I wish the story of my University of Georgia fanhood was more unique. I would love to be able to say that I am a Georgia fan because I was once saved from a raging river by a heroic white English bulldog. Subsequently, I pledged my undying allegiance to the school that used that magnificent animal as its mascot in a sign of gratitude. Or if that was not spectacular enough a story, I could perhaps say that I was found on my parent’s doorstep as an infant wrapped in red and black robes with a glowing Power G on my chest. Knowing I was sent here from an alien planet, my new parents then took it upon themselves to set me on a path to one day root with all otherworldly powers (given to me by Earth’s glowing yellow sun) for the University of Georgia. There could be any number of crazy circumstances that combined to launch me into a lifetime of barking, cheering, and tearing up at the opening notes of the Battle Hymn Solo.

However, none of those extraordinary tales would be true. Like so many others, I learned how to be a Georgia fan from Mom and Dad.

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This week, one of the biggest stories I have read out of the Senior Bowl has been the emergence of Jeff Owens and Geno Atkins. According to the AJC, both have practiced and played their way into higher draft slots, perhaps as high as the first round. Obviously, this is great news for them, but it is also somewhat astounding. We've long known that these two could be serious players. My question is this; why are these two nearly unblockable now, playing against some of the top linemen in the country, when they were anything but during last season? When comparing their performances from the past season to this past week, something seems to have changed.

I have heard a few different ideas as to why this happened the past day or two, ranging from a lack of motovation to the possibility that they are "workout warriors". I don't buy either of those reasons. I could never see someone who was credited as being such a great leader as Owens performing poorly because he was giving up on a subpar season. Also, as successful as both were in the Senior Bowl itself, they have clearly demonstrated that they can perform on the field. Not to beat a dead horse, but I think that their postseason performance speaks very poorly towards the defensive staff that had been coaching them, and their position coach in particular.

Anybody else have a thought? Am I way off base? Is this just another unanswered question from a lost season?

I don't know if everybody has heard, but Scott Pioli is leaving New England to take the GM position with Kansas City. Now, I realize that on the surface, this affects the Falcons in absolutely no way whatsoever. Up until a few minutes ago, my thinking went "Hey, him leaving will hurt the Patriots, which means that everybody else wins!" I was enjoying myself at the expense of the Pats until my dad dropped this one on me-"I hope the Patriots don't throw the bank at Dimitroff." My mood changed instantly. With his success this past season, he must look awfully attractive to the team that we got him from.

So please, talk me off the ledge. He wouldn't really bolt to go back to New England, would he? 

Yeah, this is how I'm going to cope. No dwelling on today here. The season was awesome, but we as Falcons fans finally have a team that we can look forward to competing for years to come. So, with that in mind, lets take a look at the draft.

Offense-We're pretty much set. A team can never have too many offensive linemen, and some of ours are getting up there in age, but other than that, I really don't see much need to spend a pick on that side of the ball. This should be a defensively loaded draft for the Falcons.

Defense-The biggest areas of need, if you ask me, are a disruptive, pass rushing defensive tackle in the mold of Rod Coleman and a linebacker to replace Keith F'ing Brooking (his new name forever, as far as I am concerned. I pin today's loss entirely on him. Ok, so I dwelt a little. Sue me.) Also of need, though perhaps slightly lesser, are a safety to groom as a replacement for Milloy and a bigger, more physical cornerback who can match up with a big wide receiver better than a guy like Houston or Grimes could. I'm not giving up on Anderson just yet. So an outside linebacker and an DT. Without knowing who would be available at pick twenty-whatever (it does feel awesome to have a pick that late, doesn't it?) I would prefer to work on the defensive line first. So who would  y'all have in mind at those positions? Think I'm off base on what needs help? C'mon. Lets chat. 

(Reader’s Note-What follows is being written with the rational part of my mind turned off. This post is not based on logic and clear headed thought, as I usually attempt to do. Rather, what you are about to read is powered by anger, fury, and pure grain, unfiltered, 200 proof hatred. As a result, things may get a bit profane. However, since this is a family blog, I am replacing all words I would not want my mother to hear me say with a word from a random word generator. Use your imagination.)

Around this time of year, there is a lot of talk about the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry. Much of it centers on how the relationship between Georgia and Auburn is one of grudging respect. We may not get along, but an observer won’t see the type of animosity that we Bulldogs reserve for Florida or that our opponents have for Alabama. People will point out how Auburn gave Georgia Vince and Erk, and we returned the favor in the person of men like Pat Dye and Will Muschamp. All this, you may hear, makes the annual Georgia/Auburn tilt a more respectful rivalry. To this line of thought, I have but one response.

Epicure that.

I hate Auburn. I hate them with the a burning passion that rivals the destructive power of a thousand suns all going supernova at the exact same time. I hate everything about Auburn. If there is something that relates to Auburn, I hate it. If I hear that a person describes their hair as being auburn colored, I will not speak to them until they admit it is actually reddish-brown. I hate tigers, I hate orange, and I hate people named Jordan or Hare.

I hate the town. For those of you lucky enough to have never set eyes on the Ugliest Little Cowtown On The Plains, let me paint you a picture-think of the setting of every post-apocalyptic movie you have ever seen. Now multiply the desolate dreariness they portray by about 8976. That is what the Auburn/Opelika area is like. There is a drugstore, a tree, and an Applebee’s. That’s about it. There is nothing to do. There is nothing to see. There is no history worth mentioning. It is fitting that they cover a tree with toilet paper after victories. This is because Auburn is the rectum of the south. (For those keeping score at home, Columbia, South Carolina is the armpit of the south and Gainesville is that region between the male excretory organs. Now back to our regularly scheduled rant, already in progress). Were a squadron of B-52s to get their orders crossed up and accidentally carpet bomb the Auburn/Opelika metroplex into a smoldering crater of oblivion, the world would be a much prettier and happier place. If you ever want to see why the term “flyover country” was coined, visit Auburn. Otherwise, there is really no reason to ever go there.

I hate their athletics. I detest them far too much to limit my fury to their football team. It’s true, I reserve a special brand of hate for those fallible doyens, but it doesn’t stop there. Oh, no. I hate their baseball team, their basketball team, and everything else from gymnastics to the sidereal swim team. I don’t know if they have an equestrian team, but if they do, I patina hate them too.  It’s not just on general principles either, and it certainly has nothing to do with jealousy or envy. I hate them because they cheat. We all know that they have been put on probation so many times for a variety of reasons that any school run by a person with half a parsimonious brain would be able to cover up, but that just scratches the surface. I have heard stories of underhanded and shady dealings concerning all sorts of non-revenue sports. If a school is willing to do half the things I have heard to land a good volleyball player, I must assume that each member of their football team could foot the bill for his own moon base by the time he reaches junior year. Cheating cypripediums.

I hate the school. If there is a dumber tradition than “War Eagle”, I am yet to find it. I don’t care about the story behind it. The noisome War Tiger Goat-antiquarians need to pick a mascot and settle on it. Bulldog fans don’t call the hogs, and you won’t find a stadium full of Penn State fans yelling “Gator Bait!” I know that the average Auburn fan might not be able to tell the difference between an eagle and a tiger, but ignorance is no excuse. The rest of us appreciate the easy way to make fun of you. Really, we do. But it is just embarrassing. While we are talking about the school, I can’t stand the women at Auburn. Sometimes, it can get hard to tell them apart from the livestock grazing in the seemingly endless fields that surround the campus. If somebody wants to go cow tipping in Auburn (which I imagine is the only way one can stay entertained in that doula-hole), they need only head for the nearest sorority house.

More importantly, I hate the idea that Auburn claims offer something in the way of “academics”. I use that term as loosely as possible. The fact that Auburn is a member of the SEC will only serve to make my degree from UGA look bad based solely on association. I just know that one day, there will be an Auburn grad working under me whose incompetence will make my life miserable. I have no doubt that their uxorious idiocy will ever cease to amaze me. And yet, this person will think that he is has the ability to process thought simply because he has a degree from Auburn that says something like “Animal Husbandry” on it, when in reality, that piece of parchment isn’t even fit for me to wipe my moiety with. I have a friend who attended Auburn on an athletic scholarship. When he told me where he was going, I asked him how he planned on getting a job afterwards. His response? “Job? I’m just going to use my eligibility up, then go to school somewhere that can give me an education.” I was sitting in front of a man at a professional sporting event a few weeks ago. I have sat in front of this man for years and know that he is an Auburn fan. In conversation, even he admitted that “the best thing to ever happen to Auburn football was UGA raising their admissions standards.” There are many, many more examples that prove that Auburn is the excoriating worst school on the variegated planet.

No matter how you look at it, Auburn is a blight on humanity. It is a stain on the conference, the region, and the nation. I will not go back there for any reason unless I am absolutely compelled to. I won’t even go to watch their sad-sack, sorry excuse for a football team get their unifiers handed to them by a superior team from a superior school that hails from a superior college town. Of course, that applies to pretty much every college that fields a ranunculaceous football team.

I hate Auburn.

Go Dawgs!! Beat the ever loving, mother cogitating chayote out of those Auburn lemniscates!

In this weeks Blogpoll thread, I tried to help out by averaging the rank of best wins, best losses, and strength of schedule of the top nine teams. Today I got really bored, so I decided to make a top 25 poll out of the same formula, with one minor tweak.

 I looked at every team with two losses or less, and stacked them up against each other. I used only the 40 two loss or better teams because, as bored as I was, I didn't want to do this for all the 1A schools, and a three loss team probably wouldn't have been ranked anyway. I used the following criteria-

Sagarin strength of schedule-the team with the hardest schedule gets 1 point, next gets 2, and so on, all the way to 40 points for the team in the pool with the weakest schedule. This had a weight of .3

Quality of wins-I looked at the three best wins for each team. I used my best judgement to determine which teams wins looked the most impressive. I then ranked them 1 to 40, 1 being the most impressive. This also had a .3 weight

Quality of losses-all the undefeated teams tied for first. From there, it was ranked in order of the one loss teams that lost to the highest ranked team, then the two loss teams. This also had a .3 weight

"Style Points"-This is the tweak I referred to. Since how a team performs on the field matters, I gave the last bit of weight to a measure which was the average of a team's national rank in yards per play, yards per play allowed, scoring offense, and scoring defense. I included this not only to use a better idea of how a team had been playing, but also to remove some of the bias that came from me ranking the quality of wins and losses. The team with the lowest average rank got 1 point, and so on. This had a .1 weight.

In the end, I added all the weighted scores together, and the team with the lowest score was ranked #1. The results were actually pretty interesting, and in some instances forced me to rethink the way I had previously been judging some teams

1. Texas
2. USC
3. Alabama
4. Penn State
5. Oklahoma
6. UGA
7. UF
8. Oklahoma state
9. Ohio state
10. Utah
11. Boise St
12. Mizzou
13. TCU
14. Texas Tech
15. UNC
16. LSU
17. Michigan St
18. UCONN
19. Minnesota
20. Cal
21. Pitt
22. Ball State
23. GT
24. Oregon
25. FSU  

The first thing I noticed was the lack of love for Texas Tech. They were really being treated the way you would expect a mid major to be. They did well in style points and in quality losses, but a lack of quality wins and a weak schedule really hampered them. That should shake out over the next few weeks, one way or the other.

I was also surprised (shocked, actually) by how high USC was ranked. The loss to Oregon State didn't register at all. This was due to the fact that they were ranked highest in style points, had wins over two ranked opponents, and (much to my surprise) had the hardest schedule of any team I looked at. This got me to thinking-even with a loss, has USC's body of work been more impressive than that of Penn State or Alabama? Outside of a pair of stellar first halfs against a swiftly sinking Clemson squad and UGA, Alabama hasn't necessarily been as impressive all around as USC. USC performed better against their common opponent with Penn State, and the Trojans also have a win over Oregon to hang their hats on. A very unexpected ranking, to be sure, but couldn't it maybe be justified?

Does anybody else have thoughts on the way this little exercise of mine turned out? I really think its interesting to look at, considering that this takes a much more objective perspective on things I ever have before. Also, I would like to point out that I am in NO WAY trying to steal the thunder from Kyle's blogpoll post. I just kind of got into the whole ranking thing I came up with, and decided to let it play out as far as it could.

This is a continuation of a subject that was started in another fanpost, but its something that probably needs to be discussed, dissected, and vented about. Without further ado, I give you one man's thoughts on the UGA pass defense.

The way I see it, most of our defense seems to be geared around the prevention of getting beat with a long pass. To do this, our coaches have decided to just play soft on the corners from the get go, decreasing the risk of getting beat deep. Unfortunately, this style of play opens up the ability to get dinked and dunked absolutely to death with short passes (examples such as Vandy 06 and, oh, I dont know, two weeks ago readily come to mind, though there are many, many others). Now, if there is enough of a pass rush, allowing for the QB to be hurried into making an inaccurate throw or hurrying the pass, getting the ball out than the receiver expects, this can work. It is very difficult to make a throw with a hand in your face or a defensive lineman on your back (just ask  Colt Brennan), and the mere disruption of timing on some plays can result in incompletions (this is especially true against a spread passing attack like UF). However, the Dawgs, for a variety of reasons, simply aren't capable of applying that kind of pressure. If there is no rush, however, something needs to be adjusted. The corners need to be tightened up into press coverage to compensate for the fact that the quarterback will have more time than we would like to give him. In such a situation, a team cannot leave intermediate passing routes open by continuing to play soft. Otherwise, you end up with results that do nothing more than rev the engine of the Fire Willie Martinez Bandwagon. Other than the whole losing games aspect, I have several problems with this approach.

1) It plays into the hands of pretty much any opponent.

If you have a semi-capable quarterback under center, he should be able to make the throw on a 8 yard out or a ten yard curl. If you are playing tight on the line, a corner has the ability to get a hand on the ball, disrupt the pattern (possibly buying more time for the defensive line to get in the QB's face), or even jump the route if the QB doesnt have the arm to zip a pass right in. In the SEC, you will more often than not see quarterbacks who are willing and able to devour such a defense. Playing such a defense gives any team a blueprint for moving the ball successfully on us. It doesn't matter if we are playing a run first offense, such an adjustment can, and should, be made (Alabama, again). Additionally, by playing off the line 8-10 yards and then backing off even further on the snap, you are essentially taking your cornerbacks out of the play. This relates to my second problem...

2) It takes one of our best defenders out of the game.

Asher Allen can cover like a mad fiend. He doesn't need to have a large cushion to avoid getting beat. He is talented enough to break up a short route or to stay with his man going deep. To a corner back of his talents so far off the line of scrimmage is not making the best use of our personnel. If we ran a defense that had Ellerbe and Curran start 15 yards off the line, there would be outrage. They would be entirely out of position from the outset against the run. Essentially, our defense is hindering Allen in such a way.

3) I would rather get beat by the deep ball than by short passes.

If a defense gets beat on a deep ball, it can be chalked up to many different things. A coverage was blown, a mismatch was created by motion, a perfect pass was thrown, something of that sort. Generally, it is a problem that is specific to that one play only. However, if a defense repeatedly allows short passes, thus enabling the defense to drive down the field, it is a symptom of a problem with the scheme as a whole. Repeatedly allowing similar plays to beat you means that you have a weakness and it is being exposed. It is not a problem specific to a single play, it is a problem specific to the defense that is being run. Trying to stop a low percentage, highly difficult deep ball while continually giving up a high percentage, low difficulty short pass is simply not logical. Additionally, relatively shorter, yet still effective passes keep our defense out on the field. It swings time of possession in our opponent's favor, something a team with as many injuries as the Dawgs have can't afford.

This is something that should have been fixed a long time ago. There were times in the past, with a vicious pass rush, that the Dawgs could afford to play it safe in the secondary. However, teams change. Between injuries and the loss of a key pass rusher to graduation, the Dawgs have been forced to adapt. This is a weakness that was blown open for all the world to see last week. Down 31-0 is not the time to keep playing it soft. Something has been shown to be wrong on the defensive side of the ball. It is something that needs to change.

Thoughts? Comments? Any other ideas on why the Dawgs continue to play such a defense? Anybody think no changes need to be made?

After last weekend, we all know that the two places where the Dawgs can be most taken advantage of are along the offensive and defensive lines. The matchup with Alabama was one of the most unfavorable of the season, but there are things that need to be improved in order for the team to be able to handle a team like LSU or (possibly) Alabama again. Here is how I think the team can improve in both of those areas.

Offensive line

First off, I think we need to keep the lineup the same on the offensive line. This is for the sake of both consistency and out of necessity, as Kiante Tripp is now a tight end. Ending the offensive line shuffle will allow the players to settle into their positions and get adjusted to working with the same unit. The place where I feel the line can be improved the most, though, is by utilizing Tripp at his new position. This season, the tight end has been less of a passing threat for UGA. At the same time, the offensive line has struggled in pass protection and opening holes. If the Dawgs need keep the tight end in to block, Tripp should be the most effective option. Tight end has been decimated. Chandler is out, Figgins is out, White is undersized, and the coaches would prefer to redshirt Ros. Even the starting tight end on the scout team, who would be up to third string at this point, is injured. In order to get the most out of a position that has become perilously thin, Kiante Tripp should see a lot of reps in order to help out Bean Anderson on the right side, plow the road for the backs, and maybe even catching some nice, easy passes in the flat off a Stafford bootleg. Having Tripp out front as an additional blocker on a toss sweep (a play which I feel is the Dawgs' bread and butter, and one which most of the offense could be built around-another post, perhaps), for example, would make an already effective play potential lethal. Also aiding the line will be the return of Brannan Southerland. We all know how valuable he is as both a blocker and a receiving threat out of the backfield. His return will help shore up the run game between the tackles. Additionally, his added reliability as a receiver adds another threat, helping to make up for a lack of experience at tight end.

Defensive line

This is where it gets tricky. I am going to go off the reservation a bit with this one. Obviously, not having Jeff Owens to provide that big push up the middle can't be replaced just by moving people around. If we are going to get a push there, it simply comes down to Atkins, Weston, and company blowing up the line. It is for that reason that I am going to focus on getting pressure around the edges. Last year, UGA basically had a linebacker wreaking havoc on the end in the form of Marcus Howard. I know that Marcus Howard ain't walking through that door, but there is no reason why the coaches can't try to recreate the effect he had. As we face more teams that run the spread (UF, I'm looking at you), the SAM linebacker position will see fewer and fewer plays. With that in mind, why not take the 3-3-5 formation with a linebacker up at the line one step further? The team could move an potentially underutilized SAM linebacker, like Darryl Gamble or Darius Dewberry, to defensive end on passing downs. We have seen something like this work before; in the UGA/UF game last year, there were downs where UGA essentially ran a 2-4-5, with Jeff Owens clogging the middle, Rod Battle holding down one end, and Howard using his speed to bring all sorts of fury down on the GPOOE. Add in some linebackers blitzing from all angles, and we witnessed a pretty darn effective defense. The best way to beat a speed based team would be to match their speed. An attack like this could apply to more than just a spread team. The added speed around the edge could get to the quarterback on its own, and the additional space and effort needed to block a smaller, quicker player around could open up holes to blitz through.

Whew. So thats what I would do if I were pulling the strings. What do y'all think? Am I way off base here? What crazy stuff would you pull to try and shore up the lines?

I wrote this in the game recap thread, but since this issue seems to have really picked up steam among both blogs and traditional media outlets, I figured it was worth the fanpost.

I actually did some digging and got some answers concerning the kickoffs. They aren’t necessarily satisfactory answers, but they at least give us a little insight into what is going on.

For the GSU game, Walsh’s goal was kick the ball on a higher arc than normal and land it at about the ten yard mark on the right side of the field. This is done to give our coverage team more time to get downfield and make a tackle quickly. In theory, our guys getting having more time to get downfield can put the clamps on a potential big return. A couple of Walsh’s kicks were in the general area, but some fell well short. For the CMU game, the plan was expanded to try and hit the 10 yard line on the left sideline, as a right footed kicker can aim left better than he can aim right. However, as mentioned above, the coaches turned off the “No Touchbacks” sign three times on Saturday. One went to the endzone, one was hooked out of bounds, and one made it to about the five.

All of this does add up to something I have heard about Walsh thusfar-he has all the leg in the world, but he isn’t consistent enough yet. When kicking for the endzone, he is just as likely to split the uprights as he is to hook one into the student section. This inconsistency might also have something to do with the pooch kickoffs plan. As a result of this, Coach Richt is considering having walk on Jamie Lindley handle kickoffs on Saturday, trotting Walsh out only for extra points and field goals. If this is the case, I have to wonder why Lindley wasn’t given any kickoffs the past two weeks. While kicking short doesn’t thrill me at all, having a freshman take his first kickoff on the road in an SEC game doesn’t excite me either.

http://georgiadogs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=8800&ATCLID=1571355

Looks like a damn good dog to me!

ATHENS, Ga. --- The seventh in the Uga line of Georgia mascots will be introduced to the Georgia people on Saturday, Aug. 30, during pre-game ceremonies of the Bulldogs’ season opener against Georgia Southern.

“Loran’s Best” will officially become “Uga VII,” when he is introduced for the first time to the Sanford Stadium crowd prior to the 12:34 p.m. kickoff.  He will be escorted onto the field by members of the Frank W. “Sonny” Seiler family of Savannah who have owned the continuous line of mascots since Uga I took up the mantle in 1956.

Uga VII’s coronation will become official when UGA President Dr. Michael F. Adams slips the new red leather spike collar over his head during the ceremony at midfield.  He succeeds his father, Uga VI, who passed away in June of this year. Uga VII will be escorted onto the field by Charles Seiler and two Seiler grandchildren: Margaret Story and Sara Thompson.

At 56 and one half pounds, he’ll be second only to Uga VI as the biggest mascot in the line.  Seiler said he “has an excellent coat and bears a striking resemblance to his father.”

“He’s a great pet, already answers to his name, loves to travel and ride in the car,” said Seiler.  “He sleeps in his kennel in the den and is fed Hill’s prescription maintenance dog food at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily.  Uga VII already loves to sit on the dock by the river and is ready for his first boat ride.”

“Loran’s Best” was originally named for long-time Georgia Athletic Association personality Loran Smith.  Seiler said Uga VII has an entire new wardrobe made with the same material as the team jerseys.  

Participating in the pre-game ceremony will be UGA Director of Athletics Damon Evans and the Georgia Redcoat Band.  University Alumni Association president Trey Paris will also present a proclamation to the Seiler family honoring Uga VI and welcoming Uga VII.

Other Seiler family members on the field will be Frank W. “Sonny” and  Cecelia Seiler, Swann Seiler, Wendy (Mrs. Charles) Seiler, Shannon and Bess Thompson and their children Tennyson and Seiler Thompson, Todd and Sara Story and their children Anna and William Story.

A video tribute to Uga VI will be shown on the stadium scoreboard prior to the official introduction of Uga VII.

Well, as I'm sure everybody has heard, UGA is the preseason #1. I was wondering what everybody's thoughts on this were. Personally, I hate preseason polls and would do away with them if I could. However, they exist, and they must be dealt with. So here we go.

This is the first time in my 22 years that the Dawgs have been ranked #1 at any time. I always figured that this happening would be accompanied me jumping through the roof of whatever building I was in due to a combination of pride, excitement and oMG WE'RE #1!!!!!!1!!!eleven!!! type thoughts. Instead, I'm feeling a bit worried and, to be honest, upset. I didn't want to start at the top. I wanted for the coaches to play the "no respect" card. I wanted for the team to have something to build toward. It's much easier to prove people wrong than to defend the top and prove them right. This, however, is all mental. Hopefully, after the way last season ended, the team can overcome any mental blocks.

From a practical standpoint, however, its awesome. Our schedule already gave us more room for error than pretty much any other team. Starting the year at the top gives us that much more. Should it come down to several one loss teams, or even a two loss team, working for position at the end of the season, we will be at the top of the pile. All trepidation aside, this is an enormous advantage.

Besides, I can only imagine that very few things will compare to the rush I will get on a clear afternoon not too far off where these words will echo through Athens...

"And now...if you're blood runs Red and Black...get on your feet...and lets make some Sanford Stadium noise...for your NUMBER ONE RANKED GEORGIA BULLDOGS!!!"

Hundreds of parking tickets. Hamburger meat. Weight belts. A "Red Dawn" shout out. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our new left tackle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgefGxYwMSI&feature=related

I may have to go buy his jersey on the basis of this video alone. This is just awe inspiring. Much thanks to EDSBS for linking to this beauty. At the very least, the team seems to have landed a good guy with Baker.