Live from Nashville: Resistible force meets movable object
The stands at Memorial Stadium 20 minutes before kickoff. I kid you not. (Photo by M. Bradley)
Nashville – First off, it’s chilly. Forty-three degrees and overcast at present (9:23 Central Time). The few Georgia fans who gathered for the Dawg Walk were wearing coats, scarves, gloves and stocking caps. And they still didn’t look warm.
Speaking of cold … Vanderbilt has the nation’s 108th-best (or, put another way, 13th-worst) passing offense. Lucky for the Commodores that a truckload of magic elixir has just pulled into town. The top passing performance by an SEC quarterback this season was Ryan Mallett of Arkansas on Sept. 19. The third-best was by Stephen Garcia of South Carolina on Sept. 12. The fourth-best was by Jonathan Crompton of Tennessee last week. Guess the common denominator.
You got it. Willie Martinez and his defense.
Say this for Willie: He has single-handedly rearranged the standings of every SEC fantasy league. If you simply drafted the quarterback playing against Georgia in any given week, you’ve clinched first place. (And it’s only midseason!)
OK, enough about Willie. (Really, though, can we ever say too much about Willie?) If ever a game versus Vandy can be said to be a big game, this is it. This is the difference between being 4-3 headed to Jacksonville or looking at a season of 6-6 or (shudder) worse.
Me, I think Georgia wins by two touchdowns. But I thought Georgia would win when last it traveled to the Volunteer state, and we know how that turned out. No matter what happens here today, I’ll be available for observations, bon mots (or, more accurately, bon nots) and song requests. So join me, won’t you?
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1,805 comments Add your comment
Logo sTomping Dawg
October 17th, 2009
1:13 pm
What type of adjustments will be made at halftime?
Mark Bradley
October 17th, 2009
1:13 pm
I stand corrected. The Vandy passing attack gets it going!
fcmr
October 17th, 2009
1:13 pm
Nice d willie
willie martinez
October 17th, 2009
1:13 pm
i love rennie
Cuz
October 17th, 2009
1:13 pm
Thank God for Curran.
Pi$$onaDawg
October 17th, 2009
1:13 pm
TXDawg what does Murphy Coach? the special ed class at UGA?
IndyDawg
October 17th, 2009
1:13 pm
Was that play action? I can’t tell neither can the defense
Marcel Ledbetter
October 17th, 2009
1:14 pm
play action roll out… for big yards. who’d a thunk
Life long Dawg
October 17th, 2009
1:14 pm
Rennie a linebacker makes the tackle 30 yards down field.
Bo Diddly Squat
October 17th, 2009
1:14 pm
Did anyone see if it was a short yellow bus that dropped off the UGA coaches at the game today?
Fitten
October 17th, 2009
1:14 pm
Evans whiffed on that tackle
dawgstephen
October 17th, 2009
1:14 pm
Ohh and just so you know how amateur I am, I will be at the SEC media days covering basketball for ESPN Radio next Thursday. Updates on twitter and my blog.
http://www.dawgstephen.blogspot.com
Time
October 17th, 2009
1:14 pm
Poor Butler, I feel bad for him. He’s a legitimate NFL punter right now, but sadly for him, his leg will be falling off after all the punts this year.
willie martinez
October 17th, 2009
1:14 pm
7-0 we got the spread covered.
Go Dawgs
October 17th, 2009
1:14 pm
Time for a new offense period. It’s predictable, I know if we can tell what’s being run on TV than the D knows what’s coming. And for whoever said Rodney G for DC. WHY????? He recruits these kids, he coaches the D-line, which isn’t really lighting it up out there either.
fcmr
October 17th, 2009
1:14 pm
We haven’t made an adjustment at Halftime since Van Gorder left
KenDog
October 17th, 2009
1:14 pm
This seems to be a game of evenly matched teams, which is a sad insight into the Dawgs…..
Life long Dawg
October 17th, 2009
1:15 pm
I hope this is our bad half.
Cinci Dawg
October 17th, 2009
1:15 pm
Why Bryan Evans continues to see playing time over Rambo, I’ll never know. He plays neither corner nor safety particularly well…
willie martinez
October 17th, 2009
1:15 pm
bend but dont break. works every time!
Mr. Real
October 17th, 2009
1:15 pm
My grass grew 1/4 inch during the first quarter. I might cut it in the 4th.
Jim Doggg Wallace
October 17th, 2009
1:15 pm
Richt engage the players…. he ain’t built like that … both literally and figuratively …
Bo Diddly Squat
October 17th, 2009
1:15 pm
We need to play back a little further on their receivers.
Not Disappointed!
October 17th, 2009
1:15 pm
It appears big plays will win this game. Lets hope AJ & company has the most big plays. I still believe the pups should win this game by a wide margin. But what do I know, “I’m a Tech fan.”
Arkansas is next
October 17th, 2009
1:15 pm
Just a reminder – This is Vanderbilt, 2 – 4,
Mark Bradley
October 17th, 2009
1:15 pm
Halftime adjustments? Are those allowed?
Fitten
October 17th, 2009
1:15 pm
Question for EVERYONE: with 2 weeks to prepare, how close to Florida can Georgia get?
Logo sTomping Dawg
October 17th, 2009
1:15 pm
I swear I thought I saw Joe T. on the sidelines! A lot of cameo appearances today! Where Did Steve Martin get to?
willie martinez
October 17th, 2009
1:15 pm
evans plays because i love that cool hair style
willie martinez
October 17th, 2009
1:16 pm
no adjustments needed. everything is going great.
IndyDawg
October 17th, 2009
1:16 pm
Cinci Dawg I’m with you. It hurts being in the Midwest and watching this doesn’t it
dawgstephen
October 17th, 2009
1:17 pm
Its your dream job. The job you have been waiting for. The last job that you ever want. Problem is, you may not get to stay as long as you might hope. See regardless of winning 10 games quite a few times, you have lost to your biggest rival 5 straight times. You have only been the head coach 7 years. You are 1-6 versus your biggest rival. Sure you are beating up on a few teams in the conference. But you cant get over the hump. Two of those losses were 63-14 and 65-13. Thats embarassing!!!!
Sure you have never won LESS than 9 games in a season, and you have had 4 straight ten win seasons, but the fan base is tired of being embarassed on that neutral field every single year. Ten win seasons are NOT good enough. And whats worse, you havent even won your conference A SINGLE TIME!!! All because you cant beat those guys you play every year on a neutral field. only ONE BCS game, and it took till your 7th year to get there!!!
Should you be fired? No. You arent fired. The administration gets you to make a couple of changes to your staff. After all, You are too loyal to the coaches. You are friends with them as well as co-workers. Sure you are a good guy. You are well liked in the fan base. You are family oriented. You are a good man OFF the field as well as on. You recruit good, you bring in top notch talent every year. But is that enough? The university decides that you are still the man for the job regardless of some grumblings about you not being fiery enough. They still think you are the man. Good thing too.
The next season turns out pretty good, you beat your rival 45-12 and go undefeated winning a national championship. Everything is good for you. You are Mack Brown, and the University of Texas is glad they stuck with you. Other schools around the country should be taking notes
TXDawg
October 17th, 2009
1:17 pm
Pi$$onadawg…..right now I’m wondering what does any coach, coach at Georgia!!
willie martinez
October 17th, 2009
1:17 pm
poor loren. he thinks the dogs are in the blackout
Bo Diddly Squat
October 17th, 2009
1:17 pm
dawgstephen, we don’t care if your covering the Queen of England next week, stop the baby BS
VaDawg
October 17th, 2009
1:17 pm
Wow. We can even make Vandy look good
Drunkdawg
October 17th, 2009
1:17 pm
Nothing like watching two SEC powerhouses going at it.
fcmr
October 17th, 2009
1:17 pm
Spread vs. UF will probablt be 28
dawgstephen (AKA bugkiller killer)
October 17th, 2009
1:17 pm
Please, everyone, read my blog! It’s super awesome, just like me! In it, you can read about how I LOVE Willie Martinez, and how even if the Bulldogs finish 6-6 this year, how I never think Willie Martinez needs to be fired, because he is Mark Richt’s best friend, and Mark Richt is perfect, so he would never do anything to jeopardize his team by having an unqualified defensive coordinator on his staff!
I love Mark Richt and Willie Martinez! They’re like the Wonder Twins of college football!
Power of a soft zone defense that turns Jon Crompton into the SEC’s best QB!
Power of a self-righteous religious man who loves his best friend too much to fire him!
Mark and Willie, taking the SEC by storm! Can’t be beat!
Pi$$onaDawg
October 17th, 2009
1:17 pm
I love that a FORD TUFF Saturday will start when The Ramblin Wreck drives on to GRANT FIELD. Richt you need to sell kia’s with that great warrenty.
firemarkricht.net
October 17th, 2009
1:17 pm
Richt should just pour himself a drink and enjoy the game.
Super Dog
October 17th, 2009
1:17 pm
Anyone going to jacksonville to watch Ga put a whipping on Fl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cinci Dawg
October 17th, 2009
1:17 pm
Does anyone know how our substitution patterns compare to other teams? Just seems we are constantly rotating defensive players in and out of the game, which would seem to disrupt any sort of continuity…
Arkansas is next
October 17th, 2009
1:18 pm
Fitten – if UGA scores more than 10 in Jacksonville it will be a moral victory.
No More
October 17th, 2009
1:18 pm
Offense is a train wreck, we will continue to get stuffed, until we can throw the ball down the field to keep them from stacking the box, unfortunately they have watched our game films and know that the teams that beat us stacked the box and Cox could not get the ball down the field. Suspect arm, no mobility, don’t understand why we continue with him at QB.
Mark Bradley
October 17th, 2009
1:18 pm
Great coverage. Not.
Mr. Real
October 17th, 2009
1:18 pm
I just saw an Oompa Loompa dressed as a Vandy fan.
Marcel Ledbetter
October 17th, 2009
1:18 pm
wonderful
willie martinez
October 17th, 2009
1:18 pm
i told somebody to watch that tight end
Time
October 17th, 2009
1:18 pm
Joe T on the sidelines. Send him up to the booth and let him start calling plays.