I was Afraid, Now I am Just Plain Scared

I had a bad feeling with the Georgia Bulldogs going to Knoxville, and an even worse feeling with regard to how the Bulldog Nation would react.

Personally, I am not reacting well.  Despite my call for calm, frankly, I would not be disappointed if Mike Bobo and Willie Martinez were denied to entry to the bus for the ride home.

Just as I expected, both coordinators attempted to out scheme our opponent rather than simply letting our talent play. It was ugly, pure and simple. Willie's boys made Jonathan Crompton look like the second coming of Peyton Manning.  Mike Bobo was as erratic as ever in his play calling.  Special Teams and defense accounted for all of our ALL of our points! Let that sink in.

Jonathan Crompton would win the Heisman if he could face our defense every week. We were  pathetic in every aspecct of the game sans special teams. Mark Richt has made Paul Finebaum look like a genuis!

I am going to get drunk!

Bartender!

Whatever Happens in 48 Hours, How Will We Handle It?

48 Hours from now, the Georgia Bulldogs and Tennessee Volunteers will have finished their game. One team will will not be happy. Not just your average "we lost a game" kind of unhappy, but the kind of unhappy that has you questioning everything about your football program.

Tennessee is looking for something, anything to validate their decision to bring Lane Kiffin in as head coach. The Vols have shown consistent improvement in recent weeks and have top be optimistic about facing a Georgia squad searching for an identity. A win over Georgia would be the signature moment of the Kiffin era and provide a solid foundation for the future, both in terms of confidence and recruiting.

A close loss by Tennessee will be spun as further sign of improvement and be taken as another "moral victory" by the Kiffin regime and the Vol Nation. Lane will tell all the recruits they would have been the deciding factor in the game, blah blah blah. Only an outright ass whipping will be perceived as a lose by Tennessee, for they are playing for 2010.

Georgia is quite a different story. Only the aforementioned outright ass whipping will be perceived as a victory by the Bulldog faithful. We are in an almost un-winnable position as far as perceptions go.  Should Georgia prevail 24 -10 in a game where the Vols play keep away and dominate time of possession, fans will remain disgruntled. Close victories have proved to be no cure for the woes of the Bulldog Nation.

Should Georgia lose, Katie bar the door! Mr. "anonymous" will be out in full force, but this time it will be different. This time it will not stop with John Fabris, nor with Willie Martinez or Mike Bobo, this time it will go to the top.

We have all seen it. We have seen it compound from week to week. Now we are slowly seeing more dissatisfaction with the coach Mark Richt.  He is too loyal, he cares more about his coaches than his players, yada yada yada.

Certainly this space as produced more than its share of the criticism, but let me be clear, Coach Mark Richt is the right man for the job and he will get this fixed. Hopefully he gets it fixed this week. I don't know. But I know these losses bother him far more than they bother us. To act otherwise is simply, well, fanatical.

I have been a Georgia fan since long before I ever stepped foot on campus, for more than 30 years. The good Lord willing, I have another 30 plus years of bleeding red and black in me. No matter what happens the remainder of this season, there is no way I will stop believing Mark Richt is the man to lead us back to the promised land.

If memory serves, two years ago, in Tim Tebow's first year as a starter, the Gators posted a 7 and 5 record. Last year they won the mythical thinggy.

Richt has, and continues to, assemble the talent it takes to compete with anyone in the country. We have suffered more than our share of bad luck (injuries and flu) and far more than our share of poor officiating. Things simply haven't broken our way. Kick coverage aside, we are very close, very close to being where we want to be.

So hang in there, Bulldog Nation. Please try to keep a little perspective on Saturday's game and the rest of this season. No matter the outcome, it's still great to be a Georgia Bulldog!

Bartender!

Just who are These Vols and How do we Beat Them?

In preparation for the Georgia Bulldogs visit to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers we might as well go ahead and examine the Vols and give a knee-jerk prescription for a win. Surely they can be no more of a mystery than the Dawgs have been thus far.

I haven't seen every UT game so my point of reference is limited to their matchups with Florida and Auburn.  Comparing the Vol's performance in those games is eerily similar to comparing our Okie State or LSU game to Arkansas or South Carolina. If not for the uniform, you would have a hard time telling it was the same team.

Against Florida, Tennessee displayed little to no offense. Montario Hardesty was the offense. Jonathan Crompton, the Vols' QB, looked like a fish out of water. The defense did a pertty decent job, especially when you consider they were on the field for what must have been about 50 miutes of game time. It was obvious Lane Kiffin was not playing to win, but merely playing to keep it respectable.

Against Auburn, Tennessee's defense, despite on giving up two more points than against Florida, was nowhere near as impressive. It appeared to take DC Monte Kiffin a little longer to figure out Auburn's spread offense. This scares me for only one reason, it will probably encourage Mike Bobo to run more spread this Saturday, ugh.  Another reason for concern, Crompton appeared to remember how to throw the ball. He did not give up an interception against Auburn, the first time he has accomplished hat feat. Furthermore, Crompton got the Vols going running the hurry-up offense.

Despite Crompton's improvement against Auburn, I believe the key for Georgia will be shutting down Hardesty. He is a hard to tackle runner with great vision averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Despite Goergia's defensive stength being against the run, I still expect Kiffin to try and play ball control against us.

The Vol's defense presents a significant challenge. We are all aware of Monte Kiffin's reputation as one of the greatest defensive minds to ever wear a headset, at any level of football. We also know about Eric Curry and what he is capable of, but beyond that, I like our talent edge.

If Bobo tries to turn this into a coaching battle against Monte, as he did last week against John Chavis, we are in trouble. If we go all cute and gimmicky, as we did for three quarters last week, we are playing into thier hands. We have the talent edge and there is no reason we should not dictate to the Vols. Against LSU we were at our best offensively when the game plan was discarded and we played with desperation.

In my opinion, we have the offensive talent to just do our thing and win. If Bobo tries to come up with a totally new game plan, again, our young players will be too busy thinking to play at full speed. If we run our base offense, the plays everyone knows, and just let our talent take over we should be fine.

Defensively, the song remains the same. Stop the run and prevent the big play. Make Crompton complete seven passes to get them in the endzone. If we are shutting down Hardesty and preventing the deep play, Crompton will not be consistent or patient enough to beat us.

Of course, this all assumes we do not have any lapses on special teams or with unwarranted penalties. If those rear their ugly head again we may be in for another nail biter, this time away from home in front of 100k fans that are very hungry for a win.

In short, let's not try to out coach these guys, let's just go out play them!

Football needs Fulmer, Just not in the SEC

Never, never, evah, did I think i would have something positive to say about Phil Fulmer. I thoroughly despised the man. Not because he is/was a bad guy, all evidence appears to the contrary. Plain and simple, he dominated Georgia prior to Mark Richt showing up.

The streak may have been broken by Donnan, but the playing field did not level until Richt arrived. Even during the ongoing Richt years, Fulmer was able to pull off wins aginst Georgia when he really shouldn't have. Even in the "hobnail boot" game, he coached that sucker to the end.

He had our number. Georgia, perhaps the finest team in the land at that point of the 2007 season, was relegated to watching Fulmer and his hound dogs represent the East in the SEC championship game. We are all left to wonder what might have been if Fulmer had not stole another one from us.

We no longer have to worry about ol' Phil finding ways to beat us, and I hope it stays that way. Fulmer, however, does belong in the game he has given his life to, even if the only school he has ever known wants nothing to do with him.

Wouldn't it be crazy karma if Fulmer ended up coaching at say, Clemson or NC State, or even Memphis? He may not get to coach against UT, but, lest we forget, that man could recruit. If he does land somewhere, he will not be afraid of his alma mater. He would play anybody, anywhere and I have to admire a man like that. Just keep him out of the SEC.

Phillip Fulmer: Former Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer visits Miami Dolphins camp -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com (h/t john @mrsec.com)

Fulmer, who is in town as a guest of Dolphins football operations czar Bill Parcells, is out of coaching for the first time since he was a college offensive lineman after stepping down at Tennessee last fall. He has made stops at a couple of college campuses already to visit with their football coaching staffs, and he plans to see a few more NFL camps before heading home.

"I appreciate [Parcells] giving me the chance to come down and watch," said Fulmer, who led the Volunteers to the 1998 national championship. "Never have had that time. I'm taking the fall and just going around and studying and learning and staying up to speed."

Humpday Headlines

Last evening I gave you my best reason's to be optimistic about the Dawg's offense this year. Bernie, like Allstate, has some great insurance: Bernie's Dawg Blawg: We're in Good Hands

Cox has made it clear that he is most impressed with Moore's leadership and expects a big season from the fellow 5th year senior.

Today's must read comes from Hale: Bulldogs Blog: The Next Big Things

a list of my top five players I think are ready to make a big step forward in their careers.

This has me pretty excited. I think we are going to put a huge dent in the bandwidth glut: SEC announces digital package | Football | OnlineAthens.com

The SEC Digital Network will offer fans access to nearly 10,000 hours of SEC video, and some of the content will be available within minutes after a game ends.

And yet another story on why this years OkieState squad will be different, blah blah:
Cowboys expecting to contend in Big 12 | Football | OnlineAthens.com

Almost annually, Oklahoma State's defensive shortcomings have short-circuited a rise in the South.

Then there is this :Opening day can’t get here soon enough. « Get The Picture

Oklahoma State linebacker, has taken it upon himself to be a one man source of bulletin board material for Georgia’s opener.

It needed saying: Something is afoot at the Circle K « A Bulldog in Exile

Now, the interesting thing is that with the rest of his predictions about big wins, he specifically mentions what player or players will step up (or in the case of the Texas game, predicting that Colt McCoy throws four picks). The Georgia game, he just predicts a three touchdown win.

He's right: The Stuff of Legend: Can't tell the player without a program!

incoming freshmen have had numbers assigned

More about the blowhard from Birmingham: Comparing Urban Meyer to Bear Bryant? Crazy or Not? « Football on the Brain

Pat Dye was once touted as the next Bear Bryant

It's his playpen :Tennessee Football: Coming To A Roadside Near You. - Dawg Sports

"Ever played quarterback in the SEC? Wanna try? Call 1-800-Clausen today!!!!!!!"

West Opelika is pumped about this one: Chizik? Iowa State is so over that cold, distant backstabber - Dr. Saturday... - NCAA Football - Rivals.com

things are working out just fine in the wake of 5-19 Gene.

Richt Takes Kiffin Hunting to Show There are no Hard Feelings

Mark Richt, to show there are no hard feelings, invited Lane Kiffin to go Duck hunting last weekend. They decided to hunt a small estuary on the southern edge of the Cherokee National forest, right along the Georgia Tennessee state line.

As the chatted about football in the SEC and took turns grounding fowl, Kiffin explained to Richt that all of the craziness was just an act, an act to get publicity for Kiffin's program. Kiffin, caught up in defending his master plan, shot out of turn. The duck was felled but an argument ensued as to who had fired the deadly shot.

Kiffin pleaded his case passionately. Richt could have cared less, but played along, finally telling the young Kiffin "look, if it landed in Georgia, the bird is mine, if it landed in Tennessee, the bird is yours." The coaches agreed. As they walked over, it became apparent neither could be sure which state the duck landed in.

Rather than argue, Richt suggested they settle this they way SEC coaches did back in the old days. He explained that the old coaches would determine matters such as this by kicking each other in their privates as hard as possible. The last coach standing would win.

Lane bragged, "My father told me about such things, I really appreciate you bringing me into the fold."

Richt replied, "That's great, Junior. Let's get started. Now the oldest coach always has the honors."

Junior, beside himself with glee at being initiated into the inner circle of SEC coaches, eagerly stated, "Give it your best shot, old man."

As the Junior Kiffin assumed the position, Richt backed up about 5 paces, gathered himself and sprinted towards the young coach unleashing a kick, so hard and true, it would make Rex Robinson proud. Kiffin dropped to the soggy ground and rolled in pain. Between coughs he could be heard letting out whimpers resembling those of a beaten hound dog.

After about ten minutes of wallowing on the ground with bodily fluids dripping from his mouth, the young coach was able to gather himself and stand. "Oh, you got me good, Coach, yes sir, you got me good. Now it's my turn."

Laney prepared himself for his crack at the Dean of SEC coaches at which point Richt would say, "Welcome to the league, Junior, you can have the duck!" and Richt walked away.

Recruiting with Kiffin

If you wear orange does it stain you forever?

Hope you, or y’all if I am lucky, had a great celebration of our independence. Time to get back to the less important, but far more entertaining conversation of southern college football. Today we will blog with our booze soaked brain and check our passionate heart at the door.

The State of Georgia, and The Board of Regents, saw fit to compel me to take a singular class on psychology in 1987. The above mentioned also required my attendance in said class 3 times a week at some time just after 8:00am. It is time dear old Dad, and my alarm clock, got a little ROI on that $600 psych class. I will now apply my fancy book learning to foil the root cause, the pathology, which leads the same teams to the top of the Fulmer Cup on a regular basis.

For those of you without the benefit of a University of Georgia education, a primer on Social Disorganization (SDT) may be found here. For those of you that think a primer is something that you buy from Home Depot to aide in painting your walls, well you probably wear orange. Basically, a person’s actions are somewhat predetermined based upon the social and cultural experiences that precede their future actions. The longer the exposure, the more predetermined the action becomes.

What in the name of Charlie Trippi does this have to do with college football? Well, not much, unless you actually go to college football games, have co-workers that are fans of college football, live near fans of college football, or most importantly, work in law enforcement. I would have added NCAA compliance officers, but their particular strain of colorblindness doesn’t allow them to distinguish between the color orange and the color money.

If, in the course of your life, you encounter people that wear orange on a regular basis during football season please beware. They are known and/or wanted criminals, parolees, probationers, Huntley Johnson clients, or paranoid lawbreakers about to get caught. This is not prejudice, even if we should be, this is pathological science.

A decent, law-abiding citizen knows the only appropriate time for wearing orange is when with friends in the woods hunting wildlife. It is not meant to be stylish, but to serve as a deterrent to getting shot. This only applies to hunting with guns. It does not apply to police, even police with tasers.

Orange is the color our penal system has chosen to humiliate the criminal. It is the color worn behind bars. It is the color worn to pick up trash. Exposure to the color orange at a young age is exposure to criminality at a young age. Exposure to criminality at a young age influences criminal behavior later in life. Adolescents are particularly at risk.

Criminal types want to feel normal, this leads them to socialize and band together with other criminals. Some join together in jail, some in gangs, a particular nasty bunch joins together as football teams, football teams that wear orange. The lesser criminal, wearing orange, watches from a distance while cheering on the bigger, faster, stronger criminal.

This information is provided so that you may be informed about those you work with, socialize with and may even be inclined to procreate with. The Fulmer Cup is no mystery it is science. Aberrations may take place, but the color orange will always dominate criminality.

Be safe, and when entering orange country, always carry a taser.