Dennis Dodd Tells Dawgs and Hogs what to Eat

BUI wonders if Dennis Dodd would be so calm had one of these calls cost Jim Tressel, Pete Carroll, or, heaven forbid, Urban Meyer a ball game. I have to think he would be leading the calls for accountability in that event. But, as he knows, that will never happen.

Just like the "ESPN.com mea culpa", what were we to expect from CBSSports.com? More towing of the company line.

All eyes will scrutinize officiating as nation overreacts - NCAA Football - CBSSports.com

Now it's up to the nation, not just SEC Nation. Let's everybody calm down. Take a deep breath and have some more pork chops (Arkansas), barbecue (Georgia) and Tums (Mike Slive).

Georgia, We Have a Problem

We are not going to sugar-coat it, Dawg Nation. Upon further review, things do not look so great. While BUI is given to hyperbole, my goal today is a sober, honest assessment of our beloved football team.

The offense was awesome. AJ Green is a man among boys, and there are plenty of play makers on the offensive side of the ball to keep defenses honest. Joe Cox, when given time, Is more than capable of distributing the football to those play makers. To use a baseball term, we can hit the three run homer with the best of them.

Drew Butler and Blair Walsh are about as good as it gets in college football. With the exception of that dad gum corner kick, the special teams were great. Coach Fabris reminds me of a mule that doesn't like carrots and can't feel pain. What are you gonna do?

The defense shut Arkansas down in the second and fourth quarter. (Warning: some of you may want to leave now)

@#$@&#!!! We looked like a gosh durn Hal Mumme coached Kentucky team out that Saturday night. Yes, there were a lot of points, but there were also a lot of penalties, turnovers and points from the other side. This may be exciting football, but it is not winning football, at least not consistent winning football.

There is a reason Mike Leach, June Jones, and Hal Mumme never win consistently. Offenses, especially offenses that depend on the home run, go into slumps. They all do. When that slump happens, you better be able to play defense.

Consistent winning football requires the ability to run the ball and stop the run. Sure the Arizona Cardinals can get hot and go on a win streak, but eventually, they will lose. Defense, good solid defense, never goes into a slump and always gives you a chance to win.

David Greene left Georgia as the all-time winning quarterback in NCAA history. Do you know why? Sure, he was a very accurate passer, has some weapons around him, and managed the game well. This, however wasn't the reason. Brian Van Gorder's defense was THE reason. You see, even David Greene had off days. All quarterback's do.

If I knew how to fix the defense I would tell you. I would tell you right after I sent my resume to Mark Richt. I just don't know. I know we are young, and very young at some critical positions. To say that there is “room for improvement” is not looking at the glass half-full, quite frankly, it is being a smart-ass.

Despite all my grumblings about our lack of a running game, or should I say lack of called running plays, I am a huge Mike Bobo fan. When Richt retires, I am in staunch support of Bobo for the job. With that said, he has got to help his cohort, Willie Martinez, out by controlling the ball in our upcoming games.

Sure, we fell behind in the past two games and had to open it up. Turnovers will do that to you. As well and Joe Cox and crew played, can we really expect that all year? Can we do it against Tennessee, or better yet LSU? Florida? Auburn? Georgia Tech?

This week's theme here at BUI will be “How do we get back to playing Georgia Football?” Step 1 is admitting we have a problem.

Bulldawgs Win Slugfest with Late Round Knock Out

Is this how they all are going to be? Lord, or should I say AJ, I hope not because I am not sure I can take it.

A win is a win, but this was no ordinary win. The Georgia Bulldogs got in a slug fest last night,  punching themselves out of a corner and, eventually, knocking-out the Arkansas Razorbacks.

I seriously doubt we went into this game with a "rope-a-dope" strategy, but in the end Arkansas may have punched themselves out. Ryan Mallett landed several devastating hey-makers, but the Dawgs kept getting up. Joe Cox and crew just kept punching, and punching, and punching, proving to be more than the Hogs could handle.

Georgia's chin, the turnover, kept exposing itself and Arkansas would repeatedly take advantage. The first round was all Arkansas. Mallett and co. would score three knockdowns on the Dawgs en route to a 21 - 10 lead on the scorecards. The second round was all Bulldog as the Hogs would take a little of their own medicine. After two, the Dawgs were on top 27 -21.

As if the first two rounds didn't have enough punches thrown, the third was a melee. No longer content to box, both teams are brawling now. Knock-out is the goal. Cuts are visible on both warriors. Women and children are having trouble watching. Blood is everywhere. After three, the scorecard reads Georgia 42, Arkansas 38.

There was no customary touching of the gloves at the start of this final round. Perhaps both sides knew the energy could not be spared. Georgia took control early in the final frame, delivering what would be the the most important knockdown on their first drive. Arkansas would never regain their footing, scoring only a minor blow in the final round, that was quickly matched by the Dawgs.

In the end, Georgia, the team that had fought three battles in as many weeks, was the better conditioned unit. They had taken all that Arkansas could deliver and kept giving back more.  This wasn't a traditional "smash-mouth" affair, but make no mistake about it, mouths were smashed. In the end, Georgia, and its rock solid chin, would win!

Expect Defense to Dominate

Yes, I expect the defense to dominate Saturday night. After watching the Carolina "tivo", I came away very optimistic.

Mallett is big, slow, and may even be dumb, but all I care about is the slow part. Last week Garcia didn't exactly carve Willie's boys up like the stats would seem to indicate. With the exception of the big tight end always being open on the 10 yard curl, and a couple of long routes that got behind us, the vast majority of Garcia's completions were after scrambles.

I do not have any stas on the COck's yards after reception, but rarely did the do any damage after catching the ball. Furthermore, ralrey did the catch the ball moving towards the goaline. Most receptions were made coming back to the scrambling quarterback.

We cannot expect to maintain coverage on receivers for more than 4 seconds. This week, we will not have to. Unless Mallett can stand in there and throw it with Dawgs draped all over him, a la Jared Lorenzon, we should be able to increase our sack total for the year exponentially.

Arkansas has a good corps of SEC talent receivers, but they will not have all day to get open. Mallett will have to get rid of the ball quickly, allowing the Dawgs to tighten up on the edges and provide the opportunity for some interceptions.

Georgia should also be able to blitz. Garcia routinely side stepped the blitz. Do not expect the same from Mallett. Expect Mallett to eat the ball or throw it up for grabs. I'll take either, because I do not see their receivers out battling our corners on jump balls.

Petrino has an excellent offensive mind. Certainly he will have a game plan to expose some of our weaknesses, but Willie has faired awfully well against stationary QBs in the past.  Throw in the talent level advantage Georgia's defense has and it adds  up to a great performance by the Junkyard Dawgs.

Not from J-School, But Great Journalism

I was reading this in Google reader while watching #MNF. I came to this paragraph and couldn't believe my eyes. Somehow I thought I was still reading the ABH. I knew it was too good to be true.

Bubba 'n Earl Sittin' on the 50: Arkansas Notes: Special Teams & Offense

Thank goodness for the return of defensive end Justin Houston. With Houston's knack to rush the passer and Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett's knack for being big, white and slow, the Dawgs could finally have some success getting to the quarterback. And hopefully Cornelius Washington will come along with Houston.

Run It and Stop The Run, A new Concept

Apparently, Bobby Petrino would fit right into the Georgia Blogosphere.

Razorbacks entertained by Georgia-South Carolina | Football | OnlineAthens.com

“It was a very exciting football game,” Petrino said. “They made a tremendous amount of improvement from their first game to the second game. They executed on offense and really showed off the power of their running game. South Carolina had a lot of success throwing the ball against Georgia, but no one has been able to run on them yet.”