Preseason practice: How hard is too hard?
It is one of the oldest questions in college football: Coaches know that at this time of year it is important to push their teams, mentally and physically, in order to get them ready for the season. At the same time, the coach also wants to get to the first game with a reasonably healthy team.
Push them too hard and the injuries start to mount up. Here are just a few injuries that have already impacted the upcoming season:
**–Darren Evans, RB, Virginia Tech: Evans, who set the school record for rushing by a freshman in 2008, tore an ACL and is out for the season. Virginia Tech opens against Alabama in the Chick-fil-A College Kickoff on Sept. 5 at the Georgia Dome.
**–Isaac Madison, CB, Arkansas: Was projected to be a starter on a defense that desperately needs improvement. Torn ACL. Out for the season.
**–Jaybo Shaw, QB, Georgia Tech: The backup to starter Josh Nesbitt broke a collarbone and will be out for six weeks. He may decide to redshirt.
**–Aaron Corp, QB, Southern Cal: Corp won the job of replacing Mark Sanchez in the spring but cracked a bone in his leg last week. If he doesn’t return to practice soon, it is likely that the Trojans will start a true freshman, Matt Barkley, in their opener against San Jose State on Sept. 5 and their big trip to Ohio State on Sept. 12.
**–Oklahoma State opens with Georgia on Sept. 5 but quarterback Zac Robinson has missed a bunch of practice with a bad hamstring. Robinson is expected to be ready for Georgia but how sharp will he be?
But if coaches don’t push their players hard enough, they don’t have the physical edge necessary to play at the highest level of college football. Georgia’s Mark Richt admitted that he started to back off a little last season when the injuries started to pile up. There is no question that it impacted the team, especially on defense.
“The head coach has to make that call and it is not always an easy one,” said former Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer. “Your staff wants to get after it pretty good because they want to see their guys get better. The head coach has to look at how injuries are affecting the entire team and tell his coaches what to do.”
For most of Vince Dooley’s 25 years at Georgia (1964-88) he believed in tough, physical practices in the preseason to set the tone for what was to come. Once the season started, however, Georgia would hit on Tuesdays and then have no contact the rest of the week. Later in his career Dooley would limit contact in practice, especially in the second half of the season.
“The natural reaction when you start getting injuries is to back off,” said Dooley, who won 201 games and six SEC championships at Georgia. “But injuries are part of the game and you can’t back off too much or your team won’t be ready to play. At the same time, you’ve got to get your best players on the field on Saturday. If you don’t, you’re not giving your team the best chance to win.”
So what’s the answer? If you’re a fan, do you have to live with a certain number of injuries, knowing that it is necessary to get your team ready to play? Or should coaches be less demanding in order to limit injuries, especially to key players?
The floor is yours.
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197 comments Add your comment
m
August 18th, 2009
8:15 am
There is a reason that you put red jersies on the players you don’t want injured. That way the defense knows to hit them like ugag would hit them….powderpuff.
45-42….just the beginning.
Loyal Dawg
August 18th, 2009
8:16 am
Maybe Zac Robinson can manage to stay hurt until after Sept. 5th!!
Spike
August 18th, 2009
8:20 am
M = Poindexter.
UGASlobberknocker
August 18th, 2009
8:23 am
Other than the QB, I believe there should be full speed heavy hitting in August. You have to see who can do it, and to go less than 100% is to invite injury. Once the season starts, I believe in a hard hitting Tuesday and Wednesday. Ease off the rest of the week. Injuries are part of the game, and if you think about it..most injuries during the regular season happen in the games, not practices. In the preseason, a lot of the injuries are in the first week when their bodies are not used to the hitting. By keeping the hitting going, the bodies adjust.
Paddy
August 18th, 2009
8:29 am
If you are really a tough team and your tough players are not in uniform, you only have bragging rights not victories. CMR is going to be better prepared this season. I really like our team! We want to see them play on Sat. not read about them on Wed.
Dr. Bombay
August 18th, 2009
8:30 am
Depth may be the determining factor for a lot of coaches. And it always seems like Murphy’s law. If you’re thin at a particular position, that’s where injuries occur.
Gen Neyland
August 18th, 2009
8:44 am
Off season conditioning is vital to minimizing injury. Early camp non-contact drills will still see stress fractures, seperated shoulders, torn ligaments and broken bones occur from coast to coast. Once the pads are on and guys are fighting for jobs, toss in a head injury or two. It’s a fine line for coaches to get their horses to the starting line healthy…May the strong survive.
Starring Kam Fong as Chin Ho
August 18th, 2009
8:44 am
It seems that one victory in a decade is all a Technerd needs to pump up his or hers or its confidence to an all time high. 45-42 the beginning and the end of this period of equality. Hope you all enjoy it. Practice those chop blocks boys….cause Hell’s coming, and he’s wearing Red and Black
lakerat...
August 18th, 2009
8:51 am
This is an age old question – we had the same questions, and injuries, back when I played in the 60’s – 70’s, and even before. The bottom line is that injuries are a freakin’ big part of the game, especially the season ending knee injuries. They are unavoidable, and unless you want to field a wussified team, try to practice like UGA did last due to the injuries, and the results are less than stellar. You deal with it and move on – and have great year (9-4 a la Tech), or a mediocre year (10 – 3 a la UGA). You just keep pluggin’ and doing the best you can!
Sunshine
August 18th, 2009
8:53 am
Starring Kam Fong as Chin Ho, hell may be coming, but it wont be in the form of red and black. Maybe maroon or baby blue.
skydawg
August 18th, 2009
8:57 am
@lakerat…love the backhanded slap at the North Avenue trade school. Classic!!!
Jethro Boudine
August 18th, 2009
8:58 am
I ain’t sure why the Gawja Tech Jackettes practice at all. No body can stop the triple option cept Gardner Webb and they don’t play them this year. They have such rich football tradition… they win at least 7 games a year and once in a decade they win 9 and give themselves a ring.
Maybe some day, if they were to start practicing real hard they’d win an ACC Championship and a bowl game. They might even be able to sell some tickets to the games too. I’m gonna buy me a ticket and get those free hotdogs and cokes, weeee doggie….
PMC
August 18th, 2009
9:02 am
Just something you have to deal with in the preseason. It is the reason recruiting is so vital. They have to be ready to play and you can’t do that without contact.
Starring Kam Fong as Chin Ho
August 18th, 2009
9:03 am
We’ll see little Sunshine, we’ll see
mitch
August 18th, 2009
9:03 am
Dear Mr. CB–sometimes I think you ought, sometimes I think you ought not. Who knows, not me. Your pal, Mitch
Ehsanul Islam Sadequee
August 18th, 2009
9:03 am
Tech is used to heavy contact in their tickle piles.
Bama Aaron
August 18th, 2009
9:04 am
You have to hit but you be smart about the way you hit. I like the way Saban does it. Bama will hit plenty in spring practice and get used to the contact, but they don’t tackle to the ground. His theory is most of the injuries occur on the ground or going down to the ground. The last couple of years they’ve been a pretty healthy team and still one of the toughest out there.
DawginLex
August 18th, 2009
9:05 am
m,
Rennie Curran called. He wants to discuss the term powderpuff with you. now be a good little nerd, go blow up your doll for your date and go to the Varsity for some chili dogs.
Are you the guy that always said “what’ll you have, what’ll you have? at the counter??
Tech education pays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Utah
August 18th, 2009
9:06 am
Bama Aaron….bama did not look to tough in the Sugar Bowl…..what is your excuse here?? Hit the bars in New Orleans too much?
IM4BAMA
August 18th, 2009
9:22 am
I think you always have to protect the QB unless you’ve got a another good one one the bench and you protect your best player or “cornerstone” (most talented or best leadership) player, other than the QB.
GA Tech Insider
August 18th, 2009
9:23 am
Injuries happen during football practice, regardless of whether its during full scrimmage or by freak accidents. Look at what happened to Roddy Jones, just lifting weights this off-season.
Jaybo Shaw hurt his shoulder when someone fell on him; not from a viscous hit. Last season, Josh Nesbitt’s injuries could be attributed to things other than hard hits on the playing field during games but getting his ankles rolled up on by linemen, etc. These things can happen whether these kids are wearing a red shirt during practice or not.
I guess my point is that having these kids going at full speed before the season starts, including in full pads, will at least give them an opportunity to get a good feel for what the conditions will be like once the season begins so that they’ll have a better chance of protecting themselves once the opponents are coming at them at full speed.
GT Que
August 18th, 2009
9:24 am
DawginLex
Talk about m all you want, but do yourself a favor and don’t make any comparisons between a GT education and the salary it commands versus a UGA education and the salary it commands. You’re no where in the same league.
Atlanta Gator
August 18th, 2009
9:26 am
There’s a fine line between “playing through an injury” and aggravating an existing condition. Young players don’t always know the difference. Players want to play, and will sometimes try to hide the true extent of an injury, fearing the loss of playing time. Good coaches and trainers must know the difference and recognize the problem. Some injuries are unavoidable (that’s why they’re called accidents); others result from the player or coach doing something foolish. It’s better to bench an injured Percy Harvin for a game or two than lose him for the season. When a player is obviously limping or favoring an injury, it’s time for the trainer and possibly the team doctor to have a look-see.
Injuries typically occur in full-contact practice, not conditioning. Coaches must know when and for how long to allow their players to hit at 100%, and its not 100% of full-contact practices. Few skill players can take 10-15 hours of 100% hits in weekly practices (that’s 10 to 15 times what a starter will take in a game), and no smart coach structures his practices that way.
Jimmy McGinty
August 18th, 2009
9:32 am
“That’s why girls dont play the game”
SimpleDawg
August 18th, 2009
9:37 am
Proper practice precautions should include not hitting a teammate while he’s in a vulnerable position. Play hard, hit hard, but don’t take kill shots against your own team.
Sometimes injuries occur even while taking adequate precautions….it happens. Team depth usually determines who survives to play for the title at the end of the season.
NYJacket
August 18th, 2009
9:38 am
The game is played fast. If a team does not go full speed, it is impossible to develop the timing that is required to execute. Unfortunately, injuries are part of the game. A team that plays with the QB deep or is predominately a passing team, can do some things to protect the QB. But, if the plan is to run a quick hitting, option style offense, it is vital that full speed practice be used to develop the split second decision making that is required to win.
DawginLex
August 18th, 2009
9:44 am
GT que,
would love to engage in civil conversation/debate with a Techster. Hasn’t happened in my 50 years on the planet.
All I get is the same stereotypical garbage about how you are better than me just because you went to Tech. When you want to discuss college football in a civilized manner, let me know. Until then, all I have to go on are idiots like “m” who spew his nonsense about UGA football despite the fact UGA has won 70% of the time vs GT in the last 3 decades and holds an overall 20 + game advantage in the head-to-head series.
We also have the best coach at UGA we have ever had(including Dooley) and we have actually won our conference and made BCS bowl games and finished rated higher in the polls as compared to the preseason prediction 6 out of 8 years under Richt.
Coach Johnson is a fine coach. He tutored under Erk. Here’s hoping there are 22 wins between the 2 teams when we meet in ATL.
m
August 18th, 2009
9:45 am
dawginlex,
Is Rennie Curran new? Or is he one of the little powderpuff dawgies that got left in the diesel fumes of Jonathan Dwyer and Roddy Jones.
Paul Johnson is like a train…he will run over you…back up…..and run over you again…of course you dawgies have already experienced that first hand.
45-42…glad is still hurts so bad.
DawginLex
August 18th, 2009
9:46 am
GT que,
See above post.
I rest my case.
Joey
August 18th, 2009
9:48 am
I think it’s mostly luck. UGA had terrible luck with injuries last year, Bama and GA Tech to name a couple, had great luck with nearly no injuries. This year UGA is having pretty good luck (knock on wood) to date and the injury bug has hit Tech. Just luck…
GA Tech Insider
August 18th, 2009
9:48 am
DawginLex;
“would love to engage in civil conversation/debate with a Techster. Hasn’t happened in my 50 years on the planet.”
That’s a bit harsh now, isn’t it?
DawginLex
August 18th, 2009
9:49 am
POWDERPUFF
The only football “m” ever played
GA Tech Insider
August 18th, 2009
9:51 am
DawginLex, I don’t recall ever slamming the GA Bulldogs even once during any of my posts. I may have come down hard on a few posters, but I think I’ve been pretty even-handed between the UGA and GA tech juveniles…
Bamafan
August 18th, 2009
9:51 am
Today’s football players come across as being soft than the players from the 50’s and 60’s and 70’s who would put some dirt on a liitle problem and take a asprin for pain relief!! ROLL TIDE FOLKS!!
DawginLex
August 18th, 2009
9:52 am
How is it harsh?
Read “m”’s posts. You think he wants to engage in anything civil or for that matter discuss anything in an adult manner?
He is so delusional it is absurd.
ACC was 6-4 vs the SEC last year according to m. I guess that bowl beatdown doesn’t fit his agenda so he doesn’t count it.
Just an example. There are countless others.
DawginLex
August 18th, 2009
9:53 am
GTI,
Maybe you are the exception to the rule. I would like to think so.
m
August 18th, 2009
9:54 am
dawginlex,
You didn’t answer the question…where was Rennie Curran last year??? Oh, that’s what I thought.
If I played powderpuff, I would be over there in Athens with your fluff puppies.
45-42….glad it hurts so bad!!!
Tide Rising
August 18th, 2009
9:55 am
The ACL tears usually have nothing to do with contact. They often occur when a player is just trying to make a cut. Not a whole lot you can do about that.
Bama has been lucky in regard to avoiding injuries but Bama Aaron was right about the way we avoid injuries. Since most injuries occur on the ground because obviously the ground doesn’t give Saban has his players try to avoid tackling to the ground.
Utah, nice little dig there about us not tackling so well against Utah. That’s okay. We still tackled well enough to win about 12 other games. Not to many programs that could say that last year. I imagine you’re a fan of one of those programs that can’t say that and hence you live vicariously through Utah.
DawginLex
August 18th, 2009
9:57 am
and the evidence continues to flow……………………..
shah rukh khan
August 18th, 2009
9:59 am
A federal judge found former Georgia Tech student Syed Haris Ahmed guilty of conspiring to provide material support to terrorism in the United States and abroad. When asked for comment his only response was “45-42″.
m
August 18th, 2009
10:01 am
dawginlex,
Here is all the evidence you need;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuLwz-I2QOE
45-42….glad it hurts so bad!!
Tide Rising
August 18th, 2009
10:01 am
DawginLex,
I kinda noticed that too. Never did understand how m or some of the other ACC fans conveniently ignore the 2 bowl beatdowns. Or the fact that 5 of the 6 SEC wins were by blowout proportions of 23 or more points or that overall we outscored the ACC by a whopping 119 points in those 12 games.
I guess some folks just don’t let the facts get in the way of their argument.
Frozen_Gator
August 18th, 2009
10:02 am
It’s a man’s game,hate the injuries but that’s why we have 85 and that’s why we love it so. Choose your depth wisely, you may need it more than you think.
Joey
August 18th, 2009
10:03 am
DawginLex,
I’ve got to disagree with you about Dooley. He won a lot of SEC titles (7?), won a national title, played for another a couple of years later. Even after Hershel left he beat a #2, unbeaten Texas team in the Cotton Bowl. Played for yet another title in ‘76 against a Dorsett led, unbeaten Pitt team. He owned the Gators and Jackets, and held his own with Auburn and Alabama, and never lost to underdogs. Went to Ann Arbor and beat defending nat champ Michigan… I could go on but won’t. Mark Richt may become the best ever at UGA, but he’s not yet…
m
August 18th, 2009
10:07 am
dawginlex,
Maybe you need more evidence on your fluff puppies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHzxEKEQle0
45-42…glad it still hurts so bad!!
DawginLex
August 18th, 2009
10:08 am
Dooley was a great coach but the SEC was watered down compared to today. UT was horrible most of the time and Florida went through coaches like Tech does.
Dooley had too many 6-5 and 7-4 seasons. Richt’s worse year was his first at 8-4. I just believe richt works in a much tougher environment today than Dooley did.
They are both quality coaches.
David
August 18th, 2009
10:10 am
If you can’t take the heat get out of the kitchen but make me a sandwich before you do.
m
August 18th, 2009
10:14 am
David,
Those fluff dawgs majoring in Home Ec can’t play football worth a damne…but I bet they could make you a mean sandwich…or deliver you a tasty pizza.
45-42…glad it hurts so bad!!
Coach
August 18th, 2009
10:17 am
I think it’s less about how hard a team practices but how “smart” they pratice. As a coach, you want to prepare your team for any kind of situation, and you want your team to play with great technique. You instill this during the summer. But at the same time, it’s counterproductive for a team to beat themselves to death. Injuries happen, but to me technique is key. You teach the players basic techinques in drills( foot work, hand placement, pursuit angles), then you have the test their skills in live contact drills. Technique is what players will default to in adverse situations, and if you get away from the fundamentals too much it will cost you in games. I think this is what happened with UGA last year. Sometimes coaches, when they know they have more talent, will get away from fundamentals and allow their team to cost on their athletic abilities. UGA was a little too finesse last season and not enough smash mouth. In 2007 they had both, which is why they finished the way they did.
murfdawg
August 18th, 2009
10:23 am
When you get down to 11 players, stop the contact!!!I would rather play with walk-ons who will wrap up and drive on a tackle than a five star shoulder bumping scholarship player. I always thought coaching cliche #1 was you play like you practice. But I guess the Dawgs did last year.
Matt
August 18th, 2009
10:24 am
Tony: There is a fine line drawn when practicing. Practice too hard and players get hurt during practice or workouts. Practice too soft and players get hurt during games or the team gets smashed. It all comes down to year-round conditioning. If players would keep their bodies in shape all year we would not see some of these injuries. Other than that though, injuries will happen. My brother broke his foot warming up for track pratice one day. Most injuries are freak accidents but some can be avoided with good year-round conditioning programs.
Tide Rising
August 18th, 2009
10:25 am
Dooley is an sec legend with 6 sec titles, a national title, and some pretty big wins, the Michigan win, beating the Bear in only his 2nd year at UGA and again in 76 for an sec title. The Texas 10-9 game was a defensive classic. On top of all that he was just a classy guy.
But was the SEC watered down as dawginlex thinks? Yeah. I would have to say so. In the 20 years of the 60s and 70s it was mostly the Bear Bryant show and Dooley also. Auburn and UT spent a lot of time kind of down, Florida was non-existent, LSU was okay but not great.
But looking over the past 20 years if you look at the big 3 in each division you have 4 of them winning national titles and the other 2 having runner up finishes. And you also have teams like Ark and Ole Miss that in some years are extremely competitive. Even the lesser teams nowadays like Carolina, UK, Vandy, MSU, they can all jump up and beat you.
One thing is for sure. With the parity SEC football is a lot more interesting nowadays then it was in the Bear Bryant Vince Dooley era.
PT
August 18th, 2009
10:25 am
Hey M, beating your chest after 1 win in 8 yrs is insane. Tech is and always will be an 7-9 win program. You arent going to get better than that. You will beat UGA every once in a while. Look at UCLA over USC, they poked their chest out and lost the next 3. Face it and quit being so jealous og Georgia
Jethro Boudine
August 18th, 2009
10:25 am
M you shore are a strange dude. You are living off of one win in 8 years and sucking on it like you aint had a teet with any milk in it in a long time. It don’t hurt to lose occassionally. That is an annoyance. What hurts is to never win anything of significance, like a conference championship or a bowl game.. or maybe get in a BCS bowl. What hurts is having to give away tickets to fill up the stadium. What hurts is finishing lower in the polls even when you beat your biggest rival. Shows how much respect your program has and that pollester knew it was a fluke.
You gotta get a grip man. There is more to life than beating UGA especially considering how seldom it happens. This year by the time teck get to the UGA game they will be so beat up it is gonna be ugly and the stadium wil be empty of teck fans by the end of the third quarter. You better stay close to the hole you crawled out of because Miami and NC are gonna start the beatings and UGA will finidh them.
CharlotteGator
August 18th, 2009
10:27 am
Joey,
“I think it’s mostly luck. UGA had terrible luck with injuries last year, Bama and GA Tech to name a couple, had great luck with nearly no injuries. This year UGA is having pretty good luck (knock on wood) to date and the injury bug has hit Tech. Just luck…”
I agree that it sucks and definitely alters seasons, but to put it all on injury bugs and not factor in the depth that teams respond with doesn’t convey the full picture. It’s solely my opinion, but it’s not all just blind luck. Depth definitely plays a role and should kick in at some point. UF had just as many, if not more, season-ending injuries to key positions last year as UGA and responded fairly well to the adversity. Just my 2 cents…
ExecutiveStinger
August 18th, 2009
10:28 am
DawginLex,,,,
If you’re such the respectable dawg that you claim to be, you would know that in this rivalry, it always goes back to the last game. The overall series record means nothing when your time won the year before, which is why Tech fans have had to take the heat many years. Not because of the overall series record, who cares??? That started before we were born! It all goes back to the last game and the last game between the two was won by Paul Johnson and the Yellow Jackets from Georgia Tech, as much as that may turn your stomach. Who cares how “delusional” “m” seems to be? You ought to know how it works. I’m sure you’ve been a little delusional about Tech in your day, especially when UGA won the last game against GT. If you are everything you claim to be, then you know this and shouldn’t be so put off by goofy comments from “m” or any other poster.
Instead, you fit the stereotype of what we love about you dawgies. Ya’ll fight, you wine, you cry, you talk trash, you always fire back with something, unwilling to let Tech fans revel in their 364-day bragging rights like you did the years before this. If you’re such an honorable dawg fan with some much respect for CPJ and Tech, then shut up and let the talk from goofs like “m” commence. You know how it works, and UGA is one win away against GT from starting up the dawg bragging all over again. As a Tech guy, I hope it doesn’t happen, but if it does, I’ll prepare myself to live with it for 364 days.
Grow up.
m
August 18th, 2009
10:31 am
You may have noticed that dawginlex ran like the little fluff dawg he is when he was confronted with evidence contrary to his little whining.
A note to all you whiney fluff dawgs:
Thanks to God and Greyhound…chan gomer gailey is gone forever. There is a new sheriff in town…his name is Paul Johnson….and he is the REAL deal. He is going to eat you fluff dawgs for lunch.
45-42…just the BEGINNING.
Hairofthedawg
August 18th, 2009
10:37 am
Good Piece of writting. It really is a catch 22 situation and a balnce between injuries and preparation I believe.
PT
August 18th, 2009
10:38 am
Charlottegator, come on. Did you lose your starting All SEC left tackle, a first round D Tackle, and 9 in the 2 deep on defense. Then lose your starting right tackle. Not even close.
Jethro Boudine
August 18th, 2009
10:38 am
Mr.Exec Stinger… So insulting the other teams coaches, players, school and fans is ok when you win? Well thanks for the lesson in how this works. Nice try in defending the likes of M, aka, god and greyhound. It is pathetic to see teck fans so desperate to build their self esteem by insulting Dawg fans. Shows a lot of class. But then nerds don’t care about class do they?
m
August 18th, 2009
10:38 am
the 10:31 post is NOT from me.
flogging the bishop, it never gets old!
Doggie Style
August 18th, 2009
10:40 am
OK Dawg Fans. It’s time to let “m” continuously populate this board with his ” 45-42…glad it hurts so bad!!” let him talk all he wants. We need to just let this season take care of itself – at least until the last game. Believe me, if the gnats don’t win that game, all hell should reign down from us on “m” and NEVER let him forget it! Don’t respond to his posts (as much as I know we all would love dosing so).
DawginLex
August 18th, 2009
10:42 am
I haven’t gone anywhere. The only evidence I need is the history of GT football. If the trend continues, GT will lose to UGA 7 out of the next 10 years, will not win the ACC, will not go to the BCS and will continue to be a middle of the road football team playing in a basketball league.
DawginLex
August 18th, 2009
10:44 am
Exec stinger,
Maybe you should scroll up the page and read my 9:44 post to GT que.
Jethro Boudine
August 18th, 2009
10:45 am
M, can’t you find anything interesting to discuss on the teck blog? I didn’t think so. Why are you so desperate for attention from the Dawg fans? My guess is you did not go to tech.. probably any college… don’t have any friends except D&D buddies and your biggest pleasure of the day is switching between Dawg blogs and porn sites. So have your fun. You represent the insect world well.
m
August 18th, 2009
10:45 am
dawginlex,
If you think beating Paul Johnson is the same as beating chan gomer gailey…the you are the stupidest fluff dawg of all time. (By the way, did you like the videos?)
45-42….glad it still hurts so bad.
DawginLex
August 18th, 2009
10:47 am
further evidence:
Obsession with your opponent who you know you will never be able to consistently beat so you appear on their blogs daily because no one cares about the blogs of your own team.
How pitiful it must be.
m
August 18th, 2009
10:48 am
dawginlex,
I’ve learned you need to beat it like it owes you money, it never gets old.
ExecutiveStinger
August 18th, 2009
10:48 am
Jethro…
Hate to say it, but your interest in having class is evident in your name. Jethro Boudine. Bout as classy as it gets.
m
August 18th, 2009
10:59 am
You fluff dawgs are funny….you cry and you cry and your cry….you become imposters and use other folks handles…and then you cry and cry and cry.
It never gets old.
Tech is going to stomp you dawgs this year….mark it down now.
The ACC is going to beat the sec AGAIN this year…mark it down now.
And you dawgs are going to cry and to cry and to cry…some things never change.
45-42…glad it hurts so bad.
macrotech
August 18th, 2009
11:10 am
DawginLex, “now be a good little nerd, go blow up your doll for your date” isn’t this a great example of stereotypical garbage?
wheby
August 18th, 2009
11:11 am
can always tell those who don’t understand contact condition, never was, can’t be……You are better than this Barnhardt
HH
August 18th, 2009
11:11 am
If Richt had a couple of Dooley’s defensive coordinators—Russel being one—for example, maybe he could back off hitting a little, particularly as the season goes on, but with Wonderful Willie, he had better “go for broke” all season. Getting beat by a physically superior team is no disgrace; getting beat by pure incompetence is.
Tech Fan
August 18th, 2009
11:16 am
I am a true Tech fan. But m, Saint Simons, and you other idiots who quote “45-42″ about 50 times every single day needs to give it a break. You make ALL Tech fans look like a bunch of idiots. Give credit where credit is due – we are 1-7 against them. I didn’t see UGA fans talking this same level of trash to UF fans when they won a couple of years ago. Let’s just beat ‘em on the field – when we get a better record against them, THEN run your mouth.
GT4LIFE
August 18th, 2009
11:19 am
Uga fans give us tech fans every year when we lose. Ohh well. i’m sorry your team sucked it up bad in the 3rd quarter and let us score 28 points to your 0. By the way, There is a new coach at Tech. Get used to Tech winning 8-10 games every year. It’s going to happen. By the way I’m 100% sure with the team we have this year that we are going to beat UGA again, not to mention you guys lost 88% of your offense in Stafford, Moreno, and Massaquioa. Sorry guys but I’m enjoying the win over you pups. sucks to lose doesn’t it? THWG 45-42
GT4LIFE
August 18th, 2009
11:21 am
So what they have the overall record but we have the consecutive record against them. To bad they didn’t win last year, because they could have taken that away.
This broken record is gettin' old
August 18th, 2009
11:28 am
m,
Rennie Curran would demolish you for starters. He was the one player on the georgia defense in that woeful second half that still made tackles and lead the team during the game. I’d take one of him in my defensive backfield over three of our sorry linebackers who still couldn’t stop the uga offense pretty much the entire game. For the majority of this past decade (when uga’s best player in the series was Reggie Ball) all you guys have done is whine and whine after every time uga beat tech and now that you guys won for a change, you act more obnoxiously than a seven year old. If there’s any team plus fans that has any room to boast when they finally win. it’s Kentucky vs Tennessee. They haven’t won in 24 seasons! And you guys were whining about 6. Give me a break.
Dooley's Cardiologist
August 18th, 2009
11:29 am
18 Days left….I love every minute of it….
G8R GRAD
August 18th, 2009
11:30 am
Tide rising:
Good post (10:25).
Except for the “Florida was non-existent” part.
Ouch!
CharlotteGator
August 18th, 2009
11:32 am
PT,
I think if you take a look, the losses were pretty significant and comparable..
1. Starting All American TE (Ingram) out for the season: Replaced him w/ an unproven back-up who turned out to be an All-SEC type TE…depth
2. Starting SS out for the season (Munroe)….2nd string SS out for the season (Curtis): Went with the 3rd string SS (Black) who was described as a “recruiting mistake”. Turned out to be All-SEC SS…depth
3. 2nd string MLB (Beal) out for the season. Plugged young guys in at different LB spots throughout the season and now it’s a position of strength on the team.
4. Projected starting OG (Barrie) out for the season.
Then we lost a pretty good WR/RB for some fairly big games in the season.
It’s the past, and I’m not saying it was identical in both cases. My only argument is teams lose key guys all the time and the difference in outcomes a lot of times has to do w/ the replacements behind them and how they perform. The UF secondary was the biggest question mark heading into the season so going to your 3rd string SS and then plugging in a true freshman at corner were huge question marks at the time that ended up working out pretty well. Losing CI on the offense was a gigantic blow in the preseason, losing a starting OL is never good, and like you mentioned, when the 2-deep starts falling, trouble is a huge possibility. I guess this is now my 4 cents…
GT4LIFE
August 18th, 2009
11:33 am
Yep 18 days till Georgia loses to Oklahoma State……
Nachos
August 18th, 2009
11:34 am
Hey bama haters… Enough with the dang Utah-Alabama references. It was a meaningless bowl game and no one cares. Carry on dork chops.
Cuz
August 18th, 2009
11:38 am
Injuries may be part of the game, but I sure hate to see them. Not for how it affects me as a fan, but how it affects the kid injured. First the injury itself, second the feeling of letting down the team. They all want to play. If they did not, they would not be out there in the first place. Here is hoping no more injuries in pre-season for our favorite teams and this Dawg wishes Jaybo a speedy recovery.
gdawginkalamazoo
August 18th, 2009
11:39 am
Hey people Tech won last year and currently hold the smack talk rights until we take them back this year. Unfortunately we can’t dictate how they use them and what they say. I hate the 45-42 mantra they have going but it is their right.
I agree with murfdawg, you play like you practice. Old sayings like that remind me of when I was growing up playing sports. Coaches usually yelled “walk it off” when you got hurt. No matter what the injury may be. I will never forget the day a kid had his leg snapped during a soccer match. Ref came over and told the kid to “get up and walk it off”. “#^%^$%^$%$ you ref I think my f%$#%leg is broken.” Tough to walk those off. Ambulance and a stretcher worked though.
Its a gator world
August 18th, 2009
11:44 am
I have to say that this guy m has psychiatric problems. I’m a dawg hater myself but I don’t obsess over the dawgs. Somebody get this fruitcake some counseling. Either he’s just a young, immature 14 to 17 year old or he is an adult with mental problems.
Its a gator world
August 18th, 2009
11:46 am
Uh oh! Nachos is back! Nachos, has Auburn hired a head coach yet?
Cuz
August 18th, 2009
11:48 am
Funny story zoo. I don’t want it thought that I condone limited contact practices. We saw how that worked last year. But the Coach did have a point in that if anymore linemen went down he would have to suit up the watergirl. You need contact practices, I just hate to see the injuries.
zoo it took me the whole weekend to get acclimated to being back home in the land of heat and humidity. Minnesota is a definate break in weather in the Summer, I just aint going there in the Winter, heck the Fall was worse than our Winter.
Buck Strickland
August 18th, 2009
11:49 am
After the way last season ended for Tech I’m surprised at all of the confidence spewing from North Ave. You beat your biggest rival once in eight tries by three points. You traveled 2 miles to play your bowl game and got embarrassed by LSU.
Meanwhile, UGA went to Orlando and played in a New Years Day bowl. The loss to Tech changed NOTHING about the end of season travel plans for the Dawgs. We were playing in the Cap 1 win or lose. The Dawgs ended a disappointing 10-3 season with a win over Mich. St. The Jackets ended a glorious season at 9-4 with a stomping by LSU.
After the loss this year I was just glad that it didn’t have anything to do with the outcome of our season. At least it’s kept a few nerds occupied with posting the final score on every message board in the southeast. Pretty pathetic.
Kiffin's A Bozo
August 18th, 2009
11:54 am
What do I do to try to minimize injuries during training camp??? I take them to a bowling alley ’cause I know thats as close to “going bowling” as they’re gonna get this year!
MoDawg
August 18th, 2009
12:00 pm
m….proof that all it takes is 3 little points to awaken the idiots. How did your vaunted ACC team do against our middle of the road (last year) SEC team in the Chick-fil-a bowl?
Please see the 7 years prior to 2008 for our version of powderpuff.
Enjoy it while it lasts. 45-42 is not painful, it’s hilarious at this point. I wouldn’t expect you nerds to act like you’ve “been there” before, kind of like being on a date with someone of the opposite sex. It’s kind of hard to expect you to control yourself when you have no point of reference.
GA Tech Insider
August 18th, 2009
12:00 pm
It’s nice to see that some of you are actually deciding to talk about the topic of this blog instead of hurling insults at one another.
It’s no wonder as it almost seems like the Hatfields versus the McCoys at times with the way many of you speak to each other like you’re the ones playing against each other come Saturday afternoons.
Believe it or not, you’re only fans – you aren’t playing a lick of football, boys, so don’t go around acting macho like you’re doing anything special. All you’re doing is sitting behind a keyboard like little boys who aren’t big enough, old enough, or good enough, to get out there and do it yourselves.
Heck, most of you never were big enough, old enough, or good enough, to get out there and do it yourselves in the first place, so here many of you are, trying to use this forum as a poor substitute for your own inadequacies growing up as a child and personal insecurities.
Hurl the insults at me all you want, children, but at the end of the day, all it proves is that I’m a grown man and you’re still spoiled brats who can’t hold logical discussions about sports.
m
August 18th, 2009
12:02 pm
Everyone of you fluff dawgs were talking big about your #1 preseason fluff dawgs last year. All of you and others were talking about how much you were going to stomp TECH.
Well, guess what? You found out the hard way that playing Paul Johnson is not the same as playing chan gomer gailey.
You found out that playing Josh Nesbitt is not the same as playing Reggie Ball.
But you are such a bunch of idiots that you just can’t admit it publicly.
So let me explain to you fluff dawgs.
There is a new sheriff in town…his name is Paul Johnson…his mission is to stomp you sorry fluff dawgs year after year. He WILL accomplish this mission.
And you dawgs will whine and cry and whine and cry and whine and cry….and I will be here to laugh at you.
Thank God and Greyhound that he worst coach in the history of the world is gone forever….even if you fluff dawgs are too stupid to realize it…yet.
45-42….glad it hurts so bad…and it is only the BEGINNING.
ReptilesRule
August 18th, 2009
12:03 pm
You are never going to be able to “avoid” all injuries during camp and it IS a very fine line sometimes on how hard to go. This is where having a great Strength and Conditioning coach to prepare them for the rigors of camp and an alert training staff really comes into play. Obviously, even devoid of serious injury, you don’t want your team beat up and worn out before the season even starts but you don’t want them “soft” and unprepared either. Constant communication between players and trainers and coaches is a must and then it’s “cross your fingers”.
WOW!!!
August 18th, 2009
12:04 pm
M is getting his AZZ handed to him by DawginLex!! Well done DawginLex. Nice beatdown!! UGA owns Tech and that’s why M is such a cry baby because he has a hard time accepting it! Its okay little baby M, Mommy is making you your favorite dinner tonight. Chicken tenders and french fries. YEA!!! You’re a SISSY M!! hahahhahaha!!!
BGloyd
August 18th, 2009
12:06 pm
I do not believe there is a right and wrong way. Just look at the D3 coach at Mount Union. He has 1.5 hrs of practice with no hitting at all and he is in the championship just about every year. Then you can look at Paul Johnson who has his quarterbacks hit in practice yet he has shown he is successful. Injuries happen whether you get hit or not its a part of the game.
AltamahaDawg
August 18th, 2009
12:16 pm
The arguments are getting all mixed up here. UGA practice was a 2 part story last year. Apples and Oranges.
Richt related how he backed off of hitting during the scrimmage in camp last year, and he felt so uneasy he scheduled a new scrimmage, in which they did hit. So in camp, yes, you need to get after it. He backed off, then reconsidered and corrected.
THEN, After the LSU game is when they backed off of live tackling during the week. Different situation. You have 3 LB that can play at SEC level…..you can’t go with 2. Its a no brainer at that part. So was the live tackling the issue by the end of the season OR was was it the aformentioned only 3 LB playing the entire game? Both. And what choice was there? Nobody in this room would have gambled getting your last guy injured during the week.
Hard to believe we will ever see that type of freakish attrition ever again, so hopefully it’s lessons learned that are never needed. And honestly I’m not sure what they ever learned from that. I think sometimes you just recognize where you are and do the best you can. The last time I can remember anything like that was Ray Goff’s next to last year, and he was into his entire 3rd string DL by mid season. They held up till about mid-3rd quarter, and then the opponents just ran at will.
Gen Neyland
August 18th, 2009
12:18 pm
Cuz : I saw snow falling from the sky in late summer in MSP. As a suth’ner, I thought we were seeing fallout from a Ruskie nuke attack on Fargo…
Zoo : We had a coach in high school that told a teammate to tape up a broken leg and get back in.
m : If you want, change your tag to M. That’ll confuse her.
All in all, if you practice soft, you play soft. Yeah, gotta go full bore when coaches call for full bore. Somebody want to remind me how Coutu go hurt before the UT game 2007, or was it 2006..?
Tide Rising
August 18th, 2009
12:21 pm
G8R GRAD,
Sorry man, I didn’t mean to diss the gators. I was just trying to make the point that back in the 60s and 70s the SEC really wasn’t very deep and that several programs Florida in particular really just weren’t very good back then. Different story nowadays of course.
I think in the 80s the conference really started to develop a lot of good teams. Florida started to really develop a decent program in the 80s, Auburn was dominant under Pat Dye, LSU was good in the 80s. Bama and Georgia were both good.
And then when we went to the 2 division format in the early 90s we went to usually having 6 really good teams almost every year. Auburn and UT are in transition right now of course but I suspect that when they get back up again we’ll be right back to having 6 very prominent programs that can all put together a national title run in any given year. And even then there will be programs like Ole Miss and Ark that can still have 9 win seasons on a regular basis and teams like UK and South Carolina that can put together 7-8 game winning seasons.
BIGBOY
August 18th, 2009
12:23 pm
CharlotteGator you Gator fans like to keep sprouting that non sense about depth and Fla had worse injuries than UGA etc.Well prove it…what all conference,all american caliber players you had that missed the entire season?None..you love to talk about depth as if that is some new concept just discovered by Urban Meyer or something…let you in on a little secret…that spiel has been around since the days of Red Grange!Okay?Nobody needs to keep hearing the 3rd grade logic about depth..Fla has had injuries true..none to players considered the very best on the team…UGA lost 5 of their top 10 last year for the ENTIRE season,19 players all together missed the bulk of the season and we still won 10 games.FLA didn’t lose ANYBODY the caliber of Owens or Sturdivant and nowhere near 19 players in total..so UNTILL FLA goes thru the same situation and produce 10 wins shut up!!IN 07 the Gators cry about how they played all these freshman blah,blah,blah that’s why they won 8 games…. whatever… I say what UGA went thru in 08 to be a much worse situation.You will find out this year just how much those players meant to the team while they are kicking your ASS on the field OCT 31.
Tide Rising
August 18th, 2009
12:25 pm
General,
Agreed. Everybody’s got to raise their game through practice. Take me for example. I’ve been getting pumped up and ready for football everyday by either stiffarming the mail lady or tackling the ups guy when they come round. They must be awfully sore by now but at least I’m now primed and ready for September 5th.