Dawg Blog

Merry Christmas, even though it's orange and blue

Posted on Dec 25, 2008 by Vance Leavy  | 

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Merry Christmas to everyone in the Bulldog Nation.

Unfortunately our team fell a little short of the expectations hurled onto them this season. Most of us had visions of heading to Miami in the next week to play for a National Championship. Instead Georgia fans will be forced to watch the Gators play for its second national championship in three years. Like it or not, you have to give Florida credit because they have built an athletic department that is winning championships in the big sports like basketball and football.

I am happy that Georgia athletic director, Damon Evans makes no bones about the fact that Florida has reached the elite program status and while he is happy with Georgia’s success, he wants our Bulldogs to experience the same sort of glory as the Gators.

Like with any business, success starts at the top and I’m hopeful that Evans’ commitment to reaching the Gators will carry down to our football team. Mark Richt has achieved a ton, but his 2-6 record against Florida doesn’t cut it. The bottom line is that a national title appearance will not happen until the Dogs can beat Florida with some regularity. Coach Richt has treated Florida as just another game, which is something I hope he will change in 2009. Florida’s dominance over the Dawgs must come to an end or Georgia’s loyal fanbase will be justified in losing their patience with Richt even though his accomplishments have been tremendous.

Well enough on that topic, I sincerely hope everyone has an awesome Christmas and New Year. The Bulldog Nation has a ton to be thankful for with its football team. I remember when I was in school at Georgia, when the football team never beat Florida or Tennessee in five years. Life was awful and all we wanted then was to play in a New Year’s Day game. 15 years later, that is looked at as a disappointment by some. We’re not to the top of the mountain yet, but the view is definitely much better than it was during the early 90s.

The 2009 season starts in Orlando. Will the program step up or step down?

Also, I’m curious to hear from people going to the game? Why are you going?

And for the folks not going, why aren’t you?

Go Dawgs!

Tagged: bulldog nation, georgia, damon evans, mark richt, florida, gators, coach richt

Joe Cox Rocks

Posted on Dec 24, 2008 by Andrew Miller  | 

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Looking back over the Richt coaching era, I still think one of the worst decisions made was the refusal to take the red-shirt off of Joe Cox for the 2005 Florida game. Prior to DJ Shockley going down against Arkansas the week before the annual cocktail party, I remember Richt putting Joe Cox on the travel roster to Knoxville and remarking that he wanted to have him on the sidelines so he could experience a rowdy/rambuncious atmosphere (paraphrasing here) in case we needed him later on. When the unfortunate injury to DJ Shockley happened, it didn’t take more than one quarter of seeing Joe T sling the football to know that he wasn’t the answer to beating the Gators in ‘05. Oh, and remember, we were undefeated going into the game. Leaving the shirt on Cox cost us a national title in ‘05, in my opinion.

I’m still a salty DAWG over that decision.

That said, if Stafford leaves, Cox will get his shot. He won multiple state championships in high school and never lost a game. He was 31-0. I’ll say it again. 31-0. His senior year he had a 66% completion percentage and over 4,000 yards with 66 touchdowns and a scant 5 interceptions. Not even Chris Leak threw for as many touchdowns in one season while starring at Independence High, and Chris Leak won a national chumpionship for the Gators.

We all know what Joe Cox did for us against Colorado in 2006. He is a proven winner and throws a catchable ball. Say what you want about Stafford; he may be the best talent we’ve ever seen in Athens and he certainly played behind a raggedy offensive line and had a horrendous defense and special teams to “compliment” him this year. And while Stafford’s skill set will land him in the NFL where every pro receiver should be able to handle his heat, unfortunately, every UGA receiver is not talented enough to catch a Stafford guided laser. In my opinion, Joe Cox might not have the type of arm strength that Stafford has, but he can make the throws that the average college receiver can catch, and he has the intangibles and the “it” quality to keep from losing. And that is just the same as winning.

In summary, while many children of the Dawg nation are going to wake up in the morning to their brand new # 7 jerseys, it will be the savvy child that asked Santa for the # 14.

Merry Christmas and Go Dawgs!

Tagged: joe cox, 14

All I want for Christmas is...

Posted on Dec 23, 2008 by Cheri Leavy  | 

2 Comments

Dear Santa, All I want for Christmas is a National Title for the Bulldogs! I know you can’t do it this year but I thought if I put the request in now, you might be able to make it work in 2009 or 2010. Naughty or nice? I have been mostly nice and even if a little naughty, it was just an extra glass of champagne when the Diamond Dawgs went to Omaha or when the Gym Dawgs and the tennis team won their National Titles. I just want that for Richt’s team too.

They deserve it too. They have been nice. They built homes for Habitat for Humanity. They mentored young children. They made kids with cancer have a special time at Camp Sunshine. MoMass played his heart out. Stafford led the team well. Knowshon was a star every time he had the ball. Most of them made their grades and studied hard.

They only had a few get in trouble downtown this summer. I know they got a lot of penalties and didn’t show discipline there but I bet Richt fixes that by next season. Martinez knows Santa is watching and he better get his defense playing great not just good and I think he will. I think special teams will come together and not be so hit or miss. I promise Santa, they are going to reflect on this season and be an elite team next year like Bama and the Gators.

And please know we aren’t ungrateful for a 9-3 season, we realize we could be Auburn or Tennessee, but we just want the stars to align and to win it all!

Whaddya got for us Santa? 2009? 2010? Please. Thank you Santa! Cheri

Tagged: georgia bulldogs, national champions, santa claus

Searels to Auburn is scary!

Posted on Dec 20, 2008 by Vance Leavy  | 

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Georgia fans better hope that Auburn isn’t laying out the red carpet for O-line coach, Stacy Searels. It’s hard to turn down your alma mater when they come calling. If Auburn has any sense, which is debatable at this point, they would offer Searels some sort of coordinator position. Call me crazy, but an assistant on this Auburn coaching staff could very well become head coach in two years, after things get really bad on the Plains. And a tough-nosed Auburn man may be necessary, and Searels would be an ideal choice.

My hopes are that the Georgia brass will spend this weekend sweetening the pot for Searels. What he has done with the youth on the Georgia line is phenomenal. Not to mention, his no non-sense personality is a must on the Richt coaching staff. In fact, I would be happy if Richt had a few more like him.

If Searels did go to Auburn, you can bet they would get back to what Auburn football is all about and that is running the ball. I do wonder if sometimes Searels gets frustrated with the Georgia offense that relies on throwing the football in critical short yardage situations. However he and Mike Bobo seem to be huge buddies. Perhaps if he stays at Georgia, Searels will demand our Dawgs run the football even more. Did you know Mark Richt has only loss 3 games where he had a back with over 100 yards? And has won over 30 games when a back reached the magic hundo number.

Keep your fingers crossed, Stacy Searels is one guy the bulldog nation doesn’t need lose!

Tagged: georgia, stacy searels, auburn, richt, bulldog nation

Injuries on the Line: Where's the Beef?

Posted on Dec 19, 2008 by Austin Keeble  | 

2 Comments

The loss of Trinton Sturdivant and Jeff Owens proved to be devastating to Georgia’s offensive and defensive lines. In addition, Vince Vance and a host other Big Dawgs couldn’t seem to stay healthy. Like last year, Coach Searels was faced with a pretty daunting task of blocking for first-round talents Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno. It’s pretty tough to lose your top two Left Tackles and compete. Despite all the adversity, a young O-line held opponents to 15 sacks, least in the SEC. How much of that is attributed to Stafford’s smarts and Moreno’s blocking ability? Who knows. Regardless, it’s pretty impressive for a bunch of underclassmen. Freshman Ben Jones, Justin Anderson, and Cordy Glenn garnered three of the five spots on the SEC coaches all-freshman team.

Is there a silver lining to all the injuries on the line? In my opinion: absolutely. Jeff Owens and Geno Atkins, along with their coach, Rodney Garner, have decided to stick around for another year. Another true frosh, DeAngelo Tyson, received valuable reps along with SEC all-freshman accolades and will join Kade Weston in backing up Owens and Atkins. The return of Sturdivant and Vance will bolster the contributions from the impressive trio of freshman on the O-line.

At the Capital One Bowl Press Conference at Stegeman Coliseum on Tuesday, a reporter asked Coach Richt about a comment collected from Coach Bobo. Apparently, Bobo projected the 2009 O-line to be “dominant”. In diplomatic Richt fashion, the head coach laughed it off and casually admitted that Bobo might be right [Press Conference audio available under Podcasts]. Hopefully, our O-line’s potential to be “dominant” will be enough to keep Coach Searels from entertaining calls from his alma mater, Auburn, as Gene Chizik attempts to assimilate his new staff.

Tagged: ben jones, justin anderson, cordy glenn, jeff owens, searels, geno atkins, auburn, richt