G, I love the “U” Too
I love The University of Georgia. That’s THE University of Georgia. The “G”. I do have a couple of new “loves”. Well, love is a strong word. A word one shouldn’t throw around or use lightly. Maybe infatuation would be a better word. I was listening to sports talk radio and the discussion started with Urban Meyer’s raise to $4 million a year to whether this closed the door of him possibly going to Notre Dame someday. His buy-out is only $500,000.00, small change for most top tier programs. He would be crazy to leave Gainesville, but as the commentator said, high achievers seek challenges, and the Urbanator is an achiever. Okay, we’ll go with achiever, sure.
All of a sudden, someone mentioned Mark Richt. I threw up in my mouth a little. I regained my composure enough to hear it said that if Miami continues to struggle that over time Coach Richt may consider a return to his Alma mater. To resurrect that program a challenge worth considering. At this point I puked out the window, luckily it was down.
Coach Richt has said repeatedly that he considers Athens his home now, but I for one will not take chances. That is why I will be ordering some Miami Hurricane swag and for good measure, Florida State as well. Nothing orange mind you, some green for the “U” and I look dang good in garnet and gold, if I do say so myself.
I will have to be more organized this fall and coordinate my wardrobe throughout the day on Saturdays. I don’t know about your secondary affiliations, but I want all Dawg fans to get on board the train to keep Coach Mark Richt in Athens where he belongs. I don’t want officials from Miami or Florida State rethinking their most recent moves and look northward for alternatives.
Bobby Bowden needs to retire and let Jimbo Fisher truly lead the Seminoles. I am hopeful Randy Shannon can continue the Miami revival and win big in the ACC. Besides leaving our coach alone, that would mean beating the “bees” on a regular basis.
A true win-win-win-lose!
Georgia Flights Not So Fancy
It was 1977 and it had been an awful season. After winning the SEC Championship in 1976, no one thought Coach Vince Dooley’s first and only losing season was at hand. As a freshman kicker I felt helpless much of the time and didn’t perform up to my own expectations. One of the away trips that typified the season from hell was the Florida game. I just read that the Dawgs will be taking direct flights back to Athens on away trips this year. That reminded me of the night we almost didn’t make it home.
It was November 5, 1977. This Florida Game was the only loss(22-17) to the Gators in my four years. It was the Wes Chandler Show, as he almost single handedly beat Georgia that day. It was a long day, but a longer night was in store. When we got to the airport to go back to Athens we boarded the plane temporarily only to deplane because of a red light that would not go off on the instrument panel. We waited about an hour and a half and finally the light went off. They thought some moisture had shorted it out or something. So we tried again.
About 15-20 minutes after leaving Jacksonville, there was kind of a shudder and the plane leaned left. The players on the right side of the plane started freaking out a bit. You see this was a Piedmont Turbo Prop similar to the one above, and we had just lost our right engine. Fortunately you can fly them with one engine, but not nearly fast enough when a hundred guys have all pooped their pants. Obviously we made it back to Jacksonville where we waited for another plane to come from Athens.
On the subsequent flight to Athens we learned that the weather was bad in Athens and we might have to divert the flight to Atlanta. And we did. At this point chartered buses had to come from Athens to pick us up at the Atlanta Airport. Then we rode the bus back to Athens, arriving in the wee hours, some 8 hours after the game was over.
If that had been my first plane trip,
I might have never gotten on a plane ever again.
Georgia Fans…A Little Something Sweet
Georgia Football fans should know. This blog will never “rival” the big boys for news and numbers. That’s the meat and potatoes of an online fan feast. I don’t want it to be like all the other blogs. Many have good well rounded information, like a helping of your favorite veggies. There are a few of these blogs with enough flavor to pass as a really good dessert. But I want Roughing the Kicker to be that place that when you are too full from the main course, you hold off. Then on your way home you stop by for something a little different…a special treat. I call it Blaagen Dazs. It may not be something you want to consume every day, or maybe your metabolism can take a daily helping. Who knows?
Below you will find a listing of flavors you can expect in the future:
*One flavor that has been discontinued is the Rocky Road…too much of that last year* Some new favorites are expected to be the Joe Cox Strawberry… The A.J. Green “Mint Chocolate”… The Blair Walsh Irish Cream… Justin Anderson Vanilla Bean? …and introducing Rookies and Cream for freshman only…. and all Dawg Fans love Bark Chocolate…lol…Boy, I amuse myself sometimes.
Clean Old Fashioned Hate….Ain’t It Great!
Wednesday I posted my feelings on Georgia Tech’s resurgence. No, not the football team, the fans. The response has been great from both sides and that can mean only one thing. Clean Old-Fashioned Hate, which had been relegated to the bookshelf has returned to the field AND cyberspace. You know it’s human nature to be ambivalent when you know you can pound your little step brother on a regular basis. But when he reaches maturity, has gotten his brown belt in RunKwanDo AND has busted your nose, you better wake up.
I believe we have!
I believe our off season work-outs were more focused and intense. I believe our coaches renewed their commitment to excellence. I believe our leadership is improved. I believe our fundamentals will improve. I believe in Joe Cox. I believe Uga VII will actually come out of his Doghouse in 2009(Lazy Sumbuck). I believe our special teams will actually be SPECIAL! I believe the Ghost of Junkyards past will lead our defense onto the field this fall. I believe our recruiting has gone to another level. Most of all I believe in Mark Richt.
Between the SEC’s lack of truly weak sisters and Tech having a quality coach, I fully expect Coach Richt to be bald by 2011. Show him some love when you see him. He is earning every dollar he makes these days.
Call Georgia Tech what you will…nerds…bees…locusts.
Just don’t call them losers, those days are over.
Georgia Tech…Full Steam Ahead or Just Hot Air?
Well it was bound to happen. After years and years of utter futility, sprinkled with a few years of bowl eligibility(barely), Georgia Tech thinks they have arrived. After squeaking by an under-performing Georgia defense in a 45-42 win, there are nerds of every description scurrying out from their cubicles, waving their calculators high in the air.
That noise you may hear is their shrill voices cracking in anticipation of the upcoming season and their nads dropping. I remember puberty don’t you? It was an exciting time with so many changes in store; some good, some scary.
Full Steam Ahead! is their rallying cry in the media guide…Don’t get me wrong, I do believe Georgia Tech will continue to get better and be competitive in the ACC. But the planets were aligned perfectly last year. Both Georgia(defensively) and some of the power teams of the ACC were still experiencing off years.
That will not be the case this year!
They have been to twelve bowl games in a row…the listing below shows this impressive string of post season ”success”? Twelve bowls is exactly half of what Tech has done in my lifetime. A total of twenty-four bowls in fifty years, so twelve in a row is pretty good RELATIVELY speaking. That’s right, in the past 12 years, Tech has gone to such illustrious bowls as the Emerald, Seattle, Humanitarian, Silicon Valley, CarQuest and the Champs Sports Bowls.
There are those who have emerged from the yellow jacket nest in the ground, who continue to sting whenever given the chance. You know what happens when yellow jackets become a nuisance….you wipe those #@&*% out completely. It takes a special kind of dumb#%& to poke the Incredible Hulk(UGA) with a sharp stick. But keep it up, oh yee of supposedly higher intelligence. Keep poking.
You won’t like us when we’re angry.
Based on Tech’s Media Guide
Georgia’s Record vs. Tech
Over-all Series – 59-39-5
At Home -28-14-1
At Tech -31-25-4
Bowling?
2008 Chick-fil-A Bowl LSU 38, Georgia Tech 3
2007 Humanitarian Bowl Fresno State 40, Georgia Tech 28
2006 Gator Bowl West Virginia 38, Georgia Tech 35
2005 Emerald Bowl Utah 38, Georgia Tech 10
2004 Champs Sports Bowl Georgia Tech 51, Syracuse 14
2003 Humanitarian Bowl Georgia Tech 52, Tulsa 10
2002 Silicon Valley Classic Fresno State 30, Georgia Tech 21
2001 Seattle Bowl Georgia Tech 24, Stanford 14
2000 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl LSU 28, Georgia Tech 14
1999 Gator Bowl Miami 28, Georgia Tech 13
1998 Gator Bowl Georgia Tech 35, Notre Dame 28
1997 Carquest Bowl Georgia Tech 35, West Virginia 30
1991 Aloha Bowl Georgia Tech 18, Stanford 17
1990 Florida Citrus Bowl Georgia Tech 45, Nebraska 21
1985 All American Bowl Georgia Tech 17, Michigan St. 14
1978 Peach Bowl Purdue 41, Georgia Tech 21
1972 Liberty Bowl Georgia Tech 31, Iowa State 30
1971 Peach Bowl Mississippi 41, Georgia Tech 18
1970 Sun Bowl Georgia Tech 17, Texas Tech 9
1966 Orange Bowl Florida 27, Georgia Tech 12
1965 Gator Bowl Georgia Tech 31, Texas Tech 21
1962 Bluebonnet Bowl Missouri 14, Georgia Tech 10
1961 Gator Bowl Penn State 30, Georgia Tech 15
1959 Gator Bowl Arkansas 14, Georgia Tech 7
Georgia Punting in Good Hands
I’ll never forget the first time I saw Drew Butler. No, he was not a bouncing baby boy on his Dad’s golden leg. It was not even in youth soccer. It was Drew’s senior year at Peachtree Ridge HS. The Lions were in the midst of their co-state championship run. They were playing one of my customers Campbell HS.
I was there early to see warm-ups. I had heard alot about Drew and I knew he was a top prospect to kick in college. It took just a few minutes for me to come to one definite conclusion. But more about that in a minute. I saw Peachtree Ridge escape with a win against Campbell and later watched them tie Roswell for the 2006 AAAAA Co-State Championship.
I didn’t actually meet Drew until the following May, after he had signed with Georgia after considering good options at Duke among others. Peachtree Ridge had become a customer when I followed Bill Ballard from Tucker. Drew had just finished kicking and working out when I ran into him outside the fieldhouse.
I asked him then if my conclusions about him were correct. While a very solid kicker in high school, I felt right away that Drew was a more natural punter. He confirmed that immediately, stating that his wish was to punt at Georgia. By that time, Blair Walsh had committed to UGA and it was Drew’s contention that Blair would kick and he would punt.
Drew has been in the program now for two years and has gotten much stronger. Gordon Ely-Kelso was a four year starter but Brian Mimbs “grew” into his role as a punter. Heck , he walked on at UGA to kick and with Brandon Coutu in the fold, he saw the writing on the wall. He shifted his focus and became a very good college punter. Drew will be ready also. This does not mean there will be no bad kicks. There are always bad kicks with every kicker and punter. Surely you remember a few bad punts in recent years and we survived most of them. It’s what you do the next time out that matters.
Short term memory loss is essential to be a successful kicker.
Now I have to work on long term memories.
Can you say Bluebonnet Bowl?
Georgia Recruiting, Highs and Lows
The recruiting front is a battleground, where lives are changed forever. Expectations are so high sometimes, the realities can never keep up. All the great news coming out of Athens was almost too good too be true, with their 18th commitment TJ Stripling of SW Dekalb making his plans known this morning.
But all is not well in Athens as Carver High School’s head football coach has banned the UGA coaching staff from the Columbus Campus. One of Coach Del McGee’s players, QB Del Burns had an offer withdrawn from Georgia and Mark Richt over the weekend. The fact that it happened on the day Burns intended to commit while at Dawg Night magnifies the impact this decision had on the player. He brought his whole family to make the announcement that would never be. That’s pretty awful. But worthy of a ban? Come on now, Coach McGee? Who do you think you are?
Players hedge bets in this recruiting game all the time. An early commitment is not the end of the story. You don’t think coaches or universities have the right to do the same? There is no doubt, that this played out poorly and I do feel for Del Burns. But to ban Mark Richt and staff?
In case you have not heard Coach McGee, a great number of Georgia recruits make the decision to come to Athens because of Mark Richt’s character. Many recruits go elsewhere in this league(SEC) in spite of the coach’s character. Don’t think you can impugn this man’s reputation based on a miscommunication. And by no means think you are any more important than you really are. I know you are a very good high school coach but, simmer down now.
Del Burns will have other opportunities. I just hope they are outside the SEC.
“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?
Dirty Harry Was Right
Clint Eastwood is one of my favorite actors and he’s an even better director. I could do an entire blog on the great one liners he spouted over the years. From Dirty Harry to Josie Wales he has always had just the right words for any situation he found himself in. This kind of wisdom is hard to find and certainly words to live by.
“A man’s gotta know his limitations”…Dirty Harry
Consider this blog my attempt at an intervention of sorts. An old friend and former team mate has exercised less than good judgement in his professional life and if I don’t say something now, I will regret it for the rest of my life. He was a two sport star in college and even splits time between radio and TV now. But Buck Belue is no triple threat. He can’t sing.
I am on the road alot with my job(selling sporting goods), and even though I did not listen to 680 the Fan or Buck and Kincaid in the beginning, I listen consistently now. I have seen and talked to Buck more in the last year than the previous 25 combined. He contacted me last year about doing some clinics and we now have done a total of four in the last year. It’s been fun. We will probably tweak some things and try again next year, or after this post maybe not.
If you listen to Buck and Kincaid you probably know what I’m talking about. Buck likes music and actually alot of the same music I love. Maybe thats why I feel led to draw attention to his intermittent outburst into song. It happened again Thursday. The Black-Eyed Peas did a song a couple of years ago called “Lets get it started”. Great song. He sang a little bit at the beginning of the show today, apparently trying to get Kincaid fired up for the show. I am so glad I have heard the song many times before and like it. Otherwise, I would never want to hear it again.
I don’t think Buck considers himself a great singer, I just don’t think he cares. You have probably seen people like that at karaoke, but it’s one thing to go to a sports bar and do karaoke. It’s another to cause a pile-up on I-285 during rush hour. Both Buck and Kincaid join together to sing their rendition of Meet the Mets when the Braves beat New York. It’s called Beat the Mets, and the disharmony rivals my first marriage. That’s bad.
I’m pretty sure Buck does not read my blog, but even if he did I think he would take this post in the spirit it is intended…please quit singing!
Get Georgia Bulldogs 2.0.09, Click Here to Upgrade Now
I had a great conversation with David Hale yesterday. You know David, the sports-writer and reknowned Bulldog Blogger . I think he plans to write about our talk on Friday. We discussed alot of things, including my thoughts on the Bulldawgs of 2009. I had an answer, but upon reflection something occurred to me. Many times it’s not good enough to have a great team, we want our players to receive all the superlatives as well.
I don’t want to give away the ending, but I told David that I thought our running backs were a little bit of a question mark. Caleb King and Richard Samuel while talented athletes, had not shown the spark of Knowshon Moreno(who ever has?) or even as capable as a Thomas Brown. I liked Thomas Brown. The bottom line though is this, running back by committee is not the end of the world. If it’s a good committee!
Here are some random thoughts on committees:
A committee should consist of no more than three people, with two absent. ~Robert Copeland
A committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours. ~Milton Berle
If computers get too powerful, we can organize them into committees. That’ll do them in. ~Unknown
If Columbus had an advisory committee he would probably still be at the dock. ~Arthur Goldberg
A committee is an animal with four back legs. ~John le Carré, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
A camel looks like a horse that was planned by a committee. ~Unknown
Well, it does not have to be that way. Mark Richt and Georgia have had some great teams without a marquee back. In 2005, Georgia was 10-3 and won it’s last SEC Championship. DJ Shockley was the quarterback but who were the running backs?
RB- Thomas Brown, So. #20 – 788 yards – 61.3 per game
RB- Danny Ware, So.(RS) #28 – 535 yards – 37.8 per game
RB- Kregg Lumpkin, So.(RS) #6 – 338 yards – 25.8 per game
1,661 yards and a 124.9 per game average
Knowshon Moreno on the other hand gained 1,463 yards in 2008. That’s an average of only 107.7 per game, but boy it was soo much more fun to watch than back in 2005, wasn’t it? Well, yeah, but who has the ring? Having a marquee back feeds our collective egos as fans, but it does not win games or championships.
Remember the old commercial?
My dog’s faster than your dog,
My dog’s bigger than yours.
My dog’s better ’cause he gets Ken-L Ration,
My dog’s better than yours.
That what some people sound like on the Dawgvent. Sometimes I think it should be called NannyNannyBooBoo.com. Winning is not enough. Ever player has to be the best at his position in the SEC…we have to win big…we have to win every game to satisfy some and then some will still find fault, I’m sure. It’s truly amazing.
All Georgia needs this year is enough production from our running backs to keep defenses honest. Joe Cox will have a fun year with his Colorful Crew…Green, Brown etc. Our more experienced and hopefully healthy offensive line will help make all this possible of course. I believe a renewed focus will make our defense much better. The kicking game will be solid.
Sounds good to me! Let’s do this!
On ESPN, Vote for the Dawgs!
I received this message from a DGD imploring I post something about it. Well…
Will you please post something about ESPN and their 50 states in 50 days. CFB Live is doing a daily look at College football in each state.
Right now the polls at ESPN.com are very tight. UGA’s 1980 squad leads Tech’s 1956 team by 8% as the best team ever in the state. Dooley currently leads Dodd by 2% as the best coach in state history.
You can vote at the website below. We need the Dawg Nation to step up and out vote the Nerd Herd!!
I believe GA will appear on the show on July 27th…
http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/polls?pCat=46&sCat=562
Thanks Cam! May your Dawg Days be long and with an ice bag to lay on….
Don’t ask me it’s all I could think of!
It’s Uncle Remus, Put Another Log on the Fire!
When you put over one hundred athletes together in an athletics dorm like the now deceased McWhorter Hall, it’s going to house a few characters. I say deceased because that place was a living, breathing entity, and yes those walls could talk. I actually got a piece of the rubble from the demolition of the old dorm. It whispers to me sometimes in the night.
Have you ever known someone who loved to tell stories? I don’t mean just funny jokes, but seemingly everything that came out of the mouth was incredible, if not unbelievable. We had one of those during my four years. He was an offensive lineman dubbed Uncle Remus because of his prolific story telling. I won’t tell you his real name because as always, I’m not trying to embarass the man. He knows and a few of you might as well.
It didn’t matter what was being discussed at dinner, the TV room or in the suite, he had a story to top yours. If Scott Woerner went hunting and got a deer, Remus remembered a time he killed a bigger one, with more points. There was truly no end to his tall tales. It got to the point that one of the guys, upon hearing Remus start his comeback said, “put another log on the fire, Uncle Remus is here”!
I really hate that the players of today don’t have that chance to truly live together. It’s just another example of the NCAA focusing on the wrong issues. Back in those days, it was not just two, three or fours guys rooming together, it was the whole team. For better or worse, we were together.
NCAA Football Players, Gridiron Gods or Serfs on Turf?
Some of you may know this, most will not. It is possible to play the video game NCAA Football as the Georgia 1980 National Champions. All the jersey numbers coincide with the correct players of that year, even the kicker. Now the fact that the kicker, #5, is portrayed as black, well that’s a whole other thing but, go ahead check it out, it’s true. If NCAA Football survives the “BOMB”, history will recount that I was indeed UGA’s best black kicker ever. Awesome!
Now, do you remember Sam Keller? You would have to be a pretty big football fan to remember him. He played at Arizona State a few years ago, then transferred to Nebraska. I just read some interesting news about the former college quarterback as he is filing a class action suit against the manufacturer of the game, EA Sports and the NCAA for profiting on college players likenesses. Sam recounts how initially it was fun to play NCAA Football as himself back in 2005 when he was still at Arizona State. Now he sings a different tune.
“We signed a paper at the beginning of college saying we couldn’t benefit from our name,” said Keller, who is now 24 and living in Scottsdale, Ariz. “So why was the N.C.A.A. turning a blind eye to this and allowing EA Sports to take our likenesses and make big bucks off it?”
I think he has a legitimate point.Back in 1977 when I signed my letter of intent, it was a different world. College football was not the huge money producing machine that it is today. There were no huge television contracts, no video games with our likenesses in them. The football program was not a multi-million dollar cash cow as it is today. Even so, things transpired(1980) that the university and others are profiting from to this day.
Now AD’s, football coaches and university presidents know full well how much money is to be made and they are constantly looking for bigger and better ways to “sell” their programs. UGA is among the countries most profitable athletic departments. This year’s overall athletic budget at Georgia is projected to be $84.8 million. Plus UGA just signed away their multi-media marketing rights for football and basketball for the next eight years for over $92 million.
At this juncture, 18 year olds are expected to sign away rights to “products” they will help create. It’s almost like a hungry musician desperate to sign that first record contract. They are vulnerable. I know it’s hard to imagine a pampered blue chip prospect as vulnerable but when compared to the adults in the transaction, they are.
Many will proclaim that the exchange of an opportunity for a college education is more than an equitable trade-off for the money being generated by these athletes. I think many changes need to be made, like a monthly stipend for players, but that’s another blog for another day.
Our Georgia Football Traditions, “The Tracks”
Very few traditions can match the uniqueness, and the craziness of The University of Georgia’s “Tracks”. If you are under 40 or so, you might not understand. To use the old saying, You may think you know, but you have no idea! There was no feeling quite like coming down East Campus to the back side of Sanford Stadium and hear the fans that had been camped out waiting for the Dawgs to play on Saturday.
I am one of those that never got to experience the tracks. I only attended games before my playing days as a recruit…and I’m not sure a recruit could have handled the hard core folks up there. On the flip-side I played in the last game prior to the closing of that end of the Stadium. The Georgia Tech game of 1980 was it.
I have heard quite a few stories, but I want to hear yours. Please keep your comments clean, because I want to approve them to share with everyone.
Georgia and South Carolina, Enemies of the State No More
This weekend I will be taking a trip. Say a little prayer as I will be traveling to Columbia, SC to participate in the George Rogers Foundation Golf Tournament. I will be utterly surrounded by Gamecocks and Tigers with various and sundry Seminoles, Sooners, Panthers and others. It’s my second trip into enemy territory, having played two years ago and cancelling last year because of some minor surgery.
George Rogers and I go way back. Of course we played against each other for four years of college ball, but we met during the recruiting process. We first met at the University of Alabama, then seemed to run into each other everywhere we went. During those days we both made the 1980 Playboy All American Team and the Walter Camp Team as well. Check out the Playboy Offense below.
He’s a great guy with a booming laugh. He’s had his share of troubles, but has more than recovered from those days; he’s triumphed. His foundation benefits minority kids of South Carolina. Not just those that go to the University of South Carolina, but any university inSouth Carolina. Because George won the 1980 Heisman Trophy, he invites some of the other winners to come as well. Tony Dorsett, Billy Sims, Gino Toretta and Jason White were all in attendance in 2007. Hugh Green, one of the best defensive players in NCAA history was also there.
It’s a great time for a great cause, but when you say your prayers, remember this Old Dawg and pray for a safe return from across enemy lines.
Billy Bennett hosed in Heisman voting!
I recently recieved a comment from a reader that made the statement that Billy should have won the Heisman. Of course this is more than silly, but Billy Bennett’s worth to his team goes largely unrecognized. I initially thought this person had found the Elmer’s again, poor fellow, but I did know for a fact that Billy was a big part of the formula that made this team a winner and not a loser. In fact, in 2002 and 2003, Billy Bennett was as valuable a “player” to his team as any other player in the nation.
How can I say such a thing? Well, I’m gonna tell you if you give me a minute…gah!
I’m not sure if you realize this, but the young Mr. Bennett, kicked more field goals than anyone in the history of college football. Let me repeat, Billy holds the NCAA records for field goals attempted and made. Heck, he made more FG’s(87), than I attempted(84). He also has two of the top three seasons for field goals attempted in the history of the SEC. Let me repeat that. The 2002 and 2003 seasons are #3 and #1 in attempted field goals in the history of the SEC. As a side note, the 2005 season is a tie for 7th(Brandon Coutu).
In doing my research I came across this blog, showing some much deserved love for Billy. For you stat-nics out there whenever a kicker attempts an equal number of field goals as extra points, that team is usually a loser. Yet, that’s exactly what happened in 2003. Billy attempted 38 FG’s and 38 PAT’s, and that is a formula for disaster. In 1977, I attempted 20 FG’s and only 16 PAT’s. This is an extreme example as we were extremely bad, but the formula normally holds true. When a team attempts as many or more FG’s than PAT’s, they go .500 at best, but usually worse. The 2003 Georgia Bulldogs went 11-3 and a Top 10 national ranking. This might be the biggest statistical anomaly in history. Go ahead stat-dude, check it out.
Now what most Georgia people already know is that the defense of Coach Brian Van Gorder ranked 3rd nationally in scoring defense, giving up only 11.4 points per game. Players like David Pollack, Odell Thurman, Thomas Davis and Sean Jones should get some love too. Just a little. But do you remember how many times the Dawgs bogged down in the red zone at the beginning of games and Billy was always there, getting us some points and salvaging a drive.
Billy did not not even get an invite to the Heisman party. That’s highway robbery. I know that in general Georgia fans appreciate his accomplishments, but there was much more to the story, and I thought you should know. Some might take this as an indictment on the offenses on those teams. Maybe so, but more than anything I am campaigning for ‘take a kicker to lunch day”. I am free tommorrow and Friday.
Ole’ Erk Russell had a saying…
Coach Erskine Russell had many, many sayings. You’ve heard alot of them, but did you ever here what he thought about preseason prognostication and it’s true worth in the real world? From 1977-1980, Georgia never had much in the way of respect or any predicted greatness . Each and every time some know-it-all with a type-writer(boy I’m old) wrote something less than glowing in their preseason rankings about “The Dogs”, he would always say, “Well men, you know what dogs do to poles(polls)!”
Awesome!
With everything being said about the upcoming season, including this from the AJC, it reminds me of just how little they really mean. I agree with Coach Russell, piss on ‘em! Of course, I believed that last year’s urinals were just as bad. UGA being ranked preseason number one was the kiss of death, and If I’d had a blog then, I would have said so. Anybody that knows me and asked me, got the same answer.
I heard some things last fall and I think that recent comments from thisyear’s leaders confirm that the high praise during the off-season undermined the team’s work ethic. I know for a fact, they did not work like a National Champions. Unless you are over-flowing with talent, and we were not, there has to be a certain hunger. Apparently, the Dawgs of 2008 did not have it.
This years crew just might. Barely being ranked in the top 20 would be great for some programs, not Georgia. But I’m glad it’s true. I believe it will continue to motivate an already motivated group. Above all else fellas, remember what Coach Russell said about polls!
I wonder what Eagles do to polls?
Buck Belue to Lindsey Scott, the greatest play I never saw
It’s Saturday morning and I am driving up Georgia 400 to see my old team mates Buck Belue and Lindsay Scott. We are having our third and final Champions Clinic of 2009 at Forsyth Central High School this morning. Here it is, 29 years later and we are still a team, working together. How different things might have been if not for the greatest play I never saw.
Nobody expected 1980 to be a special year. Most predicted Georgia to finish in the middle of the pack, maybe barely above average, and those were the ones that liked us. Yet here we were, 8-0 going to the “WLOCP”…shhhh, and ranked number 2 in the country. We arrived in Jacksonville, just like every year, with electricity in the air. Little did anyone know that history was about to be made.
I always loved the Florida game; it was like a rest stop 2/3 of the way on a long road trip. There was nothing like it. It was neither a home or away game, it was THE game. A game we usually won. But Florida was waiting for us this year.
I always prepared especially hard for the “F”, because of Chris Collinsworth, the Gators great wide receiver and return man. I hated giving him a chance to return kick-offs against us and most of the time I succeeded by kicking it deep. Chris and I had actually become friends at the Playboy All American week-end in early 1980.
Howard Richards(Missouri)
EJ Junior(Alabama)
(The Blogger)
Chris Collinsworth(Florida)
Let’s get back to the game. It started off well enough, with Herschel bursting up our side-line on the fourth play for 73 yards and a touchdown. But Florida kept coming back and at half-time I told my holder Jim Broadway, “Be ready, we may have to win this thing with a field goal”. I was a senior, but Jim was a sophomore in his first year of varsity action. He had done a great job, but we had not faced this kind of situation all year.
When the drama unfolded late in the game, Florida had gone ahead 21-20 on a Brian Clark field goal. Then on our last drive, a Florida punt had pinned us back inside our 10 yard line. As everyone in the Dawg Nation knows by now, we actually lost a yard on one of our first two downs. Third and eleven from our own seven yard line. I think there were 63 seconds to go in the game, as Larry would say. As the play began, I could see the ball in the air, Lindsay caught it and turned up field…I thought, “He’s going to get in field goal range, I have to get my tee”! So as I turned to go get it, everyone else was jumping up and down cheering, but I had my back turned and missed it. I was actually trying to keep it together for what might be coming up.
As ole Lady Luck would have it Lindsay kept running, thanks to Larry’s encouragement from on high. He might still be running if not for the “bowl” in Gator Bowl. I was happy to see it all on the news the next day and about a thousand times since on video. “The Play” was the last great springboard to the National Championship, as we moved to number one in the country the next day(Thanks Tech!).
Chris and I just moments after Belue to Scott…He was not happy…heehee.
NCAA says no to touchbacks…
Imagine if you will, a professional golfer who is consistently able to drive the ball 300 yards with reasonable accuracy. Now you tell him he HAS to either to drive it 330 yards with the same degree of accuracy OR drive it 290 with an even higher degree of accuracy on the left side of the fairway, with greater height. WITH THE SAME CLUB. But he can’t tee it UP, he has to tee it down. If you are a golfer and/or a knowledgable golf fan you probably see the lunacy in these expectations.
Yet this is what was expected of Blair Walsh last year.
I am going to try to explain this with as much factual information as possible, so it will not appear I am trying to make excuses for Blair or anyone else. (more…)
Georgia Football and Senior Leadership
You hear about it every year, but you don’t really have it every year, do you? At least not championship caliber. Senior leadership is a vague, mysterious notion that can make or break a team, but what exactly does it mean? (more…)
Get the picture…
What in the world can I say about Larry Munson that hasn’t been said numerous times by more important people in the world of sports and the University of Georgia family in particular? Probably nothing. But, is there anything wrong with a public thank you that I was only able to give Larry in person just a few short years ago. I hope not, because here it comes. (more…)
What is Herschel Walker really like?
This ranks as THE most asked question by Georgia fans and friends I come into contact with day to day. I don’t mind, he was and is a one of a kind character in UGA history. As they say, The Man, The Myth, The Legend. His recent appearance on The Celebrity Apprentice was yet another example of how unique he is, in the context of celebrity. As Jesse James said, “He’s better in person than you expect”. The problem is, I thought I had a good answer to this question until I read his book. That threw me for a loop.
I did not see Herschel from 1980 to about 2003. Since then I have seen him on average about once a year or so. I have never seen anything like what he described in his book. Now, there is no doubt he marches to the beat of a different drummer. The only thing I’m familiar with is his unusual hours, needing very little sleep. I have heard Tiger Woods is the same way.
There have been times when we would attend the same autograph events and the vast majority of those in attendance would sign for a few hours late in the day, possibly 5-8 PM…Herschel shows up and signs from 12:00 midnight and signs stuff all night long. As you might imagine, there is a greater demand for Heisman Trophy winner swag than has-been kicker swag.
Herschel and I did not interact much in 1980 as we were both the type to keep to ourselves for the most part. The one exception was the Sugar Bowl when we first arrived. We ended up sitting together on the bus-ride from the airport. He was talking about being on Good Morning America the next morning, somewhat lamenting the pull from all directions for his time. I am still amazed at the apparent absence of affect from his life of what I would call “true celebrity”. Herschel has been a national celebrity for 30 years now. An international celebrity for much of that time.
He’s the same guy.
How can that be? I can’t imagine being on the level where you can’t go anywhere and not be recognized, with no down time to speak of. Some people are apparently made for that kind of life, while others freak out and become recluses or abusers of various and sundry mood alterers. I can’t say we’re close, but I’m glad to know him, even if it is on a somewhat superficial level. Some reasons are obvious with the NC and all, while other might not be so obvious.
I just admire his ability to achieve in whatever arena he’s chosen, and still looks for challenges both physical and otherwise.
I wish I could be more like that.
Did anybody get that tag number?
Most of my mornings begin with a rundown of a checklist of what joints in my body actually DON’T hurt. You may be thinking to yourself wait, wasn’t he JUST a kicker? And you would be oh so wrong. The litany of injuries I have sustained paid for many a lake house and Mercedes Benz in my day. I don’t want to name names, Sturkie, Payne, McKinnon. I got to know every doctor in the practice AND the physical therapist, a substantial Greek woman named Suvall. I’m pretty sure Suvall means “sadistic giver of pain” in the original Greek. That practice in Marietta is now known as Pinnacle Orthopedics.
My first broken bone was in 7th grade. Our P.E. coach was the high school wrestling coach, Bubba Davis. During the winter months when we had inclement weather, we would wrestle on the gym stage. The only guy about my size was a guy who had failed a couple of grades and much more developed physically. I was the kid whose mother was in constant search of the “HUSKY” section at Goldstein’s, Leiter’s and Sears. You know, more Incredible Bulk than Hulk. This guy got me down, took my right wrist and broke and dislocated my right elbow. It didn’t feel too good…I have it on good authority, it looked even worse.
The next year, between 8th and 9th grade, I broke my right ankle playing summer league baseball. In 10th grade broken right index finger playing basketball in P.E. There were several sprained ankles, usually doing stupid things. Oddly enough, I never did anything major playing football.
Some of you old timers may remember I did not kick-off my freshman year at UGA. A senior walk-on named Cary Long earned that job. I did kick-off a couple of times though. Once was against Auburn. It was a pretty good kick, several yards deep in the end zone. I was admiring the hang-time when BOOM! One of L.A.’s finest, and that ain’t sayin’ much, decided he was gonna go after the kicker. Ooooo, aren’t we tough?! I have included a recent picture of the perp below.
Anyhoo, I think the technical word is ass over tea-kettle. The first thing that hit the ground was the back side of my shoulder pads and I flipped over backwards(ass over tea kettle). The only thing that stopped me was the hedges. Wow! You know, I never heard the phrase, keep your head on a swivel until the day AFTER the Auburn game. Thanks coach!
To add insult to injury, the next day when we all watched the kick films as a team, they replayed it over and over and over again. The requisite BOOM when contact was made and the laughter that followed. It was special.
The other instance that comes to mind is the 1978 Tech game after Scott Woerner returned a punt for a touchdown. The ensuing kick-off was decent, again several yards deep. I’ll be danged if Drew Hill doesn’t bring it out, right up the Tech sideline. I went down behind the main line of coverage and started bearing left and tried to dive and make the tackle, to no avail. The safety couldn’t get him either, touchdown Tech! My right shoulder took the brunt of that diving attempt, the only positive thing about that play was I took out Pepper Rodgers on the sideline.
Okay I am done complaining, there are so many guys who have it worse than I do. So many more collisions, day in and day out. I am actually thankful to have been, “just a kicker”.
Hey I’m fifty, I am going to deal with it. Pass the Aleve and the ice bag.
Erk Russell in the Hall of Fame?
There’s not much I remember about the spring of 1976, but there is one image burned into my brain that will live forever. Spring football had just started and after calisthenics(old school word), Coach Ray Broadaway let me go down to the game field, better known as Northcutt Stadium to practice alone. He knew he could trust me to work hard, and I did.
After kicking one set of five kicks, I went to retrieve the balls and that’s when it happened. I looked up in the stands and there was this bald head poking out of the aisle.
HOLY CRAP, THAT’S ERK RUSSELL!
I tried to keep it together and I think I did okay. To be honest, that part is a little fuzzy. My mind was racing! After practice Coach Broadaway introduced us. I was pretty intimidated because Coach Russell’s countenance belied his true self. He was a great man. He told me of The University of Georgia having an interest in me as a kicker and hoped I would visit in the fall.
Obviously, it all worked out well and even though I didn’t play defense for Coach Russell, being recruited by him was a great honor. I know I can speak for my team-mates when I say, no one was more respected or beloved than Coach Erk Russell. Coach Dooley as a Head Coach was not in a position to develop those relationships like Coach Russell.
There are many people more qualified to speak to his worthiness as a College Hall of Fame member. I just had to add my two cents worth. It’s not likely anyone would mention his impact on a kicker, but it was there.
My freshman year, things were going okay, but I was a little homesick for Marietta. It was a friday and we had the weekend off. Even so, we were not supposed to leave Athens. Well, one of my newest and best friends, Ronnie Stewart and I went to a Marietta HS Football game. We made the hour and half trip and having just arrived, we learned that Coach Russell was at the game also!
We left immediately, but not before being seen by my hometown pastor, the Reverend Nelson Price. The pastor, who was with Coach Russell up in the press box, exclaimed in his well- known booming voice, there’s Rex Robinson!
Coach Russell said, “Where”!?!
Ronnie and I thought we had escaped certain disaster, until Monday when we reported to practice. Coach Russell came up to me and very quietly said, “Don’t ever do that again”.
Guess what? I didn’t…
Tell me what you really think!