In Todd We Trust
Georgia Defensive Coordinator Todd Grantham has become an instant celebrity for his overtime antics Saturday. In case you have just gotten back from your honeymoon in Fiji and don’t know what I’m referring to, Coach Grantham communicated his sincere desire to Florida’s Chas Henry that Chas would just go ahead and swallow his mouthpiece.
This BEFORE his game winning kick attempt.
Of course Chas chose not to comply and actually kicked his best kick in his month of being a college place-kicker. It just goes to show you, you can’t miss them all. The 37 yarder in overtime spelled doom for a Georgia team that had shot itself in the foot over and over and over.
The now infamous choke sign displayed by CTG is being both lambasted and lauded. I just wanted to take a second to share my viewpoint, as if anyone really cares.
My first reaction is that really no coach should be engaging another team’s players. Our players should have been doing that, and they probably were. Coach Grantham could have and should have implored his troops to convey the message to Henry. But in my humble opinion, he should not have jumped in himself.
Now, that being said…
I absolutely love Todd Grantham’s fire. I love his aggressive style. I actually love the sentiment conveyed by the choke sign. We need that attitude, especially against Florida. If he stays for long, we need all our guys buying in to the notion that we are not scared of anybody, especially Florida.
I bet if you asked him, CTG would say he was ready for a rematch RIGHT NOW. Any time, any day, any place. Jacksonville, Gainesville, Athens, Atlanta….. or even in the middle of the freakin’ Okefenokee Swamp! AND I bet we win the best two out of three. As I said earlier this week, we beat ourselves Saturday.
We need CTG to stay in Athens long enough to recruit and/or convert enough players that believe in Todd and his gospel of winning football. Did you ever see NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN? The “bad guy” in the movie played by Javier Bardem was one of the scariest characters ever, and now that I think about it, he was a perfect combination of CMR and CTG.
Cool and calm(Richt), but lethal and heartless(Grantham)…I’m telling you, if given the chance, this could be a combination for the ages. But the team has to reach critical mass of buy-in.
Everybody loves to win, but not everybody refuses to lose.
Dawg Food For Thought
The recent controversy related to the last minute “change of heart” by a few commits, has had me thinking. I know, I know, I’m trying not to hurt myself. That’s why it has taken this long to put it in a post. A fairly common theme has been, “well if a kid doesn’t want to be a Dawg, we don’t want him”. I have even echoed that sentiment myself, but here’s the rub(click).
While the Nance family influence on one defector, Da’Rick Rogers was primary, I’m not convinced that the Tennessee staff didn’t have another ace in the hole. Charlie Baggett was named to the new staff in Knoxville on January 18th, just in time to become a factor in the Rogers Saga (click). Baggett had been an NFL assistant for 11 years and has coached the likes of Cris Carter, Randy Moss, Andre Rison, Plaxico Burress, Muhsin Muhammad, Derrick Mason, and Chris Chambers. Wow.
Now here is Tony Ball’s bio from www.georgiadogs.com
Ball is credited with coaching some of the school’s(Virginia Tech) greatest receivers including Ernest Wilford (2002-03), the school’s all-time receptions leader, the first player in school history to post two 50-catch seasons, and a fourth round choice in the 2004 NFL draft. In addition, Ball coached Andre Davis, one of the Virginia Tech’s top three receivers in career catches, receiving yards, and touchdown receptions. Davis was a 2002 second round NFL selection of the Cleveland Browns.
Okay, you tell me which seems more impressive to a young, 5-star athlete who wants to play in the NFL someday. Hell, even if that’s not in the forefront of a recruits mind, a coach can plant that seed and make it grow.
As a old school Georgia fan and former player, I don’t think the letters N-F-L should carry the weight they do in “college” recruiting, but that’s the reality. Our hiring of Todd Grantham is in the same vein, so why do we rip a kid to shreds when we as a program are not always fostering a true “Red and Black” allegiance? We’re playing the same game. Sometimes we will win and sometimes we will lose.
But by all means, as the kids say, “Don’t hate the player, hate the game”.
What do you think?
A Canine Resurrection
Well Georgia fans, it seems that from the end of the Georgia Tech game, when I thought Bryan Evans was about to get the “Baco Raton Beatdown”, til yesterday, Mark Richt is apparently over it. He doesn’t like to lose. Neither he nor his staff are in any way “complacent”, as some dumbass “fan” suggested at Butts Mehre on signing day. How he got out alive, I’ll never know.
CMR has gone full bore for what he thought would right the ship. From pretty much cleaning house on his defensive staff to his hirings of late, he’s all “bizness”. As I stated a few weeks ago, there is nothing wrong with swinging for the fences and ultimately Coach Richt hit his homeruns with Todd Grantham and Scott Lakatos(click here).
Many look at the 2010 signing class as a disappointment. I really do not. Since I started writing this blog and paying attention to the Dawg Nation in general, most often I have heard the cries that our talent was not getting coached up. That problem has been solved on defense, so let’s move on.
I swear we have focused way too much on the numbers of stars in a bio and not enough on the intangibles that make a player great. Da’Rick Rogers was interviewed by Radi Nabulsi of UGASPORTS.COM a few weeks ago and a few things stood out to me(click and join). Although DR had his Georgia ball-cap on, he was already planning his trip to Knoxville. He down-played the significance of it all, but when asked about signing day, he said he would have a UGA hat, a Tennessee hat and maybe an Ohio State hat, “just to throw people off”. That interview let me know that he was enjoying the process a little too much, jacking people around. That’s not someone sold out for Georgia and that’s what we need, kids that take seriously the traditions and the future of THE University of Georgia.
When I started going through the recruiting process all those years ago, I was not a Georgia guy. There did come a point in early November 1976 that my conversations went from referring to “them” as “us”. I didn’t even notice it, my parents called it to my attention one night. I had not told them of any decision, but my paradigm had shifted, and I was all in. That fact did not change a month later when Notre Dame offered a visit to South Bend.
That’s what we need, but it’s tough to find. When a player’s focus is on who can get him to the next level(NFL), how can there be a seed of love for your school. It’s a means to an end. The Georgia Bulldogs will be much improved in 2010. I believe that with all that I am. But, it’s not always about getting what are perceived as the best guys, it’s about getting the right guys and I believe we did.
Go Dawgs!
A Special Teams Dream
The limitations placed on coaching staffs by the NCAA may preclude a special teams guru. You can only have your head coach, 9 assistants and two GA’s on the field at any given time . I have no knowledge of Coach Richt’s plans, but here is the present breakdown
- Mark Richt(HC)
- Mike Bobo(OC/QB)
- Stacey Searels(OL)
- Tony Ball(WR)
- John Lilly(TE)
- Bryan McClendon(RB)
- Todd Grantham(DC/LB)
- Rodney Garner(DL)
- Scott Lakatos(DB)
- Outside Backers or Special Teams?
It seems to me that it would be difficult for Coach Grantham to coach the outside backers/defensive ends because of the vast differences in their responsibilities from the inside backers. I do like Grantham’s decision to coach LB’s because he said during practice he will get valuable time with the D-Line(Inside Drills) and the DB’s(Pass Skeleton). It just seems like he could spread thin during fundamental periods with inside and outside backer skill-sets being so different.
The most important issue regarding special teams is not if there is one man doing it all or not. It’s the special teams philosophy and time spent implementing said philosophy that really matters. It would still work with coaches sharing special teams responsibilities if the philosophies and personnel choices are more sound. That was where Georgia struggled most.
All I know is this, every time I hear Todd Grantham talk, I get all tingly inside. This is going to be fun to watch, no matter what.
Go Dawgs!
Why Grantham?
You may have questions about the process we have endured to finally name a DC at Georgia. You may even have questions about Todd Grantham himself. After all, his only stint as a Cleveland Browns DC was less than stellar in some people’s minds.
The only stat I need to see is the flowing:
Coaches who hired Todd Grantham
FrankBeamer/Bud Foster
Nick Saban
Romeo Crennel
Dom Capers
Wade Phillips
That’s a veritable who’s who of great defensive minds to have learned from and coach for. The fact that each of these men hired Todd Grantham, says it all to me. Congratulations to Coach Grantham and Coach Mark Richt!
Proceed with GATA! Go Dawgs!
Tell me what you really think!