Are Dogs back on track or were Vols and Vandy that bad?
After two big wins at home, the Dogs take their rehab project on the road this week. (Brant Sanderlin / AJC)
I’m getting back into the work routine today after being on the disabled list, and I figure that’s a good time for a quick check on the confidence level in the Bulldog Nation.
I’m trying to decide which Georgia team is likely to show up in Lexington Saturday night, the one that looked dominant against Tennessee and Vanderbilt, or the one that looked so hapless against Mississippi State and Colorado.
As the pendulum has swung back this week with talk about the Dogs being back in the SEC race, the showdown with Kentucky looks bigger and bigger.
Let’s face it, while the wins over UT and Vandy did a lot to get Georgia back on track, neither opponent was a very good team.
Which raises the question of just how good Georgia is. Have the Dogs really turned the corner? I liked what rarely quoted offensive line coach Stacy Searels told the Bulldogs Blog when that question was put to him.
Said Searels: “You gotta go out every Saturday and compete. If you think you’ve arrived because you’ve won two games in a row, you’re not very smart, I’ll say that.”
Yes, the Dogs have made progress since Starkville and Boulder. Now they’ve got to prove they can do it consistently against better competition. And at night on the road.
So what do you think? Is your confidence in Mark Richt’s team restored or are you taking a wait-and-see stance? Has Georgia really improved that much the past two weeks, or was it all about the Vols and Commodores not being that good?
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171 comments Add your comment
BoWeevil
October 22nd, 2010
2:44 am
Herschel Walker didn’t say that at all.
That is what you said.
You also say that I keep repeating myself when the facts are that we are firmly in the news for 11 arrests since March 7 and now 2 NCAA probes into illegal benefits to Georgia Bulldogs players at both wide receiver and at running back. Both are our Starters. Both have missed numerous games and chunks of games in their time here, and largely those have been our games we LOST.
Losing at 12-11 over the years 2006 2007 2008 2009 and now 2010 to SEC East teams has grown worrisome as it has marched on. Yet, YOU POSTERS repeatedly make up your LIST OF EXCUSES that our players do not care about the team and that 12-11 vs a SERIOUSLY DOWN SEC EAST 2006 2007 2008 2009 and 2010 is really really great. Best coaching at UGA ever, you repeat yourself. Best Quarterback in the history of football, you repeatedly state.
TOUGH YEAR you reiterate, amid your CRIES into the darkness that our team needs our SUPPORT this ONE YEAR.
It’s NOT BEEN 1 YEAR, not been 2 years either; but, it has been instead FIVE (5) YEARS now this season. Vandie opening kick-off and CMR this morning at 7:15 am on AM750 said that Sailors # 5 is great. Lifts him up to The Bulldog Nation by name for his play. And, what was his play ? He TAUNTED the Vandie kick-off returner after his teammate tackled him. He got into his face, he jarred at him, he walked completely around him, taunting him repeatedly but got no penalty for reasons only the Officials can explain.
BoWeevil
October 22nd, 2010
2:45 am
Cam Newton, we have no room for on our Roster ? Are you out of your mind ? Cam Newton like so many other recruits in this great state of Georgia, we whiffed on getting. Don’t bring your LAME EXCUSES in here for our lack of star power on Offense, Defense and Special Teams when the recruits themselves make it plain as day to everyone that our coaching staff is weak, that we don’t recognize talent, that we play FAVORITES instead, that we bury on the Depth Chart better players who are younger, that we totally lack any discipline on the field off the field or in the locker-room – and that this has killed our recruiting.
You think if I am not allowed to come in here and say that, that the recruits we do get are so stupid that they don’t or would not see it on their own.
That I should support this crappy excuse of a “coaching staff” because it is a TOUGH YEAR you tell me. Yeah 11 arrests and 2 NCAA suspensions for multiple games each with possible sanctions of VACATED win over the vols and over La Lafayette in a season which then probably will read 1-6 to-date after 5 losses last year and 4 losses the 2006 season and 3 losses against the only 3 teams we played in 2008 with NO SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME appearances even after 2005 is a TOUGH YEAR to endure this season.
Even tougher when you honestly look at our recruiting and discipline through the eyes of
HERSCHEL WALKER.
MountainDawg
October 22nd, 2010
7:37 am
The Dawgs defense has played fairly well most of the season (especially the last 2 weeks). UK should be a litmus test for the Dawgs. UGA has had issues with “scrambling” QBs in the past, so they must contain Cobb. Overall, I’d say the key is establishing the run, controlling the clock/ball & scoring TDs in the red zone.
Scrambled Dawg
October 22nd, 2010
7:58 am
UGA’s offense will put points on the board in all 4 quarters and the defense will do enough to keep Hartline and Cobb from keeping up and matching our offense’s output. It will be a relatively high scoring game and UGA wins by 10.
Patrick
October 22nd, 2010
8:07 am
You can say what you want, but LSU barely beat Tn and are a top ten ranked team. We beat Vandy by over 40, so we should be ranked higher than LSU. We will beat Kentucky by at least 30 points saturday and the Gators will go down 50-10. You heard it hear first.
Start The Drill, Please
October 22nd, 2010
8:11 am
It will all come down to how the Dawgs react to adversity in this game. There will be a big play for Kentucky that will fire up the crowd, and the way the Dawgs respond will dictate the rest of the game. Will they fold like they did in Boulder and Starkville or will they bow-up and make the Dawg fans proud. We’ll see.
is this what passes for articles at the ajc these days?
October 22nd, 2010
8:19 am
if so, consider this my application for the job of beat writer. sheesh.
mtndawg
October 22nd, 2010
8:39 am
Bill, would love to have a G flag like the one on your site to fly from the mtn tops here in East Tennessee….As Coach Dooley said a few weeks ago, most of their troubles are between the ears, these two wins gets those ears cleaned out!
Redfern
October 22nd, 2010
8:44 am
The key to the game is: burnt turnips.
Look for the burnt turnips and you will understand.
Rick S
October 22nd, 2010
8:44 am
Very easy answer: Win the Kentucky game and we can say the Dawgs are improving!
Harriett in Winder
October 22nd, 2010
8:47 am
FIRE MARK RICHT!!!
GT Fan...
October 22nd, 2010
9:29 am
I’m dying to try some – where do GA fans buy their “Kool-Aid”? I’ve looked in Publix & Kroger, but can’t find any. Do I have to shop at the stores in Athens or something?
Then you get 2 whiners (Dawg Day & GBal – 10/21, 10:59am & 11:17am) b*tching about negative articles; as if nothing negative has been happening with their dogs recently! Fellas, get out of the candy-as* mentality – ONLY 1st place gets the trophy, not every team that competes!!
BTW … UT and Vandy are NOT good football teams! But GA did what they were supposed to do to bad teams … beat them bad. And I still don’t think UK is GA’s barometer on whether or not the dogs are good. It’ll be FL, Auburn, & GT. And just like many Jacket fans thinking GT is vastly impoved after convincing wins over VA & Midd Tenn St … tomorrow vs Clemson will be the barometer followed by VT & Miami before heading to Athens.
just facts
October 22nd, 2010
9:56 am
this is another step towards the SEC champ game and a birth in a BCS bowl. the first team in a BCS bowl game with 4 losses? a victory there will put us in a preseason ranking next year of top 5. back where the dawgs belong.
Abnerish
October 22nd, 2010
9:58 am
We are good enough to beat a lot of teams, but bad enough to lose to anyone. They still have to perform on the field and not make critical mistakes. Win the turnover battle, win the game.
Snake Doc
October 22nd, 2010
10:26 am
Even if Dawgs beat KY there is still FL and Auburn to play. I’m won’t be convinced until the Dawgs win both of those games and also beat KY.
Look for a long season to get longer!
Ed
October 22nd, 2010
10:47 am
I’d say Georgia is almost as good as its talent level suggests it should be. The bigger question – what happened in weeks 2-5, and how could a team with so much potential seem so unprepared heading into the season?
That’s the aspect of Richt’s tenure, at least the last 4 years, that’s been so baffling. Fans who think that Georgia got robbed of a shot at the national title in ‘07 forget how dreadful we were the first half of the season with premium talent. 5-2 going into the UF game, but should have been 4-3 after a lucky escape against Vandy. The pollsters didn’t forget.
It’s possible that the same team that stunk up Columbia, Starkville and Boulder come end up as one of the better teams in the nation by year’s end – with no hardware to show for it.
Whatever – kick UF’s butt and I can live with the rest of the season.
76-DAWG
October 22nd, 2010
10:53 am
We will certainly find out if the Van. and Tenn. games were a fluke or if the defense has really had the light bulb come on. I feel real good about the later. The defense looked a lot better in the last two games. Kentucky will be the perfect test. Stop Cobb and look convincing doing it and UGA will finish the season well and set up a great 2011. Not to mention it will sway the fence sitters recruits.
uga's girl
October 22nd, 2010
12:38 pm
What amazes me is the negativity. Everyone just keeps feeding the Techies. Stop already! We have improved and will continue. This is a big game, but I look at every game as a big game. Any given Saturday, something can happen. Upsets are called that for a reason. Look at the top 4 in the BCS. Who the heck do they play? We gripe that they don’t play tough schedules, but we beat ourselves down for winning against even better opponents than they play. So what if Vandy is Vandy & UT is rebuilding, we still beat them & played well. We had fire!!!! Something I had not seen in a while.
SC screwed the pooch last week & the old ball coach made a horrible coaching decision. That’s FOOTBALL!!!! Yeah, Oregon had a real toughie last night against UCLA, but do you think their fans care that they beat a crappy team? Nope! It’s all about the W. Ugly or pretty, we all want the same thing.
This is what angers me about fellow UGA fans. We have to be the worst about kicking ourselves when we’re down. I personally don’t do it, but since I’m a Dawg, I have to lump myself in with all of you naysayers. I agree with Dawg Day. He’s spot on with his first post. When I’m at the games, I see it & if you don’t think those boys on the field see it, you’re wrong. The doubting, the sitting down, the faces….UGH!!! Get off your butts & keep cheering. Every other team in the country does it when they’re down by many points, why can’t we? Even when we are at home watching the games, we only sit during commercials. Sometimes, not even then.
This is my first time posting, but I read every article & every comment every single day. I’m just tired of the crap we feed to our opponents. We give them their food. Let’s starve them.
We have a great QB in Murray & will see great things from him. Despite what our opponents say, AJ is the BEST receiver in the country. And whoever the dipwad is who keeps calling him EBAY, do your research on how the jersey was sold. Our lines, O & D are finally coming together. It didn’t matter who we were playing, you could see it. They are finally playing as a team. That will get you everywhere.
I’m hoping for a W against KY. Pretty, ugly, however we get it, I’m always a Dawg. If we lose, we need to learn from it.
Let’s just GO DAWGS!!!! SIC ‘EM! Get on your red & black & wear it proudly.
DiggidyDawg
October 22nd, 2010
4:55 pm
Dawg Man
October 21st, 2010
2:30 pm
Thanks say what. I am a UGA fan, I stay off of GT blogs. It only makes sense right?
ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!!!!! TECH HAS A BLOG?!!!!!! FOR REAL?!!!!
DiggidyDawg
October 22nd, 2010
5:02 pm
uga’s girl
October 22nd, 2010
12:38 pm
YOU GO GIRL, I LOVE YOUR STYLE, WOOF, WOOF, WOOF, WOOF, WOOF!!!!!
uga's girl
October 26th, 2010
10:00 am
Thanks Diggidy! I stay fired up! Talking to our UF friends has been fun this week so far. They are actually shaking in their jorts. This is a first & we love it. We’re still downplaying, but oh how we are hoping & praying for a victory!
GO DAWGS!!!!