrette Blount may have a chance for reinstatement. What the..? Coach? Just weeks after one the most thoughtful disciplinary decisions I can recall, you are going to even consider a reinstatement? How can any future decision you make be trusted?
As a parent, my belief has always been, say what you mean and mean what you say. Leave no doubt. It’s the only way for a kid or kids to respect what you say. If Chip Kelly, who is a defacto parental figure alters his decision, it can only be for a couple of reasons.
First, with his team having won a few crucial games including a 42 -3 thrashing of California, now has a chance at a special season. But not without their top running back. Secondly, Coach Kelly may feel pressure to allow Blount to come back to improve his draft status, which was severely impacted. Neither one of those is a good reason. If time off for good behavior was a stipulation, it should have been detailed that way.
Obviously Coach Kelly does not need my approval or respect to continue as Oregon’s Head Coach. He does need his teams respect to build a legacy of discipline and long term success.
What do you think?
See the video to the right.
Bulldog Fans Find Muddy Water Hard to Swallow
Stillwater was pretty clear. The Georgia Bulldogs have a lot of work to do. The Dawgs really did disappoint in their first game and I have waited to see if the water would clear up. After Saturday’s loss in Stillwater, all the questions supposedly answered during pre-season practice have been dredged back up again. Is Joe Cox the man to lead us at quarterback? Who is our running back? Can we cover kick-offs?
I don’t know, do you?
What I do know is that if it’s still a question mark at this point, it’s falls back on the coaching staff. Whatever your criticism of choice; play calling, conditioning, or choosing to directionally kick-off, it all comes back to the staff and particularly Coach Richt.
I understand that Joe Cox was under the weather. To what extent, I don’t know. If he was physically unable to perform, he should not have been put in that position. COACHING. If he had recovered sufficiently to play near 100% of his abilities, then we have a problem. Joe is a fifth year senior and did not look it at all. From decision-making to telegraphing his passes to his throwing motion, it was not good. COACHING. How can a young man be in our program for four plus years and have such bad mechanics? It’s not about MS vs. JC, it’s about doing it the right way and if MS was stronger then so be it.
Richard Samuel looked good at times, but he runs hard and goes down easy. He looked very much the same to me, minus the fumbles, which is good. Carlton Thomas had some flashes but got blown up and fumbled. He definitely needs more touches whenever possible.
The kickers looked pretty good. I think Blair Walsh did all that was asked of him. Drew Butler had a great punting average but needs more hang-time for sure. The other aspects of special teams were fairly poor. Too many return yards and too many penalties really hurt us, obviously.
To be going into the SEC schedule with this many question marks is very scary, but most of these issues are fixable. COACHING.
Until further notice muddy water is all we have.
Fabris and Martinez, and The Truth Shall Set You Back
It’s been quite a week for Georgia assistant football coaches Jon Fabris amd Willie Martinez. Both have had their share of criticism in recent years and both had opportunities to share their thoughts in the media. Their respective units have struggled at times to say the least and both have been discussed in the Bulldawg Blogosphere. My question is this. Did either coach make you feel better in any of their recent opportunities in the print or online media?
Let me know what you thought of Fabris’ description of his kick-off situation and the process for determining who will man that unit. Did Willie Martinez come across as makng excuses and even pointing fingers in the AJC?
Personally I did not feel better after either. Now I truly believe both the defense and the kick-off unit will be better. From winter workouts on, I believe the entire team has a renewed focus and especially the defense. Coach Mark Richt is freeing up freshman to compete for special teams spots. That could let some young guy shine and not ride the pine.
Even so, the two coaches did not come across very well, in my opinion. Maybe Coach Richt should consider a new policy for allowing assistants to be interviewed.
Coach Mark Richt Misquoted
I have been misquoted a few times in my life, nothing too serious or damaging, just frustrating. Coach Mark Richt does interviews almost every day of his life. I am sure he occasionally has to deal with some corrections. I am sure he was quick to call a certain newspaper last week, because they obviously misrepresented him in a big way. That’s the only thing that makes sense. In an article about Brandon Bogotay and the possibility his kicking abilities might bring about a change in the kick-off philosophy Coach Richt allegedly said this about Brandon:
Man, if I was Coach Richt I would be ticked off. There is no way Mark Richt said that. He knows better than to think that kickers can kick a ball 75+ yards and to a spot. As I’ve written before, the best kick-off man in America last year was David Buehler from USC. He ”only” kicked 54% of his kicks for touchbacks and number two was not even close. David is a 6’2″ 225 lb. true athlete that is in training camp with the Dallas Cowboys. But Coach Richt knows that. I am sure Coach Jon Fabris, who was also blatantly misquoted, has done the research and passed it along to Coach Richt.
Boy, I bet the roof of Butts-Mehre is still in orbit from when the coaches found out. I would be mad too. It makes the coaches look like they don’t have an understanding of what rules have been changed and what is reasonable to expect from a kicker these days. I don’t believe that for a second. They are too good at what they do for this one area to be so deficient, so weak, so totally in the dark.
I have not seen a retraction yet, but it should be forthcoming. It has to. It just has to.
Michael Vick Dogged By Haters
Michael Vick’s performance against Florida State in the 2000 Sugar Bowl is still one of the greatest individual efforts I can remember. He made FSU’s defenders look slow when they were not. Truly amazing. Even so, I was never enamored with Michael Vick as the Atlanta Falcons quarterback. His intermittent flashes of athletic brilliance were not the foundation from which to build an NFL franchise, in my humble opinion. The run to the NFC Championship game while impressive was not something that could be counted on year in and year out. Then the V-train was derailed by poor judgement and criminal treatment of dogs.
Dog-fighting is something I have never witnessed and certainly don’t want to see. Growing up in suburban Atlanta, it was not a part of our world. There are many, many areas of white and black America where it is not uncommon for men to pit their dogs against each other. It is cultural to a large extent. But that does not make it right.
Michael Vick has been demonized because of his celebrity pure and simple. He did not invent the bloodsport, nor was he one of just a few participants. A CNN story from 2007 states that approximately 40,000 Americans were involved in dog-fighting at the time. It was a felony in 48 states, yet it was considered a sport that was growing in size and scope.
Now Vick has now served his time and as of this week he will have an opportunity to play somewhere in the NFL in 2009. No matter where he goes, he will be dogged by opposing fans and other freaks(PETA). It’s just what they do. But I think it’s unfortunate.
The ethical treatment of animals is a very, very subjective notion
There are no consistent standards unless you are on the fringe and your standard is no use of animals for the benefit of humans at all.. The vast majority of the 6.77 billion people in this world eat some animals as food. From country to country, which animals are eaten vary based on cultural and religious traditions.
There are people you know that came from countries that eat dogs and cats. The fact that we abhor that practice is our problem. If we had to slaughter our own cattle, pigs, chickens and turkeys we would be in trouble. That disconnect from the realities of food processing has made some of us a little too sensitive. Even in civilized society, there is still a food chain and for now we are at the top.
Of course I am advocating use…not abuse…so I am hoping
maybe the Michael Vick feeding frenzy will be brief and dissipate quickly.
Have You Seen My Baseball?
I feel like Warren from There’s Something About Mary…wandering the streets desperately looking for my baseball. I lost my baseball back in 1994, when the players went on strike and ultimately both the season and World Series were cancelled. That’s about the same time the steroid era was in “full swing”, so to speak. Nope, that’s not my baseball either.
Baseball was my first love growing up. Both the Braves and Falcons became the focal point of a youngster’s hopes and dreams back in the mid sixties. I started playing baseball at Custer Park in Marietta, Georgia when I was nine years old. That was 1968 and I grew up watching Hank Aaron, Orlando Cepeda and my real hero, Rico Carty! The Beeg Boy! I was one of those that tried to emulate his style of batting with a modicum of success.
Now I am not naive enough to think that all baseball players in my youth were angels and deacons, but I do know that money was not the predominant issue it is today. Not a day goes by that a player’s salary or a team’s salary cap is not in the news. Money plays as important a role in management decisions as batting or earned run averages. So it will never be the same.
My Dad and older brother never miss a Braves game on TV. I still cruise by games from time to time, but only for a few minutes. I still admire athletic excellence in any sport. I listen to 680 the Fan and stay abreast of all the sports in Atlanta. That’s where I heard that today was the anniversary of the 1994 strike. It was mentioned that Major League Baseball lost a lot of fans in ’94, but Leo Mazzone said the fans came back when Mark Maguire and Sammy Sosa went on the home run tear of 1998. Oh, you mean the pumped up Roid Rangers? Well you can kiss my asterisk.
Nope that was a brief reprieve from the port-a-party baseball became, with the full knowledge and consent of the powers that be. Don’t try to tell me different, because I’m not really Warren from the movie. I love sports pure and simple. Too bad they can’t be that way ever again. Because when I lost my baseball, it lost me too.
“Special” Education
Once again the infamous kicking controversy has reared it’s ugly head. I have entered the blogosphere in a year when kickers and kicking are high on the list of many Bulldog faithful. But I don’t want to be on any ” lists” come the fall. I am not sure how to negotiate this tsunami, but for now I will continue to tread water and attempt to survive the wave. I did an interview with the Bulldog Blog and it was picked up by the Junkyard Blawger, which is just stirring up a hornet’s nest again. It’s no one’s fault. It is an area of valid concern for the DawgNation.
The thing is, it’s not Rocket Surgery. lol
I have no exclusivity on the wisdom in this situation.
It’s just an opinion.
Guess who’s opinions really matter?
In case you did not read all of the blog posts I have linked to in this article, in their entirety, understand this. I have the utmost respect for Jon Fabris and Mark Richt as coaches. I am not sure that this is adequately explained by me or other bloggers. That being said, I can offer a dissenting opinion, can’t I?
It’s not the USSA yet, is it?
Nothing neutral about losing…
The first few years of the Mark Richt era, I always spoke of those teams as teams that maybe didn’t win every game, but they were always IN the game. They never, ever got blown out. Coach Richt ALWAYS had the guys ready to play….INSERT CRICKETS CHIRPING HERE…Why did I have to go and say that? The last two years when we lose, we LOSE!!
Tennessee two years ago…Alabama and Florida this year…and I’m sorry, the Tech game felt like a butt kicking to me. So what has changed? Well, not totally sure. You know I have been around long enough to have been on both sides of games where nothing went right for one team and nothing could go wrong for the other. As you all know we gave up a butt load of points in 2008. Not good.
I have a good friend, who is a big Dawg fan that has been on the “Fire Willie Martinez” bandwagon for a while. I think he even started a Facebook Group by the same name.
I DID NOT JOIN FOR THE RECORD!
As a old school guy that played when Coaches Dooley and Russell were in control, I understand the bend don’t break philosophy of defense. I also understood the ball control offenses we employed then. Ya’ll hated both of them then and you hate them now. Some things never change! The thing is, if you are gonna employ that conservative approach to defense, you have to be able to tackle and we couldn’t much of the time last year. Especially the blowout games.
I have come to a conclusion. Coach Richt comes from the George Bush school of loyalty, and thats not a compliment. Bush lost me after the second election when he fired Rumsfeld after the election…AFTER….If he had done it six months earlier maybe we don’t lose control of the Congress and eventually the White House. SORRY, I digress.
Let me be clear, I love and respect Mark Richt. I hope he stays forever, but does that mean he’s perfect and does not make mistakes? No. I just want him to scutinize the performance of his coaches and hold them to the same level of accountability as he does his players. If they don’t perform, they don’t play.
Now he and UGA want to play the Florida Gators in Atlanta once every four years. I don’t like it. Sounds like an admission that we can’t win in the State of Florida. No, we can’t beat the University OF Florida in any state or Puerto Rico. But hey, guess what? Nobody can to speak of. Instead of worrying where we play, we should focus on how we play. Recruit better, coach more effectively, work hard in the off season and by all means teach ‘em to tackle!
But something I think we can all agree on, there is nothing neutral about losing.
Tell me what you really think!