Dawg Blog

Not where I wanted to be on this day!

Posted on Dec 5, 2008 by Vance Leavy  | 

3 Comments

Well here I am sitting in my den on St. Simons Island watching ESPN Gameday live from the SEC Championship. This is certainly not the place I wanted to be. In the perfect world, I would be in the lobby of the Omni in Atlanta having a bloody mary in preparation for the Dawgs trying to win the SEC later today.

By now if you’re a Bulldog fan, then you surely know that what you want isn’t what you always get. The 2008 season was full expectations that severely fell short. Since you’re like me sitting on your fanny watching real teams play today, how about telling me where you fall on the shortcomings of 2008.

Is it poor coaching and why?

Is it players not living up to their hype, which there by means some of the talent is not as good as we hoped and why?

Or is it a combination of both and why?

Here is a pretty good column by Loran Smith that touches on all of these factors:

http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/open_access/sports/local/Loran

My feeling is that you can’t get rid of any coaches this season due to the boatload of injuries this season. However coaches like Willie Martinez, Jon Fabris and recruiting guru, Rodney Garner should be put on notice going into 2009. And since Coach Richt is a huge team man, then he should put all his coaches on notice. Bottom line, this season’s shortcomings can’t be tolerated.

And on the players side, I think every position should be open. The play of our safeties this year was awful. Yet someone like Reshad Jones never was benched despite constantly taking himself out of plays with poor angles and over pursuit. Every big touchdown against Tech and Bama involved #9s poor decision when trying to make a tackle. A safety’s biggest responsibility is to not let the play behind him! We failed at this all season long!

Enjoy watching the Gators and Tide today and please don’t kid yourself into thinking the Dawgs were as good as they were in 2008. You have to play complete games of football throughout the season to get to Atlanta. This Georgia team never had 1 complete game!

Again, where do you see the biggest problems being????

Tagged: bulldog fans, loran smith, willie martinez, jon fabris, rodney garner, georgia, reshad jones

When and Where Will the Dawgs Get Win #10?

Posted on Dec 2, 2008 by Austin Keeble  | 

3 Comments

Before the loss to Tech, the Dawgs appeared to be a lock for the Capital One Bowl on New Year’s Day. The rules state that the bowl must take the team with the best record or a team within one win of the best record. Ole Miss [8-4] can now make a case for the more lucrative and prestigious Capital One Bowl. Considering the general disappointment of the Bulldawg Nation, officials at Florida Citrus Sports might pick the Rebs over the Dawgs. The team selected would likely play Michigan State. Just a few weeks ago, the Capital One Bowl was setting up to be quite a match-up; a 10-2 Georgia vs a big-name Big 10 opponent, such as Ohio State or Penn State. Now, the bowl committee might have to invite some disgruntled Dawgs or settle on second-tier SEC and Big Ten teams.

Personally, I’m concerned that Georgia fans won’t travel well to any bowl except the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. The Cotton Bowl is also considering the Dawgs and might pit us against Texas Tech. This would provide an interesting match-up in Stafford’s hometown, but I doubt many fans will book tickets after a long road schedule and subsequent loss to in-state nemesis, Tech. Unfortunately, the Dawgs fell in the rankings after their opening win against Georgia Southern and never looked back.

Where would you like to see the Dawgs get the 10th win?

Tagged: uga, bowl, capital one bowl, peach bowl, ole miss, michigan state

Same ole stuff!

Posted on Nov 29, 2008 by Vance Leavy  | 

1 Comment

The Bulldogs loss to Tech the same way they have been losing lately:

- unnecessary timeouts - defense that can’t make stops - hit or miss special teams

The regular season is over, which means the next season starts with bowl practice. What changes need to happen to in your opinion????

Tagged: bulldogs

Big Dawgs Have to Make a Big Decision-Participate in POLL

Posted on Nov 24, 2008 by Austin Keeble  | 

2 Comments

Athens, GA – The National Football League is a business. Quite frankly, College Football is a business, but for the players, it’s more like that unpaid internship you got to pad your resume. Unlike the NBA, the NFL requires its employees to hone their skills in college before making the big money. According to NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, players might have to wait a bit longer for the mega-contracts afforded to rookies in recent years. Goodell believes that rookies shouldn’t be able to make such insane amounts of guaranteed cash before playing a down in the NFL.

Enter Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno. Scout Inc. projects the quarterback and running back to go 3rd and 19th in the 2009 NFL draft, respectively. As a point of reference, last year Matt Ryan was taken 3rd overall to the tune of $72 million while Jeff Oath received $14.4 million as the 19th pick. The impending rookie salary cap would likely take effect in 2010, leaving the players a one-year window to garner lucrative contracts with massive amounts of guaranteed money. In other words, most players in their unique situations would enter the draft. Luckily, Stafford and Moreno aren’t “most players”.

Stafford and Moreno have both expressed blasé ignorance to the situation at hand, insisting that they haven’t put too much thought into it. Obviously, it has crossed Stafford’s mind, as he took out an injury insurance policy with Lloyd’s of London before spring practice. Knowshon, on the other hand, sites superstition for his lack of insurance. It’s safe to say Dawg fans have likely thought about it enough for the both of them.

Mark Olsen, a UGA senior and die-hard Dawg, has a bit of bad news for the Bulldawg Nation.

“They’re definitely going pro,” Olsen in reference to UGA’s current backfield. “They would be fools not to, considering how much money is involved.”

According to Olsen, the news isn’t all that bad for Georgia fans, as he predicts a stellar season from a very capable Joe Cox in 2009 and cites a couple of examples to supplement his argument. In 1998, Tennessee went undefeated with Tee Martin under center after following Peyton Manning’s exodus to “The League”. More recently, Matt Flynn led the LSU Tigers to a National Title despite losing JaMarcus Russell to the Oakland Raiders as the 1st pick in the draft.

There’s always a chance that Stafford and Moreno will feel they have something to prove at the collegiate level and stay in favor of unfinished business. Clearly, Georgia fans would love to see those guys in the backfield in 2009, but their decisions don’t necessarily make or break the 2009 season. Over the years, Mark Richt has built a program that transcends a couple players and somehow just keeps on winning. Just in case it’s their last, let’s savor the rest of the season with this dynamic duo. After all, they’re not “most players”.

Tagged: knowshon moreno, matthew stafford, going pro, national football league, georgia football

What kind of Dawg fan are you at this point?

Posted on Nov 16, 2008 by Vance Leavy  | 

3 Comments

Yes the Dawgs won at Auburn and yes the brand of football the team is playing ain’t pretty!

Only a handful of teams are 9-2 and the Dawgs are number 11 in the BCS in a nation with over 100 teams.

The defense continues to struggle and the penalties keep coming.

I’m keeping this blog short and sweet as today represents the first Sunday in two months where I don’t have to work well into the night to put out our next issue, so as the title asks, what kind of Dawg fan are you at this point?

A loyal one who is satisfied with this season? Or a bitter beer-faced one that is tired of seeing the same old mistakes over and over again.

My final observation is I sure wish our team would play a complete football game and earn all the dancing that they sure love to do. However I think celebrating like that should never be allowed on the road. Do what you like in the locker room, but on someone else’s turf a level of sportsmanship should always be observed!

Enjoy your Sunday and enjoy your week off. Try not to be Bitter Bulldawgs. I know it will be hard for many of you and you are certainly justified. I’m afraid 9-3 fits the crime (excessive penalties, constant over pursuit on defense and a coaching staff not willing to admit problems) which means the Bees end Georgia’s awesome streak against Tech comes to an end. Hope I’m wrong!

What kind of Dawg fan are you at this point?

Tagged: university of georgia, georgia, college football, southeastern conference, mark richt, georgia football, matthew stafford, rennie curran, athens, ga