SBNation.com User Blog: fotodog

Which players address the media

fotodog — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 11:15:46 -0000

I'm sure Richt knows what he is doing, but honestly, if I was him, I would be restricting who talks to the media right now. It's a slow season, so every writer out there is trying to come up with something to write and something that will generate hits on their sites and blogs. In the past week "we have learned" that Boo Malcome isn't happy, Malcolm Mitchell is caught in a tug of war but still wants to play receiver and now JHC is "lost". Not to mention the endless stories of "will-he-or-won't-he go?" IMO, all these do is serve as a distraction for the team and create troll bait for the AJC and the likes.

If it was me, the only people you would hear from right now are coaches, outgoing seniors like TK or Robinson or underclassmen that were productive and set like Jordan Jenkins and Gurley.

Until we beat Nebraska, who's leaving, who's playing where next year and who's not playing as much can wait.

If it was me, the only people you would hear from right now are coaches, outgoing seniors like TK or Robinson or underclassmen that were productive and set like Jordan Jenkins and Gurley.

Until we beat Nebraska, who's leaving, who's playing where next year and who's not playing as much can wait.

Another message from Shawn Williams

fotodog — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 10:54:53 -0000

Players and Dawg fans,

I recently got this email from safety Shawn Williams. He wanted me to pass it along. He opted to use a middleman instead of speaking directly to the media so as to prevent another firestorm in the media.

"So you think one game means you're not soft?! Come on, it was Florida's offense. They are ranked 102nd in the nation in total offense. In most conferences they would be in the cellar, but thankfully they've got teams like the train wreck on the Plains to keep them from scraping the bottom.

I'm mean sure we kept them out of the endzone, but it's not like they're scoring a lot anyway... Heck! Troy has scored more point than them Gators!

You know what a soft team would do? Read the papers and watch idiots like that Aschoff guy from ESPN talk about how we are back and we have this great defense and then not show up to play Ole Miss. It's not like we haven't done that before.

So I'm just hopin' that we gonna play hard for the rest of the season, not just one little game. I'm hopin' we come out on fire and put a hurt on the bears or old confederate guys or squid-men or whatever Mississippi is calling themselves these days. I'm hopin' we show against a team that actually has a pulse on offense.

Cuz I saw a few missed tackles. I saw some broken containment by seniors. Saban don't have time for that sh__! and neither do I.

I'm not gonna name any of my teammates this time, but unless you name is Jarvis "Mutha Freakin' Beast" Jones, you're on notice! Don't get soft! A'ight!

Sincerely,

#36"

Vote for Jarvis

fotodog — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 06:56:37 -0000

Vote for Jarvis

You can go here to vote for Jarvis for the Capital One Impact Player of the Week.

Thoughts on the Tennessee game and the status of the Dogs in general

fotodog — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 00:55:46 -0000

After finally watching the game and reading about the game in various places, certain ideas or themes came to the forefront. Most of these are not my own, but certainly express exactly what I have seen as well. Let's start with the biggest problem:

1. Special Teams

I am very glad to hear that the Malcome Mitchell experiment at punt returns is over. There was just too much risk for the reward and his decision making cost us and could have cost us more if he retained the position. Hopefully, McGowan is the answer. While I would love to have a homerun threat returning punts, I prefer to hold onto the ball and not let brain farts cause us to start inside the 10 yard line.

Related to Mitchell, I know the coaches were put in a bad spot because of the offseason actions of other players, but I think the staff hasn't really handled Mitchell well. He certainly isn't back up to speed on offense. He is still learning at defense and adding special teams to his already full plate was IMO a mistake. We went from having a budding start WR to having a guy that isn't really finding his place on offense or defense.

The PAT crap needs to get fixed immediately! I think some of it is on Morgan and there have been a few off snaps. Both issues have to get fixed before they cost us a game. I'm pretty sure that all Frix or N. Theus do is long snap, so I can't see why that should be a problem. If Morgan can't hit PATs then let the walkon do it and keep Morgan on field goals and some kickoffs. How hard is it to make that call?

I think the staff has been (overly) patient with some of the issues and the time to have it fixed is now. We can't afford to give South Carolina or Florida extra advantages.

2. Defense

I know we've been shuffling people because of suspension and there is probably some rust, but honestly it looks like we have regressed.

Tennessee, specifically R. Neal, gashed us more than a few times. I've read that Tenn's OL is very good and that may be true, but if this is the best we can do against good OLs, it isn't good enough. We're supposed to have an excellent DL with all seniors.

The defense is very hit & miss like they had been in previous seasons. They will make an excellent play- everyone flying to the ball and then they will let a RB or WR get free for a sizable game.

And as much as we try to give the game to the Vols, remember Patterson had a horrible drop that could have been an easy TD and Bray missed Hunter on convertible passes that would have also been good gainers. We dodged quite a number of bullets.

People at this site have somewhat excused the defense saying the offense or special teams put them in a bad spot. That is true. However, I have some trouble with the math there. Just because you give up the ball deep in your territory it shouldn't equate to 7 points. You can stop them cold or surrender a FG, but keep them out of the endzone. On the swing pass to Neal we had a busted coverage and that is on the defense, not Marshall for the fumble or Theus for the missed assignment.

Finally, while it pains me to agree with Spurrier, I think he has a point here:

"They're scoring so fast," Spurrier said. "You score fast, your defense has to play a lot more than we do. usually it takes us awhile to get it down the field and score. So our defense is hopefully only out there 58-62 plays, something like that. I think Georgia's been scoring so fast and there's been so many turnovers made in their games that their defense is playing a lot more plays than a lot of others. But no, they can make plays all over the place. Shoot, even last year, now we didn't move the ball very well at all."

I do think our explosive offense it hurting our defense at times, but putting them back on the field without much rest or time to go over adjustments. However, we should have some decent depth at some positions which should overcome some of this. Also, in the 4th quarter it wasn't our explosive offense that killed us, but our totally ineffective offense.

3. Offense

I read Aschoff's gushing articles about our unstoppable offense and while the numbers and production have been amazing, aside from the first drive and the big plays, there were times when we couldn't get it done at all.

I haven't checked his numbers, but if correct, this is kinda scary:

I was worried about the long plays sandwiching extremely pedestrian runs. We saw that in spades Saturday. Yes, Marshall and Gurley combined for nearly 295 yards, but as I worried about, taking out the three long runs, we only averaged 2.85 yards per carry on the other 36 runs. We can attribute some of that to the extremely conservative play calling at points in the game. Some is attributable to Tennessee selling out to stop the run at times. Either way, we blocked sufficiently well enough to get our guys free on those runs. We should be able, either through scheme or effort, to average more ypc taking out the long runs.

I'm not going to fault Murray that much as: a) the INT was tipped (although it looked like the DB had a good jump on the ball anyway); b) he never should have been hit like that on the fumble and it was very close to not being a fumble- down before release.

The good stuff:

Gurshall is an amazing 1-2 punch.

Bennett is a DGD in an assortment of weapons we have on offense.

The OL is getting better, but will need to keep improving especially against SC and Florida.

When the O is on, it is unstoppable.

If Hunter plays well the rest of the season and stays healthy, I don't think we will see him next year. Could be the same for Patterson.

The TEs had some very nice plays and key catches.

Looking ahead:

I really hope we get the special teams sorted out this week and I hope that Grantham can move the defense from inconsistency or mediocrity to a strong defense because we will need it to win the East. Bobo needs to keep his edge and keeping dialing up the numerous weapons that we have.

After reading this, I feel like I came off quite negative. Honestly, I am closer to a Disney Dog. I am glad to be 5-0. I am glad Paul Johnson isn't our coach. I am pumped to see the playmakers on this team. I guess it's just that I feel this team is special and can do some awesome things and I just don't want to see them slip up and screw themselves like 2007. Keep moving forward.

Read more here: http://www.macon.com/2012/09/30/2196268/spurrier-this-is-a-huge-game-we.html#storylink=cpy

Asher Allen retires

fotodog — Thu, 31 May 2012 03:01:25 -0000

Asher Allen retires

Spotted this article about a former Bulldog. He hasn't said why he is retiring, but the article speculates it's because of concussions.

"You spread people out, try to get the defense out of position, look for a mismatch and then try to...

fotodog — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:17:22 -0000

"You spread people out, try to get the defense out of position, look for a mismatch and then try to hit a crease," said St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher, who coached Chris Johnson in Tennessee when Johnson ran for 2,006 yards in 2009.

"We don't line up and run out of I-formation that much anymore" Fisher said. "The days when you lined up with the running back deep in the backfield and let him watch the blocking develop, that's done. Maybe once in a while or after you've been lucky enough to build up a lead and you're grinding it out in the second half. But that's situational stuff, not your base offense."

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--rb-trent-richardson-exception-to-rule-as-positional-value-keeps-sliding-.html

Open letter to Damian Swann

fotodog — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 01:35:56 -0000

Dear Mr. Swann,

As a fan of the Bulldog Nation, it is my duty to inform you that we have collectedly decided you routine for the next 6 months.

Dear Mr. Swann,

As a fan of the Bulldog Nation, it is my duty to inform you that we have collectedly decided you routine for the next 6 months.

Due to the idiotic and immature actions of your teammates, we had to take drastic measure to ensure that there will be someone playing CB in the first few games of the 2013 season. Therefore, you daily routine will consists of 3 core tasks: studying, practicing and working out. There will be no late night activities with your boys. There will be no fun road trips to the beach and such. There will be no incidents with hash browns. And all women in your life must be approved by CMR and there must be room to slide a Ryrie study Bible in between you and any such women. Finally and most importantly, if you see any alcohol or illegal drugs, you are require to leave said premises immediately. We know you are underage. Certainly, Chief Joseph Lumpkin Sr. ACC-PD knows you are underage and so there is no reason whatsoever for you to be around alcohol.

Please think about the team and the commitment you made to the University of Georgia. Please consider the thousands of crazed fans that live vicariously through you and the Bulldogs.

Failure to comply will result in placing you in a bubble tethered in the weight room where you will be supervised 24/7 by Coach T.

Regards,

the Dawgnation

Clemson in '13 & '14

fotodog — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 03:53:47 -0000

There are rumors that because of new conference alignment & the scheduling headaches it is creating that we might lose Clemson from the '13 & '14 schedules. Now, I know Kyle is very much in favor of playing the Upstate Tigers. However, I was reading some boards on some recruiting sites and there were some there that were in favor of dropping the old rivalry because "our schedule is tough enough" (BTW the Non-Con schedule for 2013 is: Clemson, UNT, App St, GT; and in 2014 it is: Clemson, So. Ala, Charleston So. & GT). What do you think?

Poll

What should UGA do in regards to the Clemson games scheduled for '13-14?

Do everything possible to keep the games.

39 votes

Drop Clemson and look for another BCS calibre team.

1 votes

Drop Clemson and look for a FCS team (Cupcakes, num-num, good)

3 votes

Drop Clemson and look for a non-BCS calibre team (UAB counts for something, right?)

1 votes

44 votes | Poll has closed

Good recruiting insight

fotodog — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:12:14 -0000

Good recruiting insight

It's funny, I had been thinking an article from the parents' perspective would be a good idea and about a week after that thought, Dasher delivers.

I totally agree with Paul Theus about his suggestions for improvements in the process. Get rid of NSD and make the schools and the kids learn what commitment is all about.

Now about that "Georgia had a soft schedule" meme

fotodog — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:29:27 -0000

Now about that "Georgia had a soft schedule" meme

Check out this blurb from an article about who had the toughest schedules this past season.

The schedule ranks for the rest of the SEC teams were Ole Miss 11th (73-49, .598), Georgia 15th (84-60, .583), South Carolina 22nd (75-56, .573), Arkansas 25th (74-57, .565), Mississippi State 25th (74-57, .565), Florida 30th (74-59, .556), Vanderbilt 41st (68-60, .531), and Kentucky 59th (61-58, .513).

So I guess if those 'cocky' guys from the east want to complain about easier schedules, maybe they should take a look in the mirror.

Damn Good Disc Dawg!

fotodog — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:43:02 -0000

Damn Good Disc Dawg!

Dempsy played Ultimate for UGA. Check out this sick D move he made.

the BS for tOSU continues

fotodog — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 01:47:58 -0000

the BS for tOSU continues

Not only did OSU get to beat Arkansas with players that shouldn't have been eligible... and get the winnings from that game. Not only did they get to have 2 coaching staffs so Corch could get a leg up on recruiting this season, but now they also get bowl money from the big10+2.

Actually, I was thinking the other day, if the NCAA (one of the worst run organizations EVER) wanted to get serious about teams that cheat, not only would they take away scholarships and ban teams from bowl games, but they would take away bowl profits from teams that had been cheating during those games. In other words, I am suggesting that tOSU should have had to forfeit the game against Arkansas, pay Arkansas the difference between the payout for winner vs. loser and then take the remaining money and surrender it to the NCAA so they can misappropriate it somewhere.

S&C

fotodog — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:22:23 -0000

S&C

We've made some strides here, but can we do even better?

Both of Notre Dame's would-be 'saviors' reunited

fotodog — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 02:46:37 -0000

Both of Notre Dame's would-be 'saviors' reunited

Weis and Powlus gettin' it on... in Kansas. Beano Cook sheds a tear.

Saban doesn't have time for seriously ill players

fotodog — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 02:39:47 -0000

Saban doesn't have time for seriously ill players

The story comes from a former Auburn player, so...
I would want to see some of the other Miami players mentioned corroborate the story, but it is pretty interesting.

Yeah, I think I'll take my chances with CMR, even if "he is too nice to win it all."

Give him a scholarship

fotodog — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 11:46:25 -0000

Give him a scholarship

We all know Bobo likes running undersized guys up the middle. Mine as well give him a shot.

Hutson Mason and the future

fotodog — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 02:29:29 -0000

With Gray now playing (and impressing) at WR, that leaves us with Murray, Mason and some walk-ons. Richt has discussed the QB situation a little bit, but it is probably to early to make a hard decision. However, I wanted to see what the DogNation thought about the situation at this point. So here is your chance to make the call (Note: Making the wrong or right call could put you on the "hot seat".)

I couldn't think of any other choices, but if you are smarter or more creative than I am, please leave your option in the comments.

Poll

What should UGA do with Hutson Mason?

Don't redshirt him. Try to play him against ULL, Idaho St and other games as permissible.

45 votes

Redshirt him at all costs.

2 votes

Try to redshirt him, but use him first if necessary (i.e. injury)

16 votes

Try to redshirt him, but use Gray first if necessary (i.e. injury)

17 votes

80 votes | Poll has closed

Missing Pieces

fotodog — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 11:49:46 -0000

Now that the season is over, I was thinking about what could have been. Losing players is a reality of the game and with Jones taking off for the NFL and Curran possibly joining him, who did we miss this past season. Sure there could be arguments for Sturdivant or Battle, but just looking at the guys who left early, who would have helped us the most?

Stafford would have been an upgrade of Cox.

Even though we finally got the running game going, there's no question Moreno would have help and take pressure off Cox.

Allen would have helped out with a woeful defense.

Stafford would have been an upgrade of Cox.

Even though we finally got the running game going, there's no question Moreno would have help and take pressure off Cox.

Allen would have helped out with a woeful defense.

Poll

Which of the players that passed on their senior season did UGA miss the most this past season?

Stafford

19 votes

Moreno

2 votes

Allen

1 votes

22 votes | Poll has closed

Who should Georgia fire?

fotodog — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:44:16 -0000

First, let me state that this isn't really to find out what the best solution, it is more to see who receives the bulk of Georgia fans' disdain at this point. Obviously, if Richt is fired, then none of the other coaches would probably keep their jobs and so on. All is not an answer, so you will have to weigh your choices and pick just one.

Time to fill out some pink slips.

Poll

If one coach has to be fired this season, which one would you want to see relieved of duty the most?

Richt

16 votes

Martinez

80 votes

Bobo

7 votes

Fabris

2 votes

Fabris, but only from special teams

6 votes

Other

1 votes

112 votes | Poll has closed

Vacuum

fotodog — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:53:39 -0000

I was watching the UGA-Tenn Tech game online and heard Buck Belue make a comment about a lack of senior leadership and talent, especially on the offensive side of the ball. He said that 4-6 years ago, someone really dropped the ball in recruiting.

I had observed the same thing. So tonight I did a little bit of hasty research. Please feel free to correct this if I made any mistakes.

From the 2005 and 2006 six classes, which at the time looked pretty good, the attrition has been pretty painful. The 2006 class was pretty large (25), but 05 was a little smallish (16).

Gone to the NFL:

Stafford, Moreno, Allen, MoMass (note 3 of those could still be with the team this year)

Graduated:

Byrd, Chandler

Injured this year or during a significant portion of his career:

Battle, Coates, Banks, Dewberry, Wilson*, Durham, J Miller

Transferred or never entered:

N Ward, Lemon, Wilson*, Hebron, Kearney, C Moon, Sesay, Baldwin, I Smith

That is 21 players out of 41 that are no longer playing for UGA.

Add to that players that are mainly bench players or have spent more time switching positions than actually playing:

Perez, Washington, Tripp

And players that would at this point be labeled busts or disappointments:

B Wood, Evans, Miller, Crawford

And what you have are mostly a bunch of roll players with a few strong players on defense:

Owens, Weston, R Jones (probably should be in the group above), Dobbs, Gamble, Dent

And starting on offense:

J Davis, C Davis, Chapas (or Munzenmaier), Moore, Cox

That's not the strongest group and is probably one of the reasons we are so crappy this year. Of course, it is the coaches' job to evaluate talent and help players to improve.

Garbage in, garbage out

fotodog — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 11:56:30 -0000

There is a saying especially with computer programmers (which I am not), that if you put bad data in (garbage) then you will get bad results (more garbage).

Unwillingly, I have come to the opinion that darker days are ahead for the Bulldog Nation. For quite a few years now, I, like other Bulldogs, have been frustrated and dumbfounded by the performance of the team and coaches. However, like some of the more level-headed bloggers and commenters, I have tried to rationalize the mistakes and subpar showings of the Bulldogs. I realize that the offense has put Martinez' squad in bad situations with turnovers and poor play. I know there have been days with Bobo's squad have tallied more than enough points to secure a win, but the defense managed to surrender more points. I (still) think Richt is a great man and a really good coach. However, I have reached my breaking point.

There is a saying especially with computer programmers (which I am not), that if you put bad data in (garbage) then you will get bad results (more garbage).

After recently reading some articles and posts regarding special teams and personnel, I have come to the conclusion that this coaching staff philosophy is broke at the core. When your core beliefs or mission are compromised, everything that stems off of that will suffer and that is why my hope has all but vanished. It isn't a matter of fixing the direction of a kick or replacing the kicker, it is a matter of accountability and chain of command.

Hopefully, I can clearly present the evidence that led to this position.

Recently, some nagging injuries have taken their toll on the Bulldogs in a few positions. One of the injuries was to backup cornerback Vance Cuff. That led to this development I read on David Hale's blog:

After working a few snaps on offense in each of Georgia’s first four games, Smith might see less action on that side of the ball for the next few weeks.

Smith, who has one catch for 3 yards and six rushes for 80 yards this season, didn’t earn a touch on offense last week against LSU after his practice time with the group was cut short during the preceding week.

“With some injuries at corner, he’s been playing more corner here lately, so practice time with Branden has gone down a little bit,” Bobo said. “Yeah, it’s easy to draw up a play and say we’re going to do this play, but if you don’t have guys to practice it, it’s a little more difficult.”

Okay, that makes sense. You are thin at CB, so you keep your young CB on defense, instead of splitting his time with the offense.

The next part of Hale's article coupled with some other segments began to raise some questions though:

The same situation holds true with backup quarterback Logan Gray, who Bobo said has been avoided in the game plan because of an injury to third-string quarterback Aaron Murray.

“You have Aaron Murray out and your backup in the game running some plays, if you get him hurt, that puts you in a situation where you really don’t have a back-up quarterback,” Bobo said. “So that changes your thought process a little bit of what you’re going to do offensively with Logan Gray.”

Okay, I get it. Bobo wants to redshirt the two freshmen, and one of them, Murray is injured, so he isn't a viable option. Plus, we don't want to put Gray in the game for a few plays at QB- where thus far all he has done is run or hand-off- to make sure we have a backup in case Cox is injured.

However, if protecting Gray is one of our priorities then why is this happening?

While Gray may not be seeing much action at quarterback so far this season, he’s getting plenty of work on special teams. Gray has worked on Georgia’s kickoff coverage unit and has been the team’s primary punt returner in situations where a fair catch is likely.

Those were roles Gray played last season, but he said he wasn’t expecting another year of action. But he’s not complaining.

“I think it comes with being the backup quarterback, I wasn’t going to do as many special teams,” Gray said. “Coming into the season, I didn’t even think I was going to catch punts. It was sort of a last-second thing with our punt safe team when we know a fair catch is coming, I guess Coach ( Jon) Fabris wanted me to keep doing it.”

While the chances of Gray getting hurt are limited on punt returns since all Georgia ever does now is field fair catches no matter where they are on the field. But how in hell do you justify putting your backup QB on kickoff coverage?! Especially when you are trying to protect him by not playing him at QB (his natural position)! That is like saying we want to save our closer, but you end up using him as a pinch hitter in the 5th inning.

Instead of using some backup DB, LB or TE on kickoff coverage, we've got our backup QB- our only other QB- trying to make tackles. You would think a professional coach would sense the foolishness of this, but not our guys; we get more excuse and misdirection.

Possibly benching Walsh:

"It's been considered," Richt said. "We haven't done it to this point, but everybody's got to perform and certainly we want Blair to do that. I definitely don't want to throw him under the bus for all the issues on that team, but it's been part of the issue, not getting it where we need to get it. The ball placement hasn't been as sharp."

Talk of injuries:

Richt pointed to injuries to special teams stalwarts like Chad Gloer, who missed last week with a hamstring injury, as one reason for the problems, but he said the biggest solution will simply be giving the younger players time to develop.

Lack of experience:

"We are very, very immature on that team," Richt said. "We have too many young guys side-by-side on those teams, on the kickoff coverage team in particular it’s probably the youngest bunch we’ve ever had out there."

Which was later debunked (sort of) by Gray:

While Gray concurred that an excess of youth on the unit has caused problems, he said the key to improving coverage going forward is far more about effort than experience.

“We did lose a lot of guys that played kickoff their whole careers here that were seniors last year, but I think kickoff is about want and desire and guys wanting to make a play,” Gray said.

And also Groo (Dawgs Online) noting that the player that was likely flagged for the additional 5 yard penalty last week's kickoff debacle was veteran.

"...two of the bigger mistakes on the play were made by 1) Georgia’s starting placekicker and 2) the SEC’s leading tackler. Is that really a question of experience?"

Finally, the Dogs faithful were reminded that you can just put starter on offense or defense on special teams and expect him to excel:

"Some people think you can just throw a guy in there and all of a sudden he’s good," Richt said. "There is technique involved in that just like there is technique involved in playing linebacker or anyone else. It’s not that easy just to throw someone in there. All that stuff takes reps and time to get better at."

Of course, AJ Green might have something to say about that... ahem, blocked kick.

So that was the final straw. After putting up with defensive meltdowns, questionable offensive playcall and failure after failure on special teams, I finally threw up my hands and raised the white flag. We are contradicting ourselves in personnel decisions- are we going to protect Gray or not? We hear excuses and instead of seeing consistent improvement. And we are made to suffer because a subordinate is too stubborn to try something new and his superior makes excuses and blames players instead of being a leader.

I want to believe in Richt, but he is going to have to show me some real change in mission and direction before I can completely buy into what he is doing.

(quotes from David Hale & Groo)

Sleeping with the Enemy: Time for a Rule Change

fotodog — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 10:49:39 -0000

I never thought I would ever take this side, because the thought of people like Chad Johnson and Terrell Owens makes me sick. I hated "da U" when they were the big show-boaters. I can't stand it when players make a huge fuss over a sack of loud tackle. However, I have decided to make camp with the enemy, because the enemy of my enemy is my friend... or at least for now. Right now, the greater evil is the NCAA Rules Committee and the referees that subjectively interpret the NCAA's rules.

The following is what I found when I search the NCAA rules on celebration:

NCAA Football Rule 9-2, Article 1(a)(1)(d) prohibits "Any delayed, excessive, prolonged or choreographed act by which a player (or players) attempts to focus attention upon himself (or themselves)"; in addition, Rule 9-2, Article 1(a)(2) asserts that "After a score or any other play, the player in possession immediately must return the ball to an official or leave it near the dead-ball spot." [2] Additionally, if a player's actions is considered "unsportsmanlike conduct" the result is dead-ball foul; a "flagrant unsportsmanlike conduct" foul requires player ejection. If a player’s nonfootball-related act (e.g. taunting or cursing) causes an opponent to physically retaliate, it is considered fighting and both players are ejected. [3]

The timing may sound like sour grapes, but I vividly remember about ten years ago when Fred Gibson caught a long TD pass to go up on Tennessee in a pivotal SEC East match up, turning and saying to Kirk Herbstreit, "What is up with the celebration call?! It's a huge game. Let the players play." And he nodded in agreement (I was on the sideline working for a TV station at the time and Herbstreit and the Gameday crew were in town for the game).

Again, today, when UGA scores a late TD to go up on a top 5 team in SEC play, we got hosed again. Now, I didn't see AJ committing the penalty, but a friend and LSU fan working for CNN said on the unedited feed you could see Green later go toward the crowd in the endzone and mouth off, thus getting the flag for celebrating. However, do we really expect a player who just made a potentially game winning catch in a huge game to "immediately ~~must~~ return the ball to an official or leave it near the dead-ball spot" and walk calmly off the field?

Furthermore, I think the celebration penalty called on Charles Scott was complete crap and probably called out of guilt rather than good officiating.

And while The '07 Celebration was fun at the time, it was wrong, just like the V stomp was wrong. I loathe stupid gestures like that, but I am willing to put up with that if it means an end to frivolous calls that strongly influence games.

The subjectivity we face from officials is getting out of hand and we will see more of this garbage affect not only the Dogs, but every team. Therefore, I would like to see the rule changed or done away with. I would propose the following rule:

Excessive celebration penalty of 15 yards will be charged upon any choreographed act including outside objects or unchoreographed act that harms another player or simulates a violent action (such as slashing the throat or shooting a person) by which a player (or players) attempts to focus attention upon himself (or themselves). in addition, if a player’s nonfootball-related act causes an opponent to physically retaliate, it is considered fighting and both players are ejected.

So dance around like an idiot, spike the ball, do your stupid Omega sign, moonwalk, wave your hand to your ear a la Hulk Hogan, dial up the LSU fanbase after scoring a TD, whatever! As long as you don't physically hurt an opponent or ref, pull your cellphone out of your sock or act like your are decapitating someone, you are okay. The rule is clear and enforceable and should prevent gray areas getting the best of teams and allow teams to settle it on the field by their play.

The following is what I found when I search the NCAA rules on celebration:

NCAA Football Rule 9-2, Article 1(a)(1)(d) prohibits "Any delayed, excessive, prolonged or choreographed act by which a player (or players) attempts to focus attention upon himself (or themselves)"; in addition, Rule 9-2, Article 1(a)(2) asserts that "After a score or any other play, the player in possession immediately must return the ball to an official or leave it near the dead-ball spot." [2] Additionally, if a player's actions is considered "unsportsmanlike conduct" the result is dead-ball foul; a "flagrant unsportsmanlike conduct" foul requires player ejection. If a player’s nonfootball-related act (e.g. taunting or cursing) causes an opponent to physically retaliate, it is considered fighting and both players are ejected. [3]

Furthermore, I think the celebration penalty called on Charles Scott was complete crap and probably called out of guilt rather than good officiating.

Cheese, ice cream or...

fotodog — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:45:20 -0000

Cheese, ice cream or...

Mayor,
I thought you should see this if you haven't already.

Good article about Walsh

fotodog — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:18:45 -0000

Rivals posted an article that has Rex Robinson talking about what he thinks happened to Blair Walsh this year. Since the 3 easiest ways to get lots of comments are:

1. Post about CWM's job as a defensive coordinator

2. Post something about the BCS vs. Playoffs debate

3. Post about UGA's crappy kickoff coverage...

I decided to throw this up on the wall and see what sticks. Rex makes some good points. Enjoy.

Rivals posted an article that has Rex Robinson talking about what he thinks happened to Blair Walsh this year. Since the 3 easiest ways to get lots of comments are:

1. Post about CWM's job as a defensive coordinator

2. Post something about the BCS vs. Playoffs debate

3. Post about UGA's crappy kickoff coverage...

I decided to throw this up on the wall and see what sticks. Rex makes some good points. Enjoy.

Chicken or the egg... or the talented junior?

fotodog — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 05:40:14 -0000

I was reading an article about the upcoming draft that listed who is probably staying, leaving or undecided. The article which was on ESPN's site, but now I can't find said they are expecting a record number of underclassmen to enter the draft. It cited two main reasons. The first, is the rookie cap expected in the near future. "The second factor is a marginally talented senior class. Most underclassmen are aware of the competition at their respective positions and have some idea where they stack up in relation." It seems like that statement: "marginally talented senior class" or something like that gets batted around every year. Seriously, I would venture to say that 3 out of 4 senior classes have marginal number of talented or high-profile prospects. But what else should we expect when 25-50 of the top underclassmen bail for the NFL each year?! Of course there are less seniors to choose from because 1/4 - 1/2 of the really good ones left a year or two ago. So stop blaming the seniors and blame their peers who cut and ran... for the money.

Moreno & the running game

fotodog — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 03:04:13 -0000

16, 2, -2, 2, 3, 8TD, 4, 0, 3, -2, 5, 3TD, 2, 10, 27, 4, 11, 0, 2, -9, 1, 1, 0, 30, 21

Those are the yards for each carry that Moreno had against ASU. A lot of people have been talking about what a great game Moreno had and when you look at 149 yards and 2 TDs, it certainly looks impressive. However, when I was watching the game I felt underwhelmed... not so much by Moreno, but by our running game in general. If you take out the 51 yards at the end which weren't exactly "junk yards", but were after ASU had pretty much conceded, you are looking at a sub-100 yard game with quite a few stuffs.
3 runs for negative yardage
3 runs for no gain
8 runs for 3 or less yards
= 14 runs that were for little or no gain

Yes, he had the spectacular leap into the endzone, which reminds me of the insane body control Moreno has. Yes, he did have flashes of great moves, a few of which that were only ended because of facemasks to bring him down. And yes, Moreno should have had a 3rd TD (against 12 defenders), which the refs blew... But I thought ASU did a pretty good job of slowing down Moreno until the last 5 minutes of the game.

I don't think it was Moreno's fault, I think most of the blame is on the OL. Running up the middle was tough. And 24 had defenders on him before he got to the line of scrimmage several times. I just think that it wasn't as good of a day as it will look on paper 2 weeks from now.

Did anyone else see it that way or just me?

UGA VI Passes

fotodog — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:57:40 -0000

from Josh Kendall, Dawg Post

ATHENS – Uga VI, Georgia’s beloved English bulldog mascot, died Friday night in Savannah, Cecelia Seiler confirmed to Dawg Post Contributor Josh Kendall on Saturday morning.

“He didn’t suffer,” Seiler said of her 10-year-old dog. “He lived right here in my den with me for 10 years. He was a happy dog.”

Uga VII’s readiness to take the field for the 2008 football season is a topic for school officials, Cecilia Seiler said, and none could be reached immediately Saturday morning.

Sonny Seiler, whose family has owned all the dogs, was at his office Saturday morning, his wife said, and could not be reached for comment or to add details on the dog’s death.

Uga VI took the reins from Uga V early in the 1999 season. He turned 10 in July and would have been the only one of the dogs other than Uga I to serve past his 10th birthday.

The line of mascots has long garnered national attention, culminating with Uga V’s appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated, which named Uga as the nation’s best mascot.

from Josh Kendall, Dawg Post

ATHENS – Uga VI, Georgia’s beloved English bulldog mascot, died Friday night in Savannah, Cecelia Seiler confirmed to Dawg Post Contributor Josh Kendall on Saturday morning.

“He didn’t suffer,” Seiler said of her 10-year-old dog. “He lived right here in my den with me for 10 years. He was a happy dog.”

Uga VII’s readiness to take the field for the 2008 football season is a topic for school officials, Cecilia Seiler said, and none could be reached immediately Saturday morning.

Sonny Seiler, whose family has owned all the dogs, was at his office Saturday morning, his wife said, and could not be reached for comment or to add details on the dog’s death.

Uga VI took the reins from Uga V early in the 1999 season. He turned 10 in July and would have been the only one of the dogs other than Uga I to serve past his 10th birthday.

The line of mascots has long garnered national attention, culminating with Uga V’s appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated, which named Uga as the nation’s best mascot.

UGA football great Rauch dead at 80

fotodog — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:23:06 -0000

From Athens Banner Herald:

By Lee Shearer

Wednesday, June 11, 2008
John Rauch, one of the University of Georgia's greatest football players, has died at the age of 80.

Rauch died unexpectedly in his sleep late Tuesday night at home in Oldsmar, Fla., said Jane Rauch, his wife of nearly 61 years.

When his four-year college football career was over in 1948, quarterback Rauch was the NCAA's career passing leader with 4,044 yards and had led UGA to two Southeastern Conference championships and four consecutive bowl games.

After a brief stint playing professional football, Rauch began a long career in college and professional coaching, including tenures as head coach of the Oakland Raiders and the Buffalo Bills.

In 1967, Rauch was named the American Football League's Coach of the Year after taking the team to the AFL championship and the second Super Bowl. The Raiders lost to Green Bay in Vince Lombardi's last game as the Packers' coach.

He is survived by his wife, a son, a daughter, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Published ion OnlineAthens.com on 061108

From Athens Banner Herald:

By Lee Shearer

I want to have my say too

fotodog — Thu, 01 May 2008 17:55:22 -0000

As SG Standard noted the blogosphere can be likened to sports talk radio. While there is probably less screening of commenters on blogs, if you have listened to any talk radio for 15 minutes, you have definitely heard some lame callers. And with blogs, you don't have to deal with "Hey, Paul, love the show, how are you?", which begins EVERY freakin' call (if the last 5 callers asked, you don't have to ask also).

And as MaconDawg noted, the best bloggers usually rise to the top and get the most traffic. People who offer something more than just the ordinary opinion or schlock, get readers (just like newspapers or viewers for TV).

And as Joel noted, there is definitely a misconception that all journalist are qualified professionals. As a J-school grad, I can tell you that the only things a "professional journalist" learns that someone else might not learn is:

What makes something newsworthy?
Make sure you find a second or multiple sources.
Laws regarding slander and libel
Writing techniques, like using active voice

Frankly, the newsworthiness standard has been blurred when you consider all the "news" that gets espoused on various media outlets.
I think some of the blogosphere does come short on #2 at times, but there are some very responsible bloggers as well.
As Orson and the proprietor of this blog noted, just about all of you are lawyers, so hopefully you all understand libel and slander.
Finally, good writers will always attract readers.

But as SG Standard and DavetheDawg noted, probably the bigger issue is the massive change that is occurring in the media.

I agree with what most of Dave said. As someone who worked for 9 years in small and medium TV markets in the southeast, I can attest that ESPN has changed the face of local coverage of sports. I have argued with station management about this with little avail. Specifically, I remember when the station I was at decided to permanently drop the sports tease in the 6pm news. For those of you who don't know, that's when they are about to go to a commercial break after weather and say, "The Braves were in another game decided by 1-run, did it turn out like the other 1-run games this season? Fred will have the answer in sports." When I asked why the station had made this decision they said viewership in sports was down and so they weren't putting as much emphasis on it. My response was, "if you draw less attention to sports, it isn't going to gain any viewers. Why not try to improve the product?" There are 2 ways that most TV stations have addressed the sports issue caused by ESPN and the internet's emergence: 1) cut time allotted, cut staff and reduce coverage or 2) go more local in your coverage. Unfortunately, many stations chose the former. I prefer the latter. In big markets, this usually means a lot of stories about the local professional franchises, which ESPN may not have time for. In smaller markets, it means more coverage of local colleges and high school sports. If you haven't noticed, Friday nights in the fall are a big deal at some TV stations (thankfully).

But a more recent trend is the effect caused by the increase in the speed of information transmission. We can get info very fast these days and in news, being faster is important. Unfortunately, it is becoming more important that being right or being good. "Get it on now!" has replaced "Is this important?" or "Is this quality journalism?" And it is not just small market "bush league" stations that are guilty. If you watch the nightly news, you get coverage of a campaign chalked full of polls instead of coverage of issues (of course, you also get a hundred ads for pharmaceuticals, but that is another issues). I fear, and maybe Bob and Buzz do to, that journalism is in decline, as news operations have become assembly line purveyors of "fast food" information. Maybe the blogosphere does serve up its fair share of junk food, but it isn't any worse than what is becoming the norm in papers and on TV stations. I think rather than collectively bash the bloggers; maybe Bob and Buzz should talk a look at their brethren and focus on improving that group.

However, the blogoshere is subject to the pitfalls of the need for immediacy. Since many bloggers are not full-time journalist and writers, it is quite easy for someone to run with a story or photo without having good or complete info. While there is some need to prevent carelessness among bloggers, I think that in many cases, readers can discern what is true and what is not or what is farked.

As Kyle and others noted, there is room for the mainstream media and the blogosphere to work together or at least compliment each other. I think you only have to look at ESPN to see that is true. Like him or not, Simmons is a blogger working for "The Worldwide Leader...". And what is SportsNation, but a community much like that built up by Orson, Leitch, Bean, King, PWD and others.

What makes something newsworthy?
Make sure you find a second or multiple sources.
Laws regarding slander and libel
Writing techniques, like using active voice

But as SG Standard and DavetheDawg noted, probably the bigger issue is the massive change that is occurring in the media.

Mac Users

fotodog — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 01:21:20 -0000

I use a Mac OS X and Safari to surf and lately I have been having problems, but I noticed most of them are related to this website. When ever I click on comments or try to link to another site from this page, my Safari inexplicably quits. Are there any other Mac users that experience this with Kyle's site.

(Obviously, if you can use links on Kyle's posts, they you lose the effect of reading Kyle's stuff).