WLOCP an opportunity for a new beginning

A Q&A with Joe Cox on the AJC’s website produced several good quotes, but most notable to me was the following:

…the bottom line is we want to win the game. I can’t worry about what it’ll mean after the season or anything like that. I’m just worried about doing what I can to help win this weekend because we need the win as a team. We know this game could change our season. This is our first step toward the rest of our season.

That last sentence really should put things into perspective. As bad as things have been for UGA thus far, they are still 4-3, and while the task ahead is daunting, saving this season is not beyond the realm of possibilities. If the Dawgs were to pull the upset against Florida, suddenly a 9-3 season doesn’t look so unattainable. And if Georgia were to finish 9-3 in the regular season, I think most would agree that it would be a huge success, given the first half struggle.

It starts with Florida though. A win over the #1 Gators would make Georgia’s season, from the fans standpoint, and it would likely give Richt’s squad all the momentum it would need to finish the season strong.

I hope the whole team is treating this as a whole new season opener, because that is really what it is. The bye week gives Georgia the opportunity to wipe the slate clean and treat the cocktail party as if it were a new beginning. And that is important, because the team that started the season in 2009 is not a team that can beat Florida. However, and this is a big however, the players that make up the team that started 2009 are capable of being a team that can beat Florida. The talent gap between UGA and UF is not that great. What UF has had going for it is experience and coaching. UGA’s collapse in the first half has been due partly to inexperience, partly to coaching, partly to failed execution… in short, a total systemic collapse. But that can be changed. The coaches have to work harder. The players have to work harder. They have to go back to the drawing board and start over. That’s hard to do when you’ve got 5 days to work with in between playing Oklahoma State, South Carolina, Arkansas, Arizona State, LSU, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. But with 2 weeks to prepare against a single team… the opportunity to correct the problems is there.

On paper, there isn’t a reason to think that UGA can beat Florida. But if match-ups were decided on paper, we wouldn’t see Oregon State or Washington beat Southern Cal, we wouldn’t see Utah beat Alabama… you get the picture. Georgia might go out this Saturday and get beat by 40 points. But they might just start a new season. And if they do, they will be back in the SEC East race.

Dawgs have a fighting chance in JAX

The new movie Where the Wild Things Are has created a lot of buzz, mostly because people like myself and most of you all remember the book that we read when we were kids. The book was only 10 sentences long, but it resounded with all of us, because we all know what it’s like to imagine an alternate reality when things are tough.

What in the hell does that have to do with the title of this? Well,  it’s been a tough year for Georgia fans, and although he sure isn’t one of ours, I think Mark Bradley may be wearing a wolf-suit and living in a dream-world of his own, as he has suggested that Georgia might actually have a shot at beating the Gators on Halloween. Well, it is Halloween, right? In Bradley’s make-believe-world:

Georgia has the mighty Gators where they want them.

I know, I know. It sounds like the dumbest line I’ve ever written, which would make it the dumbest line in the history of lines. But the Bulldogs will play in Jacksonville on Halloween with nobody expecting them to do anything but lose by six touchdowns, and that’s not a bad way to approach such an opponent.

Bradley’s article is full of what most folks would call blind optimism (which is just the kind I like) but he does make somewhat of a supporting case. If nothing else, the Dawgs seem to believe that they have a shot at winning this game. As AJ Green puts it: “We having nothing to lose. We know we have a chance. We’re going to go down there and play hard and play fast and play physical.” Well, when AJ Green is on your side, it isn’t impossible… I guess. But it’s going to take a LOT of heart. And our fearless borderline-mediocre leader understands that.

Passion. We need to get a couple of big plays as a spark and then keep it going.

It’s not like he’s hit on something brilliant though. Any red and black faithful could have told you that without being a fly on the locker room wall. But the question is: where was the spark in Knoxville?

You know what though, as I said before, it IS Halloween. So why shouldn’t we all put on wolf-suits of our own? Let’s all imagine a world in which Georgia isn’t 4-3, in which UF won’t be favored by three touchdowns, and in which we’re going to go down to Jacksonville and lay a world of hurt on St. Timothy. And who knows? Maybe the guys in red and black will dress up as a winning football team.

Max was a big Dawgs fan.

My Mumme Poll Ballot – week 7

My vote for the Mumme Poll this week:

1. Alabama
2. Texas
3. Florida
4. Cincinnati
5. Iowa
6. Miami
7. Southern Cal
8. LSU
9. Boise State
10. TCU
11. Penn State
12. Oregon

First off, I don’t see how you can argue that Alabama is NOT the #1 team in the country right now. I was shocked that Florida was #1 in the BCS standings, that is just a testament to how the coaches usually screw it up. I’m even more puzzled as to how the computers have Florida at #1.

Secondly, some might not like that I have Texas above Florida, but I actually had Texas #1 to begin with in my top 25 ballot over at secsportshub. Alabama has overtaken them on my ballot, but Florida has yet to impress at all. A 10 point win over Tennessee left me doubtful, and a near escape at home against Arkansas left me really doubtful. Texas squeaked by Oklahoma this week as well… but that was Oklahoma. Not Arkansas. Bottom line is: Florida doesn’t have a very good offense. I still like Texas better.

Cincinnati and Iowa get the 4 and 5 spots, I think they’ve earned it with wins against legit opponents. Boise State is only number 9 because I can’t make a good enough argument to leave them completely out of the top 25 right now. I’m just waiting on them to get exposed, which will happen.

Fox aims high

When UGA hired Mark Fox as the new basketball coach, I believed then that we may have gotten the perfect guy for the job. Fox just seemed so full of piss and vinegar and sounded not just committed, but confident that he was going to take UGA to the next level, that it was hard not to like the guy. Well that was all well and good, but we’ve really got to wait and see if he can deliver.

If he doesn’t deliver, it won’t be for lack of ambition on the recruiting trail though.

Say this for the Dogs: They’re certainly shooting high. Among their targets for the 2010 recruiting class — the early signing period begins Nov. 11 — is five-star prospect Jelan Kendrick of Marietta.

Kendrick, a 6-foot-5, 186-pound senior from Wheeler High, is rated the No. 2 small forward in the country by Scout.com. All Georgia will have to do to land Kendrick is beat out Kentucky, Memphis, Georgetown, Cincinnati, Oregon and Isaiah Thomas‘ Florida International squad.

The Bulldogs are also after 6-foot-9 center  Shawn Kemp Jr. of Canton and 6-9 center Cady Lalanne of Orlando. Kemp, son of the famous father of the same name, is a former Alabama signee (assistant coach Philip Pearson’s influence being seen here) who currently at Hargrave Military Academy prep school in Virginia. Lalanne is a Rivals.com 150 prospect who has offers from UMass, Ole Miss, South Carolina, South Florida, UCF, Virginia Commonwealth and Western Kentucky.

If Foxy can land either one of those guys, you can color me impressed. Even if he doesn’t, I still like that he’s not content to just recruit everyone else’s scraps.

Top-secret players meetings…

Word has it that a players-only meeting was called, and confirmed speakers were Kris Durham, Jeff Owens, Prince Miller and Justin Houston.

This is how I reckon it went down:

Lost somewhere in the bottom of a bottle

I don’t have anything for you this week. What am I going to say that you don’t already feel or haven’t read somewhere else? We suck. No getting around that right now. And here’s what’s worse: the worse is probably yet to come. If you think the beatdown at the hands of UT was bad, wait until Jacksonville.

Nightmare scenario: Tim Tebow rushes for a TD in the 2nd quarter, giving UF a 24-0 lead en route to a 63-7 rout, and simultaneously breaks Herschel Walker’s career rushing TD record. Take THAT, mutts. Walker, disgusted at what we’ve allowed the freaking Gators to do, will walk out on the field before halftime and slap Willie Martinez in the face, while Gary Danielson and Verne Lundquist make remarks about just how badly the Dawgs suck. Gary…..Danielson.

Do you see how badly this could go? I don’t mean to be Debbie Downer here, but my optimism has just about reached it’s amazing vertical limit. Forget about what Bowl game we’re going to end up in, right now we’ve got to worry about saving our honor, and even MAKING a bowl game. 3 months ago I never thought we’d be facing this dire a situation at midseason.

Am I bailing on these guys? Hell no. In the words of the great Corey Smith, “rain or shine, I’ll be yellin’ GO DAWGS at the 20 yard line!.” But unlike most seasons, I’ll be terrified of what the outcome might be. Here’s irony for ya: we may all find ourselves asking when basketball season starts.

Broken, beaten and scarred

It’s not just a Metallica tune, folks. It’s Monday and I’m still feeling the same way the most of you likely are. Just heartbroken. Sitting in the corner endzone where AJ Green caught that fabulous TD pass, I was at the forefront of one of the biggest eruptions in Sanford history. People were literally falling off of the bleachers with joy. I jumped into the arms of a stranger. We embraced. It was bedlam. “This may go down as one of the all-time classics,” I thought to myself.

Then came the 15 yard unsportsmanlike call on AJ Green (which the SEC later announced should not have been called), the kickoff from the 15, the Trindon Holliday return to the UGA 45… and suddenly I had a terrible feeling in my stomach. LSU had over a minute and a half to get about 15 yards for a long field goal try, which would give them the win. They would do one better; Charles Scott broke loose for a TD run that put LSU on top, 20-13 for the win, and 90,000 UGA fans that two minutes prior were overcome with joy, all fell deathly silent and found themselves shaken and in disbelief.

I have sat in the bleachers looking down on the Dawgs for many wins, and quite a few losses. But I’ve never experienced a gut-wrencher quite like that. After a first half which was extremely frustrating, not only because UGA couldn’t score, but because there were more TV timeouts than was decent and human, the 2nd half gave us an exciting game and what looked like would be a UGA victory over a top 5 opponent between the hedges for the first time since 1984. Instead, we all left Sanford stadium that day wondering what might have been if not for the excessive celebration penalty, and we woke up Sunday to polls in which we found ourselves no longer ranked.

A loss like that has to be a blow emotionally to the team as much as it is to the fans. And one thing we cannot afford right now is to go into Knoxville this coming Saturday playing without passion. As hard as it is to be optimistic right now, one has to remember that although our overall record right now is 3-2, we are 2-1 in conference play, and we are not out of the race for the East yet. If we want to win the East, we have to beat the Florida Gators. We knew that going into this season, and it hasn’t changed.

What we have to ask ourselves now is: can we right this ship and make the adjustments necessary to beat Florida? Well, let’s talk about the problems we’ve had, and if we learned anything about where we may be headed after Saturday.

1. Defense – Through 4 games, the defense (not unfairly) took a lot of heat. The pass defense looked atrocious, there was no pass rush being generated, and we were getting into shootouts with offensive powerhouses like South Carolina (note the sarcasm). If you took anything positive out of the loss to LSU on Saturday, it was that the defense played out of their minds. The defense gave up only two field goals in the first half, despite that the UGA offense managed nothing, zilch, zero points and hardly any clock time. They racked up 6 sacks on Jordan Jefferson, 2 coming from the emerging dominant DE Justin Houston. They forced LSU into a couple of crucial 3 and outs in the third quarter. They made one fatal mistake in the game; letting Charles Scott break through for the game-winning TD. But let’s be honest, special teams is what set that up, and even without the Charles Scott run, LSU likely kicks a field goal to win… and the offense could have put that game out of reach for LSU long before, if they had managed to score earlier.

2. Special teams – still killing us. Jon Fabris must have pictures of Mark Richt. That’s the only explanation I can think of for why that man still has a job. He makes stupid decisions in critical situations, and our kickoff coverage is abysmal. None of that has changed at any point during the season, and there is no reason to believe that it will get any better this year as long as Fabris is calling the shots.

3. Offense – The pass blocking has come along nicely, as has the passing game. Cox has been as billed, a competent game manager who won’t dazzle anyone, but will make the throws you need him to and get the ball to the game-changers (*cough, AJ Green, cough*). The running game has, at times, sucked. There are exceptions, such as a couple of big breakout runs that we’ve had, but we’re not seeing the great running game that we’re used to seeing from a UGA offense. That may have more to do with a lack of good running from the tailbacks than with poor run-blocking. At least, that’s what Mark Richt seems to think. I’m inclined to agree with him, because I saw an apparition wearing #24 on Saturday that looked like… well, a tailback. Washaun Ealey might not be the next Knowshon Moreno, but he damn sure looked more like him than either King or Samuel have thus far. Ealey brought a spark to the offense in the second half, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the new starter by Saturday. For that reason, I believe we may see more consistency from the offense in the future. If you can establish both your ground game and the pass, you’re going to be alright. The play-calling has also been garbage, but this too could be a result of the lack of a good ground game handcuffing the options from Bobo’s side.

The good news is, we haven’t been blown out by anybody. There hasn’t been any “disappearing acts” like we saw in 2007 against Tennessee, or in 2008 against Alabama and Florida. We may still be facing a blowout in Jacksonville, but thus far I have not seen the capacity in this team to quit. Hopefully that doesn’t change. We have games against the Vols and the ‘Dores left on our conference slate before we head to Jacksonville. We should be able to win both of those games. So our season will come down to the cocktail party. But hey, at least it ain’t over. Keep your fingers crossed for a 2007-like turnaround.

Dissenting opinion

I suppose I’m one of the few bloggers who was actually disappointed by the decision to extend the WLOCP’s contract with Jacksonville. I know, I know… “it’s tradition,” and furthermore, we can’t let the Gators run us out of there, can we?

Pardon my insensitivity, but who gives a flying **** if the Gator fans protest if we move it? If you’ve been a Dawg fan anytime in the past 20 years, you should have learned by now to not let what Gator fans say get to you.

Furthermore, I don’t get the “tradition” argument. It used to be tradition to run the single-wing. It used to be tradition to not use the forward pass. It used to be tradition to wear leather helmets. You get my drift. Just because something has been done a certain way for a long time, does not mean it cannot be changed for the better.

Those who agree with keeping it in Jacksonville are usually less concerned about it staying in Jacksonville as they are with still being able to get trashed at the landing. You can get trashed anywhere. I know, I used to do it in fields in the middle of nowhere with crowds of people and a bonfire. The experience is the same. Others like going to St. Simons or Jekyll Island on their trip. Great, I love those places too. You don’t need the GA-FL game as an excuse to visit. I’ve never heard one person say “I want it to stay in Jacksonville because the city is nice.” Mainly because it’s not. Which is why the majority of dawg fans do not stay in Jacksonville for the game.

Additionally, it is not debatable that, at least alternating locations, would make it more feasible for some Georgia fans to make the trip. Regardless of what your opinion of Jacksonville, you can’t argue that the cost of making the trip is a substantial amount for most people. I know, I know… it works out great for the fans in South Georgia who can’t make the trip to Athens. Well, the WLOCP is our biggest game of the year, every year, and there are a lot of folks up in North GA or SC, NC, VA, etc… who can never make the trip.

So far, I’ve only even talked about the fans. We haven’t even discussed the actual TEAM (aka the guys we go to watch). Many dawg fans selfishly argue to keep the game in Jacksonville so they can play golf at ponte vedra and get drunk at the landing, while our team travels hundreds of miles farther than the Gators do each year. Steve Spurrier himself said that the location gave the Gators an advantage because it was like a home game for them, why do Georgia fans argue that it isn’t? Let’s think about the team, and give them the benefit of being able to make a bus ride to the neutral site once every other year, and let the Gators experience having to make a plane ride (something that they rarely EVER do with the way they schedule).

The arguments for keeping it in Jacksonville are very thin. Ultimately, they all rest on “tradition,” or saving face and not running away from a fight. But who is caving, really? Those who want it to move for legitimate reasons? Or those who are worried about people would say if we moved it?

All of this is just hot air really, the deal is done and we will be staying in Jacksonville for the near future. I just hope that eventually we can get enough people to start thinking reasonably to where the next time this decision time rolls around, we might give alternating locations more serious consideration. Or even *gasp* a home and home.

Putting the defensive woes into perspective

One thing most Dawg fans have in common is a shared disdain for defensive coordinator Willie Martinez. And after last year, that disdain only grew, most notably after 3 embarrassing performances against Bama, UF and GT.

This year was supposed to be different. The defense was supposed to be healthy, with a chip on their shoulder and ready to quiet the critics. But 3 games into the season with a total of 102 points allowed, the critics have been significantly less than quiet.

So what is the deal? Why has our defense looked worse so far this year than it was last year?

Part of the answer has to include the teams we’ve played. Oklahoma State was 7th nationally in total offense in 2008, and they returned most of that offensive attack. But the general thinking is that UGA’s defense played reasonably well against the Cowboys. It’s the performance against South Carolina and Arkansas that has Dawg fans in an uproar.

Let’s take a closer look at each of our SEC opponents thus far.

South Carolina has not been a good offensive team under Spurrier, which has been surprising, given that the ol’ ball coach is generally regarded as an offensive mastermind. The Gamecocks ranked 87th nationally in total offense in 2008. In their season opener, the Gamecocks only managed 7 points against N.C. State, and those points came off of a turnover that occurred on the NC State 15 yard line. So it came as a shock a week later when the Gamecocks took the Dawgs to the wire, scoring 37 points, 427 total yards, 313 of them passing yards.

One really has to put this in perspective though. South Carolina scored 10 points off of turnovers in the first quarter alone; the first 7 off of an AJ Green fumble that was returned to the UGA 26 yard line. The other 3 points off of a fumbled kickoff return that SC recovered at the UGA 8 yard line. In the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters, the Georgia defense only allowed 6, 3 and 3 points to the Gamecocks. Meanwhile, the offense gave up 2 points on a botched snap that led to a safety in the 3rd, and an interception that was returned for 6 in the 4th. Excluding the points given up by the offense, that’s 12 points allowed by the defense after the first quarter, in which the Gamecocks only had one touchdown drive that they started on their own side of the 50. Now consider that the Gamecocks ran 83 offensive plays in the game. Take away the points that the offense was directly responsible for, as well as the 10 points off of turnovers in the first quarter, and UGA’s defense only gave up 19 points.

Now let’s take a look at the Arkansas game.

Like in the South Carolina game, in Arkansas’ first possession, the UGA defense forced them to punt. However the punt was fumbled and recovered by Arkansas at the UGA 34, which led to a TD for the Hogs. After Georgia answered with a TD of its own, special teams then allowed the kickoff to be returned by Arky to the UGA 48. Arkansas would score a TD. On the Hogs’ next two possessions, the UGA defense forced a fumble and forced them 3 and out. Then the UGA offense fumbled the ball again on their own 30 yard line, leading to another Arkansas TD. Georgia’s defense did not allow any points in the 2nd quarter, despite Cox throwing an interception at mid-field. In the 3rd quarter, they allowed 17 points that cannot be blamed on anyone other than the defense. But in the 4th quarter, they buckled down and only allowed a field goal.

In the first quarter of that game, Arkansas scored 21 points on drives that started in Georgia territory due to turnovers or poor special teams play. The Georgia D only allowed 20 points in the rest of the game. True, the secondary looked bad against the passing attack, but you cannot give the Hogs that kind of field position and manage to keep them from scoring. Because, unlike South Carolina, the Hogs can be an explosive offensive team. That is Petrino’s offense, and he has the perfect quarterback to run it. In his 2nd year at Louisville, Petrino’s offense ranked FIRST in the nation in total offense (note: he’s in his 2nd year at Arkansas now). His next two years they finished 3rd both times. Petrino never had a QB as good as Mallet while at Louisville, and he never had the talent he has at Arkansas now. This is why people said to watch out for the Hogs this year, and it was a very grounded warning.

Now, after three games most Georgia fans believe the defensive performance against OK State was an aberration. But closer examination will show that the defense was not that bad against South Carolina, or even Arkansas, considering the field position and offensive and special teams mistakes that Georgia made against both. Yes, Georgia ranks last in the conference in defense right now. But Georgia has also played MUCH stronger competition than anyone in the conference has to date.

So are the defensive problems really THAT bad? Or have turnovers and special teams mistakes, coupled with a dangerous offense in Fayetteville, made them look worse than they actually are?

Your thoughts?

secsportshub.com top 25 – week 3

SEC Sports Hub – Week 2 Top 25
Rank – Team	Record	Points	Previous
1. Florida (8)	3-0	293	1
2. Texas (3)	3-0	285	2
3. Alabama (1)	3-0	282	4
4. California	3-0	254	9
5. Penn State	3-0	243	5
6. Ole Miss	2-0	241	7
7. LSU	3-0	234	6
8. Boise State	2-0	203	10
9. Miami	2-0	192	19
10. Oklahoma	2-1	180	13
11. USC	2-1	165	3
12. Virginia Tech	2-1	160	15
13. Cincinnati	3-0	157	20
14. Ohio State	2-1	155	11
15. TCU	2-0	148	14
16. Oklahoma State	2-1	108	17
17. Georgia	2-1	97	22
18. Michigan	3-0	89	23
19. North Carolina	3-0	75	18
20. Florida State	2-1	73	NR
21. Houston	2-0	72	NR
22. Kansas	3-0	59	24
23. BYU	2-1	51	8
24. Missouri	3-0	29	25
25. Auburn	3-0	24	NR
Others Receiving Votes Georgia Tech 11, Washington 11, Nebraska 6, Kentucky 2, Utah 1

Fairly good ranking I think. Way better than the AP this week, that is for sure.