Heat Check: Grantham needs to sit; Johnson needs to chill
Todd Grantham is shown here debating the finer points of decorum.
Our weekly Heat Check arrives a day late due to Columbus Day. (Wait. That was last week? Never mind.) And we start at the obvious boiling-over point.
Todd Grantham, Georgia: He’s proving he’s a good defensive coordinator. (The Bulldogs rank eighth nationally in total defense.) He’s also showing he’s a bully. Giving the choke sign to an opposing player was bush league. Getting into it with the Vanderbilt coach — the Vanderbilt coach, I emphasize — after a victory tainted the whole winning effort and cheapened the Bulldogs’ brand, which had been in the process of undergoing some needed touch-up.
It’s one thing for players to get excited and stomp on a logo. (Georgia managed that trick at Vandy a while back.) It’s another for a grown man — Grantham is 45, which means he meets the Mike Gundy standard for grown-man status — to embarrass the program twice in 12 months. And I don’t buy the whole I’m-just-standing-up-for-my-players line: You can stand up for your players without baying at the moon.
(An aside here: I’d also be careful about angering this Vandy coach. James Franklin is going to beat some big names very soon.)
Don’t know what the SEC will do regarding Grantham. Don’t know if the SEC will do anything. Were I Greg McGarity and/or Mark Richt, I’d suspend Grantham for one game.
And who does Georgia play next? Florida. Yes, it’s a massive game for this football program. But sitting Grantham would also send a massive message: This is not how we do it at Georgia.
Now, do I think such a suspension will occur? Nope. But it should. Heat Index: Too darn hot.
Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech: His team lost at Virginia and looked bad doing it. His postgame briefing was a classic in sardonic semi-humor. A highlight was PJ’s description of the long field goal attempt that was kicked “into the back of the line.” The word “bonehead” was invoked. From a dispassionate perspective, these sessions are always entertaining. That said …
I wonder, not for the first time, how Johnson’s players take them. No, they’re not in the room for his media sessions, but I’d imagine they read the highlights somewhere. I also imagine they hear similar sentiments expressed by PJ himself behind closed doors. And it’s undeniable that the feeling around Tech is that the Jackets win only when they do what the coach says and lose whenever they don’t.
And that, if you’re a player, gets old. As smart as a coach is — and Tech’s coach is very smart — he’s not out there getting smacked by 500 pounds of opposing manpower. Johnson is a great play-caller, but somebody wearing shoulder pads does have to make even the clever plays of his work.
I’m sure it’’s a lot of fun to play for Tech when everything’s working and you’re gaining 768 yards, but I wonder how much of a treat it is to be around Johnson when his team just laid an egg in Charlottesville. Can’t blame a coach for wanting more and better — that’s pretty much his job — but I think he needs to cut his men a bit more slack. Heat index: A chill pill for PJ would not be unwarranted.
By Mark Bradley
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900 comments Add your comment
bamaguy
October 18th, 2011
11:54 am
Lowcountry: You know the answer to your own question. Saban gets by with what he does because he is a winner on the field. A consistent winner. Put two crystal footballs on your resume’ at two different schools and you can get by with anything.
UGA need to let this Grantham incident go. It is taking focus away from preparing for Florida. No NCAA rules were broken and no one was arrested. Focus on Florida. Move on.
Adam
October 18th, 2011
11:54 am
Mark – This is sad. Obviously you’re looking for web hits. I truly thought you were better than this. You can’t honestly tell me you believe what you’ve written…..can you?? Just like the Monday Night crew says……C’MON MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Alphare
October 18th, 2011
11:55 am
Grantham did it on purpose so that no UGA fans complain about dawgs giving up 27 points to the mighty Vandy.
It obviously works. Do you see any UGA fans complaining about the UGA defense against Vandy? Instead, most are defending Grantham as a good coach.
Spurrier got on a reporter when he fired Garcia about something happened long ago. It worked too.
Calhoundawg
October 18th, 2011
11:55 am
@joey1 Georgia Tech sucks and always will. They had to cheat just to win an A she she title. Whatever.
@VD Grantham is proving he’s a very capable, highly motivated defensive coordinator. Franklin is a sore-losing crybaby who should have kept his a** on the right side of the field. “Couldn’t find Richt.” What a dumb***!!!!
Spanky
October 18th, 2011
11:55 am
GTBob, speaking of worrying about your own……..
Old Dawg
October 18th, 2011
11:56 am
I’m pretty old school when it comes to trash talking, I don’t like it in any shape, form or fashion. I know that’s not the way the game is played today, but I still don’t like it.
And I don’t like undisciplined teams. Trash talking, personal fouls and similar actions shouldn’t be allowed by any coach or school. So, if I were the AD at Georgia I’d let it be known that from now on there are serious consequences for that kind of behavior.
As for Paul Johnson, he’s always been a straight-shooter. Which is fine for a many folks in many jobs. As a coach, knowing which players respond to different varieties of discipline, corrective comments etc is the hallmark of success. If they don’t learn the varieties of tactics to use, they eventually find themselves looking for another job.
Dawglasville
October 18th, 2011
11:56 am
GTBob Good. I know that you guys will have it figured out. I’m sure that we are going to be hearing about how we almost lost to Vandy from December on since there won’t be a whole lot else to crow about.
Black Mountain NC Bulldog
October 18th, 2011
11:56 am
I love Granthams passion! Vandy chopped blocked all night, and they deserved to get an earful.
GATA!!!!!!!!!!& Junk Yard Dawgs are back!!!!!!!!
Half Century Dawg
October 18th, 2011
11:57 am
Nick
October 18th, 2011
11:27 am
very true
Dean
October 18th, 2011
11:57 am
And yes, Franklin was correct in trying to get our players to stop behaving so dishonorably. All the coaches on the field are mentors to the students. Not just the coaches of one team. He had a right to defend his players against UGA’s poor sportsmanship by calling out our players. Obviously, our coaches couldn’t put a stop to it so he felt hte need to try and do so. Nothing wrong with that at all. WE are in the wrong here, there is no way around it!
Alphare
October 18th, 2011
11:57 am
what?
oldfart
October 18th, 2011
11:58 am
Will you blind homers please go back a little further on the video that you are urging Mark to review? Shawn Williams, yes the same Shawn Williams with two personal foul calls during the game, yells something and then tries to slink back through the Georgia players running away from Franklin. This is followed by Franklin and the cop trying to track Williams through the phalanx and pointing in his direction leading him over to Grantham. I’m not saying Franklin is totally innocent in his actions here but put yourself in his shoes if you had just lost on a bad bounce and then heard this kid trying to incite further crap in a shaky victory and in a chicken bleep manner at that. Grantham shows his true colors and blasts off from there.
The kid deserves kid punishment for acting like a kid. The adults deserve adult punishment for acting like kids. Franklin is Vandy’s problem. Grantham is unfortunately ours and as an alumnus frankly I don’t want his like representing my school.
Adam
October 18th, 2011
11:59 am
Just like the Monday Night boys say……..C’MON MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Your desire for hits has made you look terrible MB. Please…..get with it and write something you actually believe, not something that will get you mouse clicks….
TomB
October 18th, 2011
11:59 am
Right Dawg48, you keep telling yourself that. Lets just say we saw two different videos because what I saw was your coach pointing his finger in someone’s face acting like a jerk and a child.And, he represents your university, and after reading these blogs, accurately so.
UGAmutt
October 18th, 2011
12:01 pm
It is HILARIOUS how many GT trolls are posting on here with name like “Vince Doodly” and “Saint Richt” calling for Grantham to be fired. In two years he’s taken a team that had fallen to the mid defensive ranks and made them a top 10 national defense. He’s good and you Buzz-ards are well aware of it. Passion is never a bad thing when your team has been playing uninspired football for 3+ years. Let him work these kids up for Florida and Tech. I can’t wait for all of the North Avenue tears to flood Grant Field in November when their weak Division II offense is exposed. Tech dropped a game to one of the bottom-feeders in the ACC and they think they’re a championship caliber team. What a joke.
H-Town Dawg
October 18th, 2011
12:01 pm
Bradley wins the douchebag of the day award.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
October 18th, 2011
12:02 pm
Bamaguy,
Exactly- focus on Florida but we has a bunch of panzy writers and fans. If this where back even as early as the 90′S nothing would come of this, but in this 24/7 sports info cycle if you fart wrong it makes news. You couple that with this whole lets give everyone a participation trophy and a soft fanbase it looks like makes this story even more pathetic. Move on folks this is ridiculous to allow the AJC to continue to write stories about such a non-story.
doc
October 18th, 2011
12:02 pm
well mark i take back what i said about you and your love affair with cpj. he reminds me a bit of the guy now at ucf, good coach but one to quickly put his guys out there to cast blame on.
unless the stars align just right, even with bobby dodd tech was an at best 7 win a year program after the brief golden years culminating in ‘54. braine only told it like it is.
the acc isnt that tough but it maybe is tougher than the schedule navy and ga southern played. cpj better get out there and recruit up especially on the defensive end of the ball as a different league requires better ball players.
Dean
October 18th, 2011
12:02 pm
TomB, sadly they represent a majority of the fan base, especially those that did not attend the University. There is a small bastion of us that can’t stand this kind of behavior and want it gone immediately.
emmysmom
October 18th, 2011
12:02 pm
All you people trying to justify Grantham’s behavior by pointing fingers at the Vandy coach need to get a grip. It doesn’t matter who started it. It was a childish, boorish display, and the result was embarrassing for everyone. Grown men can’t control themselves? Pathetic.
nega dawg
October 18th, 2011
12:03 pm
Dumbest article ever
TomB
October 18th, 2011
12:03 pm
I love all the crybabies on this blog. They chop blocked us all-night long, they deserve what our coach did. Whaa! Whaa! Whaa! Its Vanderbilt for crying out loud.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
October 18th, 2011
12:03 pm
Grantham farted in public, new blog coming in 20 minutes to discuss the ramifications of such a “ghastly” act.
TroupDawg
October 18th, 2011
12:03 pm
little dawg 10 proves my point! Son, you have no clue what it means to be a man. You are so wrapped up in what others think about you that you have put your pair in a lock box. Must be awful to always walk in fear of what others might think.
Keep playing behind he skirt and the boogie man will go away and you won’t have to face him. Best thing for you son, is a tour of Duty in the Armed Forces so that pair will finally drop.
H-Town Dawg
October 18th, 2011
12:03 pm
Another newsflash for Mark Bradley: Your new hero James Franklin won’t be winning any games against UGA. Take that to the bank, “expert.”
GA_DAWG10
October 18th, 2011
12:04 pm
Amen Dean and TomB. We are the University of Georgia…proud alumni who want and demand that our school be noted for class, academics and success on the field and sportsmanship off of it. I don’t think we’ll have that with Grantham on our staff.
1eyedJack
October 18th, 2011
12:05 pm
Mark, I think you should be suspended for reporting on this, then re-serving it to us again as leftovers and finally for turning it into hash.
Franklin was wrong, Grantham was wrong, and CMR was a wussie for apologizing. And you and your partner Jeff Pelosi…er…I mean Jeff Schultz are burning Grantham at the stake before the Inquisition is complete.
headley lamar
October 18th, 2011
12:05 pm
Go eat a d!ck Mark Bradley. Everyone is tired of reading your $h[t articles.
layinlow
October 18th, 2011
12:06 pm
Richt has already conceded that Franklin’s version of the story is correct and he apologized for that reason. The undisciplined UGA players were taunting Vanderbilt after the game and franklin got ticked off and said something to williams which started the whole thing. To me this is just another strike against Richt for letting the inmates run the asslyum. Mcgarity is taking notes and watching this program closely and this incident is not going to bode well for Richt especially if this team stumbles down the stretch.
Dean
October 18th, 2011
12:06 pm
Ironically, if Richt was to be fired this season I would think Franklin would probably be mentioned as a replacement given his success so far.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
October 18th, 2011
12:06 pm
Dean you are a moron.
Jimmy Crack
October 18th, 2011
12:06 pm
FRANKLIN…GET TO THE CHOPPAH!
Big Dawg
October 18th, 2011
12:07 pm
Grantham has a lot to learn and he’s probably never going to get it. Showing intensity and fire is only a good thing when it’s done in the right way. Don’t show your stupidity by attacking the Vandy coach on national t.v. And anyone comparing Grantham to Erk simply doesn’t know Erk or their football. Erk was a winner, the greatest of all time, and a master motivator with energy and fire to burn. And he would have never pulled a dumb stunt like that. CTG couldn’t carry Erk’s jockstrap.
1eyedJack
October 18th, 2011
12:07 pm
You’ve served this up as the entree. You’ve fed this to us as leftovers. Now you’re trying to put ketchup on it and call it hash. Give it a rest.
headley lamar
October 18th, 2011
12:07 pm
This just in:::: watch bradley choke on tube steak as he criticizes amateur players and coaches.
MarineDog
October 18th, 2011
12:07 pm
The biggest problem I have with the whole situation is that the Vandy coach takes absolutely no PARTIAL responsibility or PARTIAL fault in this whole mess. At least Grantham says that he should have handled it differently. If the investigation comes back and shows that Franklin was PART of the issue, then Vandy’s going to have a bigger PR problem than UGA because they are already out in front of the story.
Alphare
October 18th, 2011
12:08 pm
“He’s proving he’s a good defensive coordinator. (The Bulldogs rank eighth nationally in total defense.)”
If UGA play a few more teams as good as Vandy’s offense in the season, I am sure dawg’s 8th ranking will drop like a rock.
H-Town Dawg
October 18th, 2011
12:08 pm
The haters will never acknowledge UGA’s class, academics and success on the field, so there’s no sense in pretending otherwise. Franklin gets a free pass? That’s not even real. Vandy nerds and Tech nerds, is there a difference?
Hulk Hogan
October 18th, 2011
12:09 pm
The old WWF would have kicked that looney-toons Grantham right out of the league. We might have been more about entertainment than sports, but we had our standards.
Sheesh People! Get a grip!
Dean
October 18th, 2011
12:09 pm
Proving point there lowcountry. Thanks!
TroupDawg
October 18th, 2011
12:09 pm
Add TomB and Dean to Dawg10….You “guys” go to Starbucks and have one your little fluff drinks with “Whipped” cream and leave the duties of manhood to those that actually have a pair.
layinlow
October 18th, 2011
12:10 pm
In video captured by WSMV-TV in Nashville, Franklin talked to Georgia coach Mark Richt on the field about Georgia “rubbing our face in it right after the game. And then your coach when I tell him about it, then he goes after me and the fight starts.”
Richt responded by telling Franklin: “That’s what I thought happened. I apologize.”
TomB
October 18th, 2011
12:10 pm
Lowcountry Bulldawg, your moniker is apt description of the typical UGA fans who never went to school there. There is a big difference between the likes of you and Dean. One of you has a little class.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
October 18th, 2011
12:11 pm
Yeah Dean, you prove TroupDawgs point when you point to Franklin being a possible replecement to Richt. Go have a Appletini…
roll tide my A_____
October 18th, 2011
12:11 pm
did CPJ call one of the players a bonehead or just used the term bonehead? There is a huge difference Bradley, who is trying to make something out of nothing.
So typical to accuse CPJ isn’t it? SEC is crumbling with coaches acting crazier, that is where you need to stick your nose in
Hiding Behind Your Keyboard
October 18th, 2011
12:11 pm
It’s so easy to second guess the actions of others when you do it professionally, Mr. Bradley. Why on earth would you possibly suggest the suspension of a coach at this point. Have you been in on the discussions with McGarity and Richt? Did Franklin call and whine to you? You complain because Richt doesn’t have passion or isn’t driven. Then you find great fault when one of his assistance demonstrates some fire, albeit with questionable delivery. Your column have become very one dimensional. You find faults in the players/coaches of Georgia teams and opine about them. For Pete’s sake, find something substantive to report on. You are quickly losing me as a reader.
H-Town Dawg
October 18th, 2011
12:12 pm
@layinlow…Yeah, and Richt was wrong. He didn’t know and should have said as much. Shame on him for swallowing that load from Franklin who has proven himself to be a shady douchebag.
TomB
October 18th, 2011
12:12 pm
TroupDawg and Lowcountry can go back to their trailer and booze now. I’m sure neither one has stepped foot on any campus anywhere.
Highlands
October 18th, 2011
12:12 pm
Oh, so since it’s Vanderbilt, they get a free pass for everything? Also Mr. Bradley, since you’re an expert at watching one angle of a video and handing out suspensions, how long does CJF have to sit for his role in this? What’s that? You see this as a one-sided incident, and Georgia is completely at fault? I’m SHOCKED.
McDawg
October 18th, 2011
12:15 pm
that would be a terrible message to send to th eplayers
this is such BS-bring on Florida
good to see Ray Drew get some snaps he is going to be really good