Archive for July, 2009

Preseason practice hasn’t even begun and the folks in Stillwater have already reached a fever pitch in their excitement over the opening game against Georgia. And no wonder. Because of their high-powered offense, many prognosticators are pegging Oklahoma State as probably a Top 10 team, despite the fact they’re picked third in their own conference division (such is the current media infatuation with the big guns of the Big 12). 

I checked in recently on the piece I wrote a couple of weeks ago on whether the Cowboys were overrated and the Dogs underrated, and confident Okie State fans are still posting comments. 

The beat writer who covers OSU for the Oklahoman goes so far as to predict a 21-point win over the Bulldogs. 

And now comes a bit of bulletin-board material courtesy of Andre Sexton, a senior linebacker on the Pokes’ defense, who remembers his teammates being intimidated and scared when they visited Athens two years ago for what turned into a beatdown Between the …

Continue reading Cowpoke: Dogs should be ‘scared’ »

Did you hear about the ruckus going on at Auburn over the university partnering with a private company to charge for tailgating access to a new campus green space adjacent to Jordan-Hare Stadium?

The company, called Tailgate Guys, will charge from $222 per game ($1,775 total) to $535 per game ($4,275 total) for the full season for what an Auburn official called a “stress-free” tailgating experience in which tents, tables and chairs are set up and taken down for you. Tailgating for individual games is available for $300 to $1,250. Those signing up also have the option of ordering coolers filled with ice, paper products and utensils and full-service catering.

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The pay-tailgate plan is limited to one area of …

Continue reading What do you think of paying to tailgate? »

Too often in recent years, Georgia’s special teams, especially on kickoff coverage, have been, well, not special enough. Too many walk-ons, not enough truly special athletes on the field. And that tendency was exacerbated last year by the rash of injuries that reduced the pool of available players.

This year, Mark Richt is taking a step in the right direction. He told the Greater Atlanta Bulldog Club last night that he doesn’t plan on redshirting any incoming freshman skill players, with the exception of quarterback, and that he plans on giving those freshmen early playing experience on special teams.

The idea is that this will have a twofold benefit: The special teams get the “runners” and “hitters” that they need, and the freshmen learn what they’re supposed to do. “They’ll help us on special teams, and they will grow as players at their positions, too,” Richt said.

Putting more Grade A talent, even if it’s green talent, into our kickoff coverage sounds like a great idea. …

Continue reading A fresh approach could pay off big »

Does anything with that elongated “G” catch your eye? Does the sound of the Redcoat band quicken your pulse? Do the words “hunker down” bring a smile to your face? Do you have numerous articles of clothing that are red, black or red and black?

University of Georgia

Congratulations, you’re one of us! And if you are, you know that there are many reasons for your devotion to all things Dawg. Starting today, just for fun, we’ll run down 101 of them — not in any particular order. They’re all part of who we are. Here are the first 20 …

1. “It’s Saturday in Athens!”

2. Uga VII and all his predecessors. The most recognizable — and, as Sports Illustrated said, the best — college mascot in America.

3. “The ball ain’t heavy.”

4. Erk’s bleeding forehead.

5. The Arch.

6. “There goes Herschel.”

7. The most beautiful stadium in college football.

8. The “G” helmet design — even better than Green Bay’s original and the best-looking in all of football.

9. Hines Ward.

10. Silver …

Continue reading 101 Reasons to Be a UGA Fan »

Maybe it’s the Tim Tebow effect.

Those Gators just aren’t the party animals they were a year ago, falling from first place to second behind that bastion of hedonism, Penn State, in the Princeton Review’s new listing of the top party schools. 

Following the Gators were those hard-partyin’ Rebels at Ole Miss (mint julep, anyone?) and then UGA, up from its seventh place finish last year. The rest of the Top 10 in descending order: Ohio University (in the lesser Athens), West Virginia (couch burning!), Texas (do they go shirtless like Matthew McConaughey?), Wisconsin (killer cheese dip), FSU (good to know they’re still good at something) and the University of California at Santa Barbara (surf’s up!).

Seriously … no, wait, there’s no reason to take any of this seriously. The list was compiled from the votes of 122,000 students nationwide and apparently resulted in some Facebook ballot-box stuffing on the part of the Nittany Lions, who for some reason desperately wanted this, uh, …

Continue reading Hey JoePa, I wanna party with you! »

A few quick reads of interest:

Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald talks with UGA receivers coach Tony Ball about how deep the Dogs will go into their corps of six scholarship wide receivers this season. “If you only have two that you trust, you’re only going to play two,” Ball says. “If you have four that you can trust, you’re going to play that four. … You’re going to play players that can help you win. How many is that? You don’t know that until you get going here and see who’s productive and who knows what they’re doing and who you can trust?” He knows one thing, though. Freshmen Marlon Brown and Rantavious Wooten won’t be redshirted because of the lack of depth. “We don’t have a choice,” Ball says. “We can’t get hurt. Simple.” …

Rex Robinson may have been a kicker, but he knows a great running back when he sees one, having been on the 1980 Dawgs. Assessing UGA’s current group of tailbacks, he thinks “it’s sometimes the almost …

Continue reading Two-minute drill: Trustworthy receivers, special tailbacks, more »

While some UGA fans still hold a grudge against Matthew Stafford for a) leaving school early and b) not winning any championship while he was in Athens, most Dog fans are still rooting for him to succeed in the NFL, just as they do for the many other former Bulldogs playing in the pro ranks.

So for those who’d like an encouraging word about Stafford, columnist Tom Kowalski of Booth Newspapers’ MLive.com in Michigan says Stafford is on the “fast track” to become the Detroit Lions’ starting quarterback when the season opens Sept. 13, despite Lions head coach Jim Schwartz’s warnings that Stafford still has a lot to learn.

So far, Kowalski says, “Stafford has passed every test with flying colors and cleared every hurdle with plenty of room to spare.” While “we are still seven weeks away from the opener and anything can happen,” he says, “people in the [Lions] organization believe Stafford is even better than they thought” when they made him the first overall pick with $41.7 …

Continue reading Stafford on ‘fast track’ with Lions? »

Thanks to a link via Get the Picture, I checked out a report in the Union-Recorder in Milledgevile on Mark Richt’s appearance last week at the Lake Country Bulldog Club meeting at Rock Eagle, and a couple of his comments provide a clearer focus on where the Dogs stand with a couple of positions.

Talking about the secondary, Richt said, “Prince Miller will start at the wide corner. Usually, he’ll get matched up with the better receivers because teams usually put their best receivers on the wide side of the field. Brandon Boykin is slated to start at the boundary position. And we’ll also have Makiri Pugh, Vance Cuff and Sanders Commings. I’ll bet we’ll have three cornerbacks in a game over 50 percent of our season — because how teams spread things out.” 

In other words, don’t look for true freshman Branden Smith to be starting any time soon. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get in for a few plays at receiver long before he’s a regular in the …

Continue reading Richt zeros in on secondary, tight ends »

Asked to name Georgia’s biggest SEC rivals, most fans quickly will say Florida first and Auburn second. Then maybe Tennessee, followed by South Carolina. Or should LSU rank above those two? What about Alabama? 

As rivalries go, the usual weak sisters of the SEC East (Kentucky and Vandy) and the SEC West teams we don’t play that often (Arkansas, Ole Miss and Mississippi State) probably wouldn’t be anyone’s pick.

But the fact is that as tight as the battle for the SEC East title is most years, every conference game is important. Not equally important, because if, say, Georgia and Florida wind up with the same record in the East but Florida beats Georgia head to head, they take the division. Still, it’s safe to say that even games against Vandy and Mississippi State are more important in terms of the Dogs’ SEC goals than the annual nonconference game against Georgia Tech. 

Continue reading Is the Florida series Richt’s ultimate test? »

ESPN.com’s Chris Low reports that Georgia receiver A.J. Green, a freshman sensation last season and a consensus preseason All-SEC first-team pick, is bulking up, but the increased weight apparently isn’t affecting his speed. Green has put on 20 pounds, according to Georgia coach Mark Richt, and now weighs 207. The 6-4 sophomore was listed last year at 190 pounds. Low quotes Richt as saying Green is “faster and more explosive,” but he notes that the Dogs still need someone to step up and replace Mohamed Massaquoi on the other side at receiver. …

Bulldawg Illustrated’s Ryan Scates thinks Sanford Stadium is respected as a beautiful place to play but isn’t as intimidating as some other stadiums. Scates makes the case for playing more home games at night in Athens, arguing that while afternoon kickoffs might provide a more family-friendly game experience, “night games are louder, they are more electric, and they are the culmination of hours of anticipation of waiting to see the …

Continue reading Two-minute drill: Green a bigger star, night games, SEC, Jacksonville »