Bradley’s Buzz: Tech, UGA both among early-entry losers
Derrick Morgan and Morgan Burnett: They're gonzo. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
This won’t be surprising to those among us who follow college football. Still, it’s jarring to see in megapixeled black and white. Both Georgia Tech and Georgia rank among the nation’s biggest losers regarding early entry to the NFL draft.
For the Bulldogs, there’s good news amid the bad. Tech is seen as having been hit harder, and Florida is the consensus choice as having been hit hardest.
Bruce Feldman of ESPN.com rates Tech the second-biggest loser, Georgia the fifth-biggest. His reasons:
“Georgia Tech: I was tempted to make the Jackets No. 1 on this list because every player who realistically could consider declaring did. Tech says goodbye to its two best defenders in DE Derrick Morgan and safety Morgan Burnett as well as quarterback Josh Nesbitt’s top two weapons, running back Jonathan Dwyer and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas.
“I still think Nesbitt, RB Anthony Allen and RB Roddy Jones are big-time players, but the offense takes a huge hit, especially when you consider that Thomas accounted for about two-thirds of the team’s receiving yards this past season. Meanwhile, Morgan had half the team’s 25 sacks.
“Tech could’ve been a preseason top five or six. Now I think it might not be in the top 20 …
“Georgia: The Dawgs’ defense has been really shaky the past few seasons and is in rebuilding mode. A new defensive coordinator is coming from the Dallas Cowboys (Todd Grantham), but he’ll have to retool Georgia’s scheme without the team’s two leading tacklers, LB Rennie Curran and safety Reshad Jones. Curran, a fireplug, had 130 tackles last season, while Jones, who put on a dazzling show against rival Georgia Tech, also picked off four passes this past season.”
Stewart Mandel of SI.com sees it pretty much the same. He has Florida first among his list of four losers, with Tech second and Georgia fourth. His comments:
“Georgia Tech: The defending ACC champs had a chance to return a staggering 19 starters, but leading rusher Jonathan Dwyer, leading receiver Demaryius Thomas, second-leading tackler Morgan Burnett and ACC sacks leader Derrick Morgan all turned pro. The Jackets’ running game should be fine with Josh Nesbitt and Anthony Allen, but Thomas was their lone receiving threat, Morgan and Burnett their best defenders …
Georgia: The Bulldogs’ defense struggled in 2009, costing coordinator Willie Martinez his job. New coordinator Todd Grantham would have inherited a depleted unit regardless, but his job wasn’t made any easier by the defection of Georgia’s two best juniors, linebacker Rennie Curran and safety Reshad Jones. The defense will now return just four starters.“
My take: Just because they fall under the same heading doesn’t mean all losers are equal. Georgia lost two good players. Tech lost four of its five best players. Tech got hit way harder. Way harder, I say.
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266 comments Add your comment
Just the Facts..
January 19th, 2010
12:26 pm
Jacket2010 is that your lips attached to the BUTT of GAYTOR NATION? What an allie, a fat coach, and C.U.M. spilling tears, and your lips on there behinds! Can you say Trois!
indianman
January 19th, 2010
12:27 pm
georgia will be better with the new dc isay they will win the sec title
Jackets2010
January 19th, 2010
12:27 pm
I went to both schools, had to come back from Florida due to out of state fee.
So I could just as easily claim them seeing as how some many fans have never set foot in the coilleges they pull for.
Elmore Spencer
January 19th, 2010
12:27 pm
You need the Jackets since Gator and Bama fans have it all over you.
Weve beaten Bama 3 of the last 4. They dont have a thing on us.
Jackets2010
January 19th, 2010
12:28 pm
They’ve got 2 NCs in the BSC era and your hated Gators have 3. The Gators also have 2 in basketball.
Jackets2010
January 19th, 2010
12:29 pm
It’s was a lot easier to beat Mike Shula than Saban, Georgia and Auburn now know. Shula = Goff.
Actuality
January 19th, 2010
12:30 pm
UF has dominated the series in the last 20 years but UGA still leads the all-time series with them.
UGA not only owns the all-time series record with you Techsters but also has been dominating the series.
So Georgia Tech Jackette fans you can take your usual whining, crying and excuses and put them where they sun does not shine. Sit on that for awhile!!!!
Elmore Spencer
January 19th, 2010
12:31 pm
They’ve got 2 NCs in the BSC era and your hated Gators have 3.
Beauty contests all. UGA had the best team in 07 and 02 we just didnt win the beauty contest those years. With a playoff we win both of those. Yawn
Big John
January 19th, 2010
12:31 pm
UF #1 Biggest loser according to ESPN and SI, not good.
How bad do you think UF will be:
1) 4 losses
2) 5 losses
3) 6 losses
I’d say 4 losses, that’s what UF does 2 out of 5 years recently.
Jackets2010
January 19th, 2010
12:31 pm
I can whine and cry and make up excuses all I want! I am Georgia Tech fan and that is what we do!
GeoffDawg
January 19th, 2010
12:32 pm
How convenient. Talk about whichever school happens to fit your viewpoint at the time. You’re a man of integrity jackets2010.
I’d say that you support your team and alma mater regadless of their recent success of lack thereof. But maybe I’m just old fashioned that way.
lazydawg
January 19th, 2010
12:32 pm
Mark,
How did the Georgia defense do with those players the past two years? C’mon Man! As for Tech they are in big trouble on both sides of the ball for next year.
Just the Facts..
January 19th, 2010
12:32 pm
Jackets 2010, How sad you,ve become in the last 5 mins, you had some diginity, but now you say you Transferred! XXX adult film stars can’t suck as much as you do. You are amazing!
Jackets2010
January 19th, 2010
12:32 pm
I’ve got Georgia fans who I do business with (am their customer).
Thanks guys for saving me money.
In the great recession, replacing me won’t be easy.
Jackets2010
January 19th, 2010
12:34 pm
None of my critics will address the NC deficiency.
Of course not.
There a big goose egg there.
Half of Richt’s defenders were throwing him under the bus in the Tenn embarrassment.
Elmore Spencer
January 19th, 2010
12:35 pm
It’s was a lot easier to beat Mike Shula than Saban, Georgia and Auburn now know. Shula = Goff.
richt has done just fine against Saban, Ask Saban about the unholy beating the dogs put on his Tigers in 04. I think Richt is 3-3 against Saban more than holding his own.
Just the Facts..
January 19th, 2010
12:36 pm
Somebody, anybody, please stop Jackets 2010. He’s so deep in DO-DO that he reeks!
Jackets2010
January 19th, 2010
12:37 pm
I don’t have all day to trade insults so I’ve give it a rest.
Till next time.
Go check out the blog on the new Florida Commitment.
gtfanfrom1951
January 19th, 2010
12:37 pm
Mark remember it is the system not the players. CPJ system will make he next b-back a star. Just look at Navy, they keep winning with the system.
Elmore Spencer
January 19th, 2010
12:38 pm
None of my critics will address the NC deficiency.
Of course not.
Because without a playoff its a crapshoot and you know it.
Jackets2010
January 19th, 2010
12:38 pm
Maybe so Elmore but I think I’d be glad not to be on their schedule next year.
Just the Facts..
January 19th, 2010
12:40 pm
I’ll adress the NC defiency, by asking you this, “HOW MANY NC’S DO TECH HAS IN THE LAST 30 YEARS OUTRIGHT? Ans: NONE,NONE, NONE. American translation from Inglorious Bastards! Lol
Elmore Spencer
January 19th, 2010
12:40 pm
Maybe so Elmore but I think I’d be glad not to be on their schedule next year.
maybe. they wont be as good next year though and I give Saban 3 more years Max before he moves on to something else.
Jackets2010
January 19th, 2010
12:40 pm
gtfanfrom1951. I’m hoping a better system will help a lot on D too.
Who did we stop last year?
I don’t see how we can’t improve on defense with a coach who knows what he is doing.
Hilarious
January 19th, 2010
12:41 pm
These UGA fans sure are obsessed with GT and bitter because GT got the better DC…
BadgerDawg
January 19th, 2010
12:41 pm
gtfan is correct, CPJ has a system that allows him to have some success with inferior talent. That was probably what made him attractive to Tech since they deal with similar players.
Jackets2010
January 19th, 2010
12:41 pm
I’ll agree with crapshoot.
I’ve made that argument before too.
Whopper Dawg
January 19th, 2010
12:43 pm
The Dawgs are going to be OK, it is not fair due to the effect of 1/4 Willie Martinez, but it may be good news that only 4 starters are back on D.
I could care less about Tech. We will beat them again no matter who that run out on the field. Johnson is way overrated. Now that we have a real DCoordinator, fun time is over.
Hilarious
January 19th, 2010
12:45 pm
BadgerDawg…CMR has a system that allows him to have little success with superior talent. That was probably what’s going to make him lose his job at UGA.
GeoffDawg
January 19th, 2010
12:46 pm
jackets2010 – winning a MNC isn’t exactly an easy thing to do. Especially when you’ve got to compete with a number of elite programs just to make it out of your own conference. Something that tech doesn’t need to worry about too often. CMR’s gone to three SEC title games, winning two, as well as having gone to three BCS bowls, winning two. That’s a pretty darn good resume at this point in his tenure.
He also got the shaft from playing in the title game a couple of times, but that’s a different topic of discussion entirely.
Jackets2010
January 19th, 2010
12:47 pm
Elmore I was listening to Buck one time and a ator call in was getting under his skin and believe it or not, the gator punk ticked me off.
I think Buck got so angry he couldn’t think of good answers.
I though his side kick should have helped him out. Maybe I even would have.
These blogs deteriorte into insult contests. Glad you are a decent guy.
Just the Facts..
January 19th, 2010
12:50 pm
Jackets2010, Ask yourself, since your on DAWG NATION about NC’s, how many N.C’s has Tech won it the Last 30 years outright? NONE,NONE, NONE! aMERICAN translation from inglorious Bastards!
Jackets2010
January 19th, 2010
12:51 pm
I know the SEC loves to knock the ACC but Beamer’s program is top level too.
The first game vs Bama was a great game to start the season and they played them better than anyone except Tenn maybe.
They could have won th ACC as could have Clemson.
I think Clemson without Spiller should have topped the list.
Midday Links «
January 19th, 2010
12:57 pm
[...] The AJC’s Mark Bradley talks about how Georgia and Georgia Tech are getting hurt by NFL early entries [...]
Jackets2010
January 19th, 2010
12:57 pm
Geoff I wonder what good comes from these blogs especially game time blogs.
A couple of Dawg blogs I watched when they Dawgs were losing, it was constant insults of your own team.
and not that young tech fans are any better.
Keydet Dawg
January 19th, 2010
1:02 pm
I love what Grantham said, “Lets be honest, you have to have the talent to be successful”. He knows UGA has to recruit and win against the Florida and Alabama’s to win. At the moment they are beating UGA. Love Richt, but the offensive recruiting needs to heat-up and close on these kids. Not sure what the heck Kiffen is feeding these kids, but they are buying. UGA needs to stock the cub bard. We missed on Markeith Ambles, JaWaun James, Tailer Jones and the list of Georgia kids going out of state makes me sick. We can’t even shut down our own state. UGA brethren, quit talking smack and be honest, we have work to do that is not being done over the past few years. Whether or not we have a top 10 recruiting class. Everyone want’s UGA to be #1, then you have to recruit, coach and out play the #1’s. We are not doing that in our own state and conference.
No excuses, finish the drill?? What has happened?
Sam Robards, Dawg Fan
January 19th, 2010
1:03 pm
Brock
January 19th, 2010
12:21 pm
Wow, never heard that before.
I honestly don’t know if your being sarcastic or not. Either way, I’m still going with my prediction. But we’ll see!
GeoffDawg
January 19th, 2010
1:04 pm
You’re correct in the sense that every team will have its share of detractors and chicken littles that will cry “the sky is falling” at every bump in the road and I would wager a guess that blogs attract a higher percentage of those types of fans than what is truly represented in the overall fanbase.
That being said, I’ve been pretty consistent in my evaluation of CMR – namely that he doesn’t place enough emphasis on special teams and that he’s sometimes too loyal to his staff and is slow to make personnel changes that seem obvious. Overall though, I think he’s a terrific head coach and have never thrown him under the bus on the basis of a single game. There’s too much history to analyze him based on isolated incidents.
long time dog
January 19th, 2010
1:07 pm
Don’t worry about the safety spot. Alec Ogletree will begin his positive impact on the program as a true freshman this year.
GeoffDawg
January 19th, 2010
1:08 pm
Keydet Dawg – I agree that recruiting is very important to success but I don’t think it’s a lack of talent that’s allowed us to fall behind Florida and Alabama the last couple of years. I disagree that we’re ever going to truly lock down the state as there is just too much HS talent here to ever do that. We’re always going to miss out on some players because we either don’t have room for them or because they can play quicker for somebody else.
Those aren’t the only reasons players would choose to go out of state but they are significant contributing factors.
Big John
January 19th, 2010
1:20 pm
Richt pretty much always has a top 10 recruiting class, this year’s is #4 according to ESPN.
With Grantham and Lakotas, we have 2 guys who can coach up our talent.
GoJackets
January 19th, 2010
1:25 pm
I dont think its the end of the world for Tech. Losing Dwyer hurts but we have alot of talent to replace him with. Our running game will be fine. Our defense couldnt stop anybody last year, not even Vanderbilt. Therefore the loss of Morgan and Burnett doesnt seem that great to me. I think with Groh in that the defense will actually be better next year. Losing Bay Bay though, it a bit of a killer. We will need someone to step up with him gone.
DTC
January 19th, 2010
1:33 pm
Reality is about to set in for GA Tech. If they have the kind of year next year, that they had this year, then yes, they will then have the ability to crow a little, because they will finally have dones something consistantly. One of the Tech fans made the comment recently that the best Tech team in many years, could not beat the worst team for GA in many years. That says more about GA Tech football than the two programs can run their respective mouths about.
Believe it or not, GA will probably have a better team next year than they did this year. It will be a definitively better coached team regardless of the record. I stated that GA would have a better team in 2010 than 2009 before the 2009 season even started.
cattle dawg
January 19th, 2010
1:35 pm
2010 looks like it is going to be a fun year in the great state of Georgia. Both UGA an GT got new coaches on defense. Ga Southern has a new coach, and Georgia State starts a new program. What yall think?
gatorman
January 19th, 2010
1:43 pm
Elmore Spencer , How is 3-3 more than holding your own against Saban, unless you have low expectations of Richt?
Lowcountry Bulldawg
January 19th, 2010
1:44 pm
Hard to lockdown a state that produces so many D-1 Prospects. UGA gets more than there fair share of top instate talent. I dare say they get first pcik of who they want. Then you have some young men who want to spread there wings and fly. Those kids are leaving the state no matter what. Then you have kids who want ot go to UGA, but UGA does not prioritize them for various reasons (academics, depth at position, break out senior years) and they leave for other schools, etc…).
CMR has done an outstanding job of recruiting. I know they have missed on a few, but hell every program does. You don’t win as many games as the program has and not recruit damn talent. The past few years it boiled down to complacency and lack of fundamentals on and off the field. CMR has seen this rear its ugly head and thus the changes.
dawgfan
January 19th, 2010
1:51 pm
UGA is used to losing players to the NFL. Tech not so much.
I’m just surprised to see so many “well rounded student athletes” from Tech skipping out on a degree for NFL glory. There won’t be any tutors in the NFL to help them with the playbook like there is at Tech to help them with their “management” classes. I wonder if they can handle it?
SOUTHGADAWG88
January 19th, 2010
2:02 pm
UGA has not missed on any Offensive recruits at all instate..There is maybe one Mack Brown who they even moderately pursued.
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
January 19th, 2010
2:21 pm
Blame it all on the “salary cap” in 2011. Kids leaving early trying to get theirs- it only makes sense. i’m in favor for it, maybe it’ll have kids staying all 4 years now. reward the veterans of the nfl, not some some kid who’s never played a down in the nfl.
Dawg 3/20
January 19th, 2010
2:21 pm
Did you know that the Dawgs haven’t beaten the Gators twice in a row since before the freshmen class coming in was born, the 1988 and 1989 seasons. Wow, we really need to get that done this decade. Go Dawgs!!