Homecoming 2009: A blogger’s notebook
It's always fun to see the alumni cheerleaders. Can you believe they still have those uniforms? (Photo by Olivia King)
Homecoming at Sanford Stadium came on a glorious fall Saturday amid all the pomp and pageantry that puts college football on a level above the game played on Sundays, at least in my mind. My daughter and I got to enjoy the parade in downtown Athens Friday night and an up-close performance by the Redcoat Band at the early morning rehearsal on the practice fields, where we joined my brothers, one of whom was part of the 35th annual alumni band that performed the pregame show.
Beyond that, let’s face it, this wasn’t a game that deserves a lot of heavy analysis. Tennessee Tech was a 1-AA team outmanned at every position and played like it. They flat out couldn’t run against Georgia. And what little passing game they had didn’t test our defense, either. It was mainly an opportunity for the Dogs to give everyone some playing time.
I heard several fans express the same sentiment in almost exactly the same words: This should have been our opening opponent this season.
Yes, the slow-to-arrive crowd was a little lighter than usual, but not much less than you’d normally get for a game like this. The main difference I saw was in the tailgating, which was much sparser along Lumpkin Street as we strolled to the stadium late Saturday morning.
Redcoats rehearse early Saturday morning. (Photo by Olivia King)
Despite having a foe they could feast on, the Dogs didn’t linger over this game, which ran less than three hours. Even stadium announcer Brook Whitmire seemed in a hurry, failing to stretch out his pregame “Betweeeeeeen the Hedges” like usual and not getting a chance to do his traditional intro of the Dogs, as they went ahead and ran on the field while the “Saturday Night’s Alright” video was still playing.
Georgettes dance at rehearsal of Homecoming halftime show. (Photo by Olivia King)
After the game, the comments from fans leaving were pretty much along these lines: “Well, it was a win. We needed that. And it was good to see the running game clicking, even if it against Tennessee Tech. Washaun Ealey looked good. But I can’t believe we still couldn’t get the penalties under control!”
And as for backup quarterback Logan Gray’s three unproductive series behind center, the refrain I heard from more than one fan in the stands: “If that’s the future of Georgia football, I don’t like it.”
Some more thoughts and observations as I flip through my notes from Saturday:
Joe Cox might not be much better than a medium-level SEC quarterback, but the drop-off from him to Gray is alarming.
As tough as it is to judge what Georgia’s offense did in the first half because of the fact they were going against a not very talented 1-AA defense, you could still see that Ealey is starting to mature as a running back. The moves he made to break loose on that 44-yard touchdown run were big-time. Caleb King also made some really nice cuts on a run where he took it down to the Tennessee Tech 5-yard line. And the speed Branden Smith showed on that direct-snap touchdown run was impressive. I really hope we see that “Wild Dawg” formation more often.
The offensive line opened up some big holes Saturday against inferior opposition. On the other hand, when Georgia had second down and short yardage and its running game got stuffed on two consecutive plays, leading to a Walsh field goal, our line looked its usual mediocre self.
Georgia obviously used Saturday’s game to try some things out, including going no-huddle some on the second scoring drive. That touchdown by Orson Charles was a really nice catch in traffic.
Kicker Blair Walsh was really in the zone Saturday, notching another couple of touchbacks and also executing the Richt/Jon Fabris-preferred directional kickoff to near perfection. And still on one of those high, well-placed directionals, the Dogs’ coverage team let the Golden Eagles get to near the 40-yard line. I wish Richt would just let Walsh kick go for the end zone. I know those kicks when he does tend not to be very high or have a lot of hang time, but they’re not getting returned, either, so what’s the problem?
Alumni majorettes perform in Saturday's pregame show. (Photo by Olivia King)
The Dogs fumbled a few times Saturday but managed to recover them. They still can’t buy a takeaway, though. It was striking to see on a Tennessee Tech fumble the ball sit on the ground for a couple of seconds with no Bulldog able to pounce on it before a Golden Eagle covered it.
I saw where Auburn put up 63 points on their 1-AA opponent Saturday, which probably says more about the mentality of their coaches and ours than anything else. Let’s face it, Richt just won’t run the score up on anyone, and it was obvious Saturday that after the Dogs got up 31-0 they were no longer pressing. Auburn also gave up 31 points to Furman, while Georgia shut out Tennessee Tech. If nothing else, at least the Dogs defenders got to experience again what that feels like. Our defense played aggressively and made a lot of tackles in the Golden Eagle backfield. Again, though, we have to keep in mind that they weren’t going against an SEC line.
What little running success the Golden Eagles had Saturday came mostly on the outside, obviously a weak spot for the Dogs’ run defense.
The rash of false starts on Georgia’s offensive line was ridiculous, I don’t care what sort of noises the Golden Eagle defenders were making to confuse the snap count. I liked that Mark Richt yanked offending players from the game when a flag was thrown, something he should have been doing all along. But then he waffled after the game: “It sends a message but it also might have gotten guys about as tight as they can get. So I’m not sure we’ll continue that.” Ah, just what we need, decisive leadership!
Finally, did my eyes deceive me or didn’t they send Bacarri Rambo in at quarterback for Georgia’s last offensive play? (Update: Yes, my eyes apparently did deceive me. My brother Tim had a better view and said that it looked like someone else wearing the same number as Rambo, probably a scout team QB.)
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78 comments Add your comment
Dawgs2009
November 8th, 2009
11:39 am
First!
Dawgs2009
November 8th, 2009
11:41 am
I am the king of the early morning, useless UGA blog! I will rule the galaxy!
BobDog
November 8th, 2009
11:42 am
I am glad to see Logan Gray get some more game experience, but he is not producing like I expected him to.
BobDog
November 8th, 2009
11:45 am
Bill King, on November 6, you said that you think Murray will be the starter next year. Why not the other freshman, Mettenburger?
maddawg
November 8th, 2009
11:45 am
FIRST!!!!!!!!!
maddawg
November 8th, 2009
11:46 am
NO, 5TH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BobDog
November 8th, 2009
11:48 am
I’m sorry, “Mettenburg.” I like his size. I would assume a traditional dropback passer would work better in Georgia’s system if he has the skills. Has Murray shown something in practice that makes it obvious that he will be next year’s starter?
MT
November 8th, 2009
11:50 am
Batson #18, whoever that is, was the last QB in before the game ended
Bill King
November 8th, 2009
12:04 pm
BobDog:
I think Mettenberger is more of a project and will take longer to mature. He’s big and he has a very strong arm, but he’s not very mobile and at G-Day definitely looked like he was lagging behind Murray. Mettenberger may start some day, but I doubt it’ll be next year.
BassnDawg
November 8th, 2009
12:21 pm
Dang Babeee…We beat Tech 38-0!!! I got my swagger back! i’m goin to WAlmart an bark in them Tech fans faces whoooohoo
What?
November 8th, 2009
12:24 pm
Homecoming is always a good time… Right now, I’m curious as to how Willie plans to defend Gus… Or even better, can he?
RomeDawg
November 8th, 2009
12:36 pm
Anyone ever notice that a lot of “dawg fans” complain ALL the time. No matter what we do there is always that “but”. A win is a win! A shutout is a shutout! Penalties are a concern. Let’s just enjoy the win. And to BobDog, sometimes fans get enamored with the “measurables” and the forget to look at productivity. Murray isn’t big but in Florida he was know as “Tiny Tim” for his ability to lead and WIN.
Recruitment Ron
November 8th, 2009
12:48 pm
Someone dropped the ball at UGA, 3 Freshmen QB’s who look like they won’t get much experience this year? Quarterback controversy hitting Athens Theatres 2010.
4th Place - SEC East Dawg
November 8th, 2009
12:57 pm
We’re back baby!!
Pissed off Bulldawg(2 years running)
November 8th, 2009
1:06 pm
You are right from one point of view, ROMEDAWG, But the flip side of that coin is you and I could be in our 80’s, and Bill King would be in Heaven, the next time OUR DAWGS sniff a national(err) I mean BS(BCS) Championship!
I find ABSOLUTELY NOTHING wrong with the criticism of our coaching staff the last 3 years, NOTHING AT ALL.
Noone is criticizing the players that we love and support(with the exception of B EVANS-who graduates this year(YAHOO), Reshad Jones, and maybe Joe Cox(who also graduates this year(hot diggity dogg!!!).
Our coaching staff made us promises to fix the things that were obviously wrong with this team (the last 2+ years) over the 8 month off-season, so we shutup and had to take their word for it…which BTW, Buck Belue, is what LOYAL fans do.
And what happened? This year the SAME THINGS are happening, only now they are 3 times worse and 3 times more obvious.
So promises were made to us fans, that support this crappy coaching staff with MONEY, MONEY, MONEY. Promises were broken, and we HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO VOICE OUR OPINION ABOUT IT.
And to BUCK BELUE and others, if that makes me and others “fair weather fans”, than so darn be it.
I would rather be known as ‘fair weather’ then be lloked at by other fans of the SEC as the LAUGHING STOCK because we fans HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WINNING SEC FOOTBALL LOOKS LIKE, because we would be cheering and supporting the worst brand of coaching in the SEC.(and yes, I am talking about Willie and Fabris and Bobo as a playcaller)
I love CMR, but I will stop loving him if he proves he can’t make the tough choices coming up this DECEMBER, ONE MONTH from now.
Pissed off Bulldawg(2 years running)
November 8th, 2009
1:21 pm
I know exactly what Murray is capable of, I was at the Gday game and saw him bootleg to the right and zip a pass 35 yards on a rope to a reciever directly in stride…
He has got an arm, quick release, fast as lightning, and there was ONLY ONE kid in high school last year rated higher than him in the ENTIRE country, and that kid has been starting at USC the entire year.
Murray is going to be THE MAN next year, and he is gonna have at least 25 TD passes to AJ Green, O Charles, M Brown, and Da’Rick Rogers.
We are gonna be GOOD TO GO on offense. Now we just need them to send Willie packing, and bring in a GREAT DC. DO NOT PROMOTE FROM WITHIN!!!!!
Pissed off Bulldawg(2 years running)
November 8th, 2009
1:23 pm
And just for the record, we are in 2ND PLACE IN THE SEC EAST. We already have won the tiebraker with SC, and UT only has two SEC victories!!!
DA
DG
November 8th, 2009
1:36 pm
Tennessee Tech played the Dogs’ Homecoming Game for the money. Get a clue and skip the heavy analysis of the game.
The Eagles built their stadium with the money they received playing Alabama’s homecoming a couple years ago.
Bobo's BBQ
November 8th, 2009
1:50 pm
Mike Bobo invites to a BBQ and to watch the SEC Title Game
December 5, 2009
5 P.M.
4117 Defenseless Avenue- Athens, Ga 30605
B.Y.O.B.
Easy decision
November 8th, 2009
1:55 pm
Watch recruiting videos of Murray. He will be a stud. I just hope he can put things together quickly next year since he got no experience this year. He may go through a similar season to Barkley and just take his bruises and learn from them.
Cuz
November 8th, 2009
1:58 pm
I thought Bobo lived on Offensive Way.
Beano Cook
November 8th, 2009
2:03 pm
…..Josh Nesbiitt for Heisman
Not just a rumor
November 8th, 2009
2:13 pm
I am starting to hear/read that Notre Dame is going to make a strong run at Urban and Johnson.
Saint Simons
November 8th, 2009
2:23 pm
Tenn Tech !!!!!!! hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha UGA bought that game.
R.S.V.P.
November 8th, 2009
2:34 pm
Coch Bobo, i wood lik two com two yor BBQ on the 5th. i lok furwerd two waching the gamee andz geting sum god BBQ. i wil brinng sum beersz andz a desert. Cee you than andz goo Dawgs!
Brandon Boykin # 2
Saint Simons
November 8th, 2009
2:36 pm
Troy ranked higher than Uga!!!!!! hahahahahahahahahahahaha
WTH
November 8th, 2009
2:54 pm
Not just a rumor,
I guess since you don’t think you can beat either one, you want them hired away, what a chicken ……
South Carolina is next
November 8th, 2009
3:11 pm
Urban is not going anywhere. He is stacked with young talent on the field and the sideline, the recruiting class as of today is very impressive, and he has a QB that was heavily recruited by Georgia and Texas among others ready to go next year.
Supes
November 8th, 2009
3:45 pm
Who is at fault that Joe Cox is just average, is having to start, and that the drop off at QB is alarming?
UGA coaching staff, headed by CMR.
Someone should ask Richt about that, but they won’t. Don’t wanna “rock the boat” on such a fine season.
Logan Gray should have never been offered here at UGA, he doesn’t fit what the pro style set does and he obviously can’t run it (from what we’ve seen in limited action). Kid just looks SCARED when he has to throw.
Instead of using this season to get Murray ready, we’ll be experiencing a QB who has never seen the field in game action during the 2010 season.
Quincy Carter handoff to Jasper Sanks
November 8th, 2009
3:49 pm
Bill King – Isn’t it interesting to note that back toward the end of Jim Donnan’s era the same complaints were being made. Players are undisciplined, turnovers, undeveloped talent, penalties, turnovers, players in bars, etc. (underage players mind you) Mark Richt’s first year at UGA he focused heavily on the kids acting like responsible adults. What happened to that? Seems like he’s too concerned on making sure the kids have fun and playing loose. It may not be his end goal but it seems it’s coming at the expense of players losing focus and discipline. Why is it not possible to do both? In my opinion, teaching kids responsibility and hard nosed discipline (on and off the playing field) reaps it’s own success. Most of the time it translates into positive reinforcement of so many intangebles on and off the field, which is fun.
Anyone hating on Bobo. Remember with Richt at the helm of the offense a couple years ago we were consistently last in red zone offense every year. Remember winning games kicking field goals (Billy Bennett set the NCAA record if I remember right). Anyways, I think Bobo needs to mix plays up a little better but he’s also been handicap without a dominate running game. (althought I think he abandons the running game too early in some games).
The strength conditioning issue also brought up this week to Van Halanger and CMR post practice media interview. The focus was on the strength/weigh lifting. Maybe not a strength issue but conditioning…Has NO ONE NOTICED since the Ok St. game how much the players (most noticably on D) look winded!!! Mental breakdowns, mistakes on coverage etc happen a lot easier when your playing the game a step or two tired. The defensive breakdown in the secondary looks more glaring in the 3rd and 4th quarters when the starters are out there. I hate comparing coaches/programs (I mentioned this before on the blog), Nick Saban’s first year at Bama had all those players running 4 quarter fatigue drills. All the Bama players were complaining about it but said it has helped. Sure has…if there is one thing Bama does better than anyone, is playing solid, especially on Defense, the ENTIRE GAME.
Maybe a season like this is exactly what we needed in the Dawg Nation. Makes everyone in the program look for ways to strengthen itself and step it up. I have all the confidence in the world with Mark Richt and look forward to the future of this program. (minus willie, no brainer there). GO DAWGS
shards1967
November 8th, 2009
4:32 pm
In 2010 if QB A Murray goes down with a bad knee …………UGA will be about 3-8 with L Gray as back up. UGA is in deep trouble for about two more years ……2010 and 2011, I am afraid. They had better get a QB recruited this year, so the new head coach next year, or for sure in 2011 will have some good ones to groom.
UGA, class of 71 & 73
mcdaviddawg
November 8th, 2009
6:45 pm
This game showed nothing new. The same things that haven’t workked against a college team. TTU was much like playing a high school. Next year will be no better than this year. As long as we have Richt we won’t be a wnner again. The man doesn’t have a pulse.
JB
November 8th, 2009
7:10 pm
Next year will ALSO be tough, with or without Willie. Murray will be better than Cox ( we hope) and we are very avg. at RB, The lineman we have need to greatly improve and we really lose a lot along the defensive front with little coming back that have proven a thing. We are in a talent slump.
Bobby Houseman
November 8th, 2009
7:10 pm
Tennessee Tech is the only Tech team the Dawgs will beat. Pitiful puppies.
JB
November 8th, 2009
7:17 pm
we have become to Bama and Florida………..and maybe Tennessee what Vandy or Mississippi St. is to us, a W !After next year, Mark’s winning percentage will be about 500 for a body of 30 games or so, and 7 or 8 blowouts on National TV. Ask Coker and Tubbs about bringing up seasons from 3 or 4 years back.
td
November 8th, 2009
7:35 pm
Pissed off Bulldawg(2 years running), You do not bash players and then turn around and call out three damn good dawgs that bust their butt every time they are on the field. On top of that you keep trying to call out one of the best leaders our program has ever had and you are trying to micro manage the winningest coach this program has ever had.
Did you happen to notice the records of CVD and CBB I posted last night? I guess if their were blogs back then you would have been on them talking about firing both of them after the 1970 season or telling them to replace their coaches?
I am so sick of you “fair weather, know it all fans” that I hope CMR does nothing after this year so you all can turn in your season tickets, burn your UGA gear and start jumping on the Gator, Vol, Yellow Jacket bandwagon. At least then the true fans can enjoy our team win, loose or draw and can really celebrate without any of the negativity the next few years when we win our next SECC.
jdawg14
November 8th, 2009
7:57 pm
I agree with you TD. GO DAWGS-for better or worse…
41 38 49 38 45 24 37 41 17 20 45 41 * 0 *
November 8th, 2009
8:13 pm
<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Willie Days are here again !!!!!!!!!
Law of averages
November 8th, 2009
8:18 pm
Hey whats all the fuss? UGA has an Average Joe for QB while the program itself is just that Average. Avearage Fans who come late to the games and leave early too. CMR is just an Average gameday coach. This university is just plain Average!
Dawghater
November 8th, 2009
8:29 pm
UGA plays Tennessee Tech on Homecoming and Tech plays Va Tech on homecoming. UGA stepped up!
Dawghater
November 8th, 2009
8:32 pm
Good news puppy dawg fans! Willie Martinez’s defense shut out Tennessee and Tech. OOPS, sorry that was only Tennessee Tech not “Tennessee” and “Tech”!
GaDawg
November 8th, 2009
8:58 pm
All you fools saying that we should fire Richt had better be careful what you wish for. The next coach could be a Donnan or Goff clone! Every team has off years.
Techies enjoy this year Johnson won’t be around forever. He’s a money man and will always be chasing the next high dollar paycheck high profile job. He has no loyalty. Ask anyone from Georgia Southern and Navy. I would not be surprised if Meyer goes to ND, Fl goes after Johnson. Let’s see, FL or GT, I bet you techies can answer that one.
GaDawg
November 8th, 2009
8:59 pm
Amen TD. Well said.
question
November 8th, 2009
9:05 pm
If King is correct about the falloff, what will UGa do early next year? Start a freshman? Or go with the one you think is so much of a falloff?
Is that poor planning?
MIKE ON LAKE HARTWELL
November 8th, 2009
9:11 pm
next 3 we can win.
outback on the horizon.
GO DAWGS
jdawg14
November 8th, 2009
9:27 pm
If Stafford/Moreno had stayed then this years offense would have stayed on the field more with longer drives. This in turn would have kept the dawg defense off the field giving themselves more rest. Our offense this year has had a lot of turnovers and penalties that have given our opponents good field position and puts our defense in a hole. And with all this scheduling crap, you can blame that on Damon Evans for wanting to get UGA on a national level. The Dawgs were wore out before they even got to the meat of the SEC schedule. Save the Tenn. Techs for warm-ups at the beginning of the year like they’ve always done. We play in the best and toughest conference in college football, we need to save ourselves for SEC games. GO DAWGS!!!!!
RedMan
November 8th, 2009
9:35 pm
Chuck on the 680 The Fan Tailgate show this morning was railing about how weak the OL looks. He says their weights are the same as when they got here as freshmen. He says the don’t show any nastiness and fire. His words, not mine.
Tailback U
November 8th, 2009
9:37 pm
Nope you are full of it Law of averages. Fans that fill Sanford
stadium to 90 % capacity in the middle of this type of season are
a long way from average. When I read the report of the attendence
I was impressed because a lot of programs would have a significant
no shows in similar circumstances. Just look at GT that miserable
program can hardly find support when they are winning games.
Pitiful and pathetic on their part. I am proud that the Georgia
fan base while divided in it’s opinion ,love and support the Dawgs
now and in the future. There is one silver lining in this disappointing year. GT is 100 % convinced that they cannot lose
to the Dawgs and I know whoever wins the game will be close.
If we happen to come out on the winning side of the ledger
half of the Tech fan base will be lined up to jump off the North Ave
bridge. It will be a tremendous opportunity for a few keen
enterpenurial Dawg fans to make a nice penny selling tickets to
that blessed event.
U. Ben Dover
November 8th, 2009
9:52 pm
Hey Redman…… UGA s offensive and defensive lines are a joke.. They play with no intensity or urgency. This team is soft and has no killer instinct and Quits. I was fuming when the dawgs just rolled over to Fla late in the 4th. The Dawgs gave up which was just pathetic. They didnt even try to make the score more respectable. This team is nothing but a bunch of spoiled law breakng thugs! Let’em Dance to their stupid Hip hop music which seems that this the only moves they have….
td
November 8th, 2009
10:13 pm
U. Ben Dover, You have either been drinking too much or just do not understand the game. All three defensive tackles will be playing on Sunday and there are at least two of the offensive line will also.
If you are a DAWGS fan and this unhappy then just turn in your season tickets, burn your gear and find a another hat to wear. I promise you will not be missed and I really want you to be happy and stop having to bend over so often.