Preseason rankings and greatest Dogs of the modern era
We’ve already had a discussion of whether Mark Richt’s 2011 Dogs should be a preseason Top 20 team and, if so, how high, but it’s worth noting that magazine publisher Athlon Sports has tagged Georgia at No. 14 in its Top 25 countdown and sees the Bulldogs winning the SEC East.
Athlon’s optimism about the Dogs ” rests with the influx of recruits [as in Isaiah Crowell], the return of [Aaron] Murray, the second year in the 3-4 defense, and a favorable league schedule that does not include Alabama or LSU — the two top teams in the West. This might not be a vintage Georgia team that is capable of competing for a national title, but the Bulldogs should be in the hunt to win the relatively mediocre SEC East.”
Sounds like a pretty fair assessment, though I’m not sure I’m ready to predict the Dogs winning the division.
Meanwhile, Athlon also takes a shot at listing the Top 10 Georgia Bulldogs football players of the “Athlon era,” which goes back to 1967 (meaning no Frankie Sinkwich, Charley Trippi or Fran Tarkenton).
You know who’s No. 1, but beyond Herschel Walker the choices get interesting: Defensive end David Pollack is No. 2, followed by two-way iron man Champ Bailey, defensive back-rover Terry Hoage, quarterback David Greene, offensive lineman Matt Stinchcomb, defensive tackle Bill Stanfill, defensive back Jake Scott, linebacker Ben Zambiasi and running back Garrison Hearst rounding out the top 10.
OK, hard to argue with most of the names on that list, but what about College Football Hall of Fame member Kevin Butler? Or All-America defensive linemen Richard Seymour and Marcus Stroud?
Should defensive back Scott Woerner get a look? Then there’s receiver Lindsay Scott, a sentimental favorite in the Bulldog Nation; quarterback Eric Zeier, who perhaps doesn’t get the attention he deserves because he played on a couple of pretty mediocre teams; hard-hitting safeties Greg Blue and Thomas Davis; all-around offensive star Hines Ward; and running back Tim Worley. And maybe younger fans will want to make a case for Knowshon Moreno and/or Matt Stafford.
So, is there anyone on Athlon’s list you’d replace? And if so, who would you add?
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254 comments Add your comment
AdMan
May 17th, 2011
11:25 am
tide roll….please go away….we don’t care what you think…..go find some large women to harrass….you seem to like large men so much that’s all you ever post about…and we don’t give a rats ass what you think.
Mobile Dawg
May 17th, 2011
11:26 am
Honorable Mention, “The Legendary Larry Munson”. What about “Meat Cleaver”?
Reggie Ball
May 17th, 2011
11:27 am
Hey…. wait a minute. I didn’t play for… UGA… did I?
schmeckdawg
May 17th, 2011
11:28 am
@booboo
He was special, but, I still think that I would go with Hearst and Hampton over Edwards!
Remarkable
May 17th, 2011
11:29 am
1, Herschel Walker
2. David Pollack
3. Champ Bailey,
4. Hines Ward,
5. Kevin Butler
6 Garrison Hurst
7. Terry Hoage,
8. Matt Stinchcomb,
9. Robert Edwards
10. ______________________ Your Choice
schmeckdawg
May 17th, 2011
11:30 am
What about LB Greg Bright who I think is the leading tackler in UGA history or LB Knox Culpepper, Jr. who I think in one or two of his years, he averaged around 166 tackles per year!
Remarkable
May 17th, 2011
11:31 am
How about a list of best coaches from 1 through 10?
schmeckdawg
May 17th, 2011
11:33 am
I know it is off of the topic, but, has anyone heard yet if King and Harmon made their grades?
Buckeye
May 17th, 2011
11:34 am
Key word…………..”mediocre” SEC East
Eddie George – Congrats on HOF!
tide roll
May 17th, 2011
11:34 am
Max Jean Gilles. Led ya’ll to the Sugar bowl. Rather than recruit to emulate him, you guys go with Dallas Lee. How’s that working out? Roll Tide. Can Richt/Bobo out recruit Kirdy Smart/ Mickey Conn for Nkemdiche? No Way!! Roll Tide!
Georgia Tee
May 17th, 2011
11:35 am
You have smashed Buck Belue’s ego!!! Did anyone mention his name?
Tdawg
May 17th, 2011
11:36 am
I recall a couple of other pretty good running backs. Willie McClendon and Rodney Hampton. I also believe that there was a reciever that played at Georgia not that long ago. His name excapes me. I think that it wasAJ or AC or DC Brown or White or Green or something like that.
Terry
May 17th, 2011
11:37 am
Big Bill Goldberg
Coach Grohbo
May 17th, 2011
11:40 am
My votes:
1. Quincy.
2. Sanks.
3. Damon Evans.
4. Goff.
5. Ealey.
6. Kirby Smart and 7. Trey Sipe (duo).
8. Muschamp.
9. Bryan Evans.
10. Andy Bailey.
Georgia Tee
May 17th, 2011
11:41 am
Reggie Ball should top the list. His inept record at Tech exceeds that of Bill Lewis, another dawg great.
schmeckdawg
May 17th, 2011
11:41 am
@ Coach Grohbo
Bryan “Toast” Evans needs to be at #1 as he easily sucked worse than anyone on your list! He never missed a tackle he didn’t love!
Preseason rankings and greatest Dogs of the modern era – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) | Dog Shop Blog
May 17th, 2011
11:44 am
[...] News Sources wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt [...]
Sunshine Falcon
May 17th, 2011
11:44 am
Eddie Meat Cleaver Weaver and Jeff Sanchez.
Jay
May 17th, 2011
11:46 am
If you’re talking about a player who really laid it on the line, it’s Hines Ward. He played qb, rb and wr in his career. Just amazing commitment to the program.
It Ain't Rocket Science
May 17th, 2011
11:50 am
Mediocre SEC East but still better than 1-11 I bet.
Jay
May 17th, 2011
11:51 am
As for Lastinger….wasn’t he like 22-2 as a starter? Got the most out of his abilities. If Stafford had played up to his potential, he would competed for a heisman.
Richt`s Hammer
May 17th, 2011
11:53 am
Jan Kemp
Ceasar
May 17th, 2011
11:55 am
What about Jiggy Smaha???
Buckshot
May 17th, 2011
11:55 am
Shaun Chapas. Mitch Davis. Ben Watson. Fred Gibson. Brice hunter. REggie Brown.
Hines is definitely the ultimate Bulldog though.
Mrs. Smith
May 17th, 2011
11:58 am
PulpWood Smith ?
1eyedJack
May 17th, 2011
11:59 am
Herschel Walker
David Pollack
Champ Bailey
Terry Hoage
David Greene
Matt Stinchcomb
Scott Woerner
Jimmy Payne
Ben Zambiasi
Garrison Hearst
Didn’t get to see Jake Scott or Bill Stanfill play.
Athlon couldn’t do a Top Ten Yellow Jackets team since they couldn’t think of ten that made any significant contribution. One or two off that ‘90 squad was about it.
1eyedJack
May 17th, 2011
12:01 pm
Pound for pound Jimmy Poulus(sic) was pretty good.
Delbert D.
May 17th, 2011
12:03 pm
1eyedJack – A case could be made for Ted Roof, Pat Swilling, Randy Rhino…
Summit Dawg
May 17th, 2011
12:06 pm
Robert Edwards,HInes Ward, and Kevin Butler…….
BigTimeTECHFan
May 17th, 2011
12:07 pm
# 1 H Walker for sure
# 2 Rodney Hampton
# 3 Champ Bailey
all the rest are good and hard to rank.
chiefdawg
May 17th, 2011
12:08 pm
Matt Stafford doesn’t even deserved to be mentioned with those names. He never did anything but pad his stats for the NFL.
Delbert D.
May 17th, 2011
12:09 pm
One of whom is in the College Football Hall of Fame…
GatorBoy
May 17th, 2011
12:10 pm
Dang, Richt’s Hammer, you took the words right out of my mouth!
JAN KEMP!!!
Real Dawg Fan
May 17th, 2011
12:11 pm
Hiawatha Berry! Just kidding but I liked him.
BigTimeTECHFan
May 17th, 2011
12:14 pm
Athlon couldn’t do a Top Ten Yellow Jackets team since they couldn’t think of ten that made any significant contribution. One or two off that ‘90 squad was about it.
Joey Hamilton
Calvin Johnson
Pat Swilling
Lucias Stanford
Jimmy Robinson
Willy Clay
Eddie Lee Ivory
Keith Brooking
Drew Hill
Kent Hill
Dave from Buford
May 17th, 2011
12:16 pm
Scott Woerner was a game-changer who made plays when the chips were down … he should be in the top 10.
Old Dog
May 17th, 2011
12:19 pm
D. J. Shockley over David Greene.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
May 17th, 2011
12:21 pm
John Brantley
HE MY BABY DADDY
May 17th, 2011
12:22 pm
JOE COX!!! HE EARNED A SPOT ON THAT LIST FOR ENDURING ALL THE CRAP HE PUT UP WITH FROM HOMER GEORGIA FANATICS!!!!!!!!!!
Beeeeg Boy
May 17th, 2011
12:24 pm
GOLDBERG
Mike from the Coast
May 17th, 2011
12:26 pm
Well if Athlon is 1967 on, I believe you include Jake Scott in the top three, Scott graduated after the 1968 season. Read this comment by Vince Dooley.
http://www.redandblack.com/2011/05/17/jake-scott-uga-all-american-super-bowl-mvp-selected-to-college-football-hall-of-fame/
Mr. Dawg
May 17th, 2011
12:26 pm
No one on the list I would replace. I give Athlon credit for doing a good job. If you’re going to choose just ten players from such a healthy group then inevitabely someone that deserves to be on the list will be excluded.
Joel
May 17th, 2011
12:26 pm
Big deal.
Athlon ranks UGA in top 25 last 2 seasons, and UGA didn’t make it by the end of the season.
The 2011 team is worse than the 2010 because of losses of 50% of offense: AJ Green, Durham, Ealey, as well as losing #1 defensive player Justin Houston.
All receivers are inexperienced, UGA doesn’t use the TE, and have no backs that scored more than 2 td’s last season.
Dawg4ever
May 17th, 2011
12:33 pm
TideRoll, i would be worried about Bama’s 2nd team o.l. UGA has (4) stars on it’s second team O.L., compared to Bama’s line of Steen,kelen williams, Shepard, Boswell, and Love. Of those, only Love was rated 4 stars or better. You might be coming to UGA to get o.l., but the 2 you have on your second team line(Williams&Shepard) are 3 stars that weren’t recruited by UGA. UGA signed Benedict,Kolston Houston, and Lee instead, who were all 4 star players. One last thing the kid you keep drowling about Greene wasn’t offered by UGA because they want the 5 star Theus and Humphries instead. Your all world player Greene as you predict is another 3 star. Keep smoking that pipe, and remember the definition of INSANE is doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results. THat sums up your posts.
GeoffDawg
May 17th, 2011
12:34 pm
Anyone who understands the nuances of football would be ashamed to leave Eric Zeier off that list. Take away the pitiful defenses that Ray Goff trotted out there and he would be in the conversation for one of the best college QBs of all time.
shawthree
May 17th, 2011
12:35 pm
Hard to argue with that top 10 list. I like the honorable mentions some of u have mentioned like Mo Lewis, Rodney Hampton, Lars Tate and Terrence Edwards. But I’m surprised no one mentioned Bill Goldberg. He was a good one!
SSIgator
May 17th, 2011
12:36 pm
“Athlon Sports has tagged Georgia at No. 14 in its Top 25 countdown and sees the Bulldogs winning the SEC East”
Obviously someone at UGA shipped a drum of their KoolAid to Athlon before they decided on the top 25.
mark
May 17th, 2011
12:36 pm
Hard to beat that list…The fact that you have consensus multi year All Americans like Butler and Woerner not on the list just tells you we have been blessed with talent. The best all around player in America in 1997 was Hines Ward. He just never racked up monster numbers at any one position because he was asked to do everything.
The best, the very best!
May 17th, 2011
12:37 pm
Fran Tarkenton is head and shoulders the best player. And he went to UGA when players were student-athletes. That all changed when Vince Dooley brought his brand of sleaze to Athens, and instituted remedial studies.
And Mark Richt continues that sleazy practice today.
King Donko of Punchstania
May 17th, 2011
12:44 pm
Reggie Ball’s contributions to UGA football, particularly in UGA-GT games, should not be discounted when compiling a such a list.