Why Georgia is nicely positioned to make real hay in 2012
Orson Charles won't have any part in the next UGA-LSU game. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
It now appears that Orson Charles could be the only Georgia player who’ll leave early for the NFL. If that is indeed the case, the Bulldogs will be positioned nicely for 2012.
They could have lost Jarvis Jones, who’s their best player, and also Bacarri Rambo, who’s one of their five best, but both have said they’ll return to school. And coordinator Todd Grantham, whose name has already surfaced as an Atlanta Falcons’ possibility, e-mailed esteemed colleague Chip Towers and confessed a desire “to be at UGA for a very long time.”
(For the record, I’m not sure Grantham is a fit in Flowery Branch for a rather basic reason: He runs the 3-4, and the Falcons, as Mike Smith noted Monday, have spent four seasons drafting for the 4-3.)
We say again: If Georgia enters the 2012 season with 15 starters returning — including nine on defense — the Bulldogs should and will be a Top 10 team.
Others say so, too. Esteemed former colleague Mark Schlabach ranks Georgia No. 6 in his ESPN lookahead. Andy Staples of SI.com slots the Bulldogs at No. 9. And Brett McMurphy of CBS Sports has the Bulldogs ranked third, behind only LSU and Southern Cal.
I’m on record as picking the Bulldogs to go 11-1 in the 2012 regular season and to win the SEC — and not just the SEC East. The Outback Bowl loss, bad as it was, didn’t change that belief. I should, however, note that a post-Outback post to that effect met with scorn from many of you who claim to be Georgia fans. My point, then as now, was: Nine months from now, who’s going to care about what happened in Tampa on Jan. 2?
And why, since you asked, would I pick Georgia to win the SEC championship game when it just lost the SEC championship game by 32 points? Because seasons change, and so do results. Did not Alabama lose to Florida in the Georgia Dome in 2008, Tim Tebow’s junior season? Did not the Tide beat Tebow and his Gators under the same roof the very next year? (And if Georgia should happen to play LSU again, we’ve just been handed evidence that the Tigers are not invincible.)
Seasons change, I say again. Georgia was lousy in 2010 and got good again in 2011. It will be even better in 2012. Carp over the Bulldogs’ schedule all you want, but things don’t appear much different for 2012. If they won 10 games this time, they should win more next season. So say I.
By Mark Bradley
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631 comments Add your comment
reality Gator
January 12th, 2012
4:20 pm
Next year this time Mark B. wll be talking about the 2102 season got away from puppies, and wait till next year, Mark R. and Mark B. would never work in no other state but Georgia””
True Dawg Fan
January 12th, 2012
4:21 pm
DP
January 12th, 2012
4:08 pm
Good for them, dont really care about recruit rannkings as most pay sites cater to certain regions with lots of subscriptions. Some one was nice enough to post the article about rivals bias toward UF and Bama recruits and even went as far as siting several examples of players committing elsewhere followed by a drop in stars by their name. (Why else would Todd Gurley be a 3*, maybe bc he isnt even considering Bama or UF, and same with Marshall who was the number one or 2 back for every site but rivals gave him a four star and kids behind him 5 stars???? And to cover it up they made a new category for RBs so that they could put him as number 1 for it) The classes named themselves. If they want to be called the dream team then fine by me. This new class wants to be called the rings team, cool. Not our choice to make.
True Dawg Fan
January 12th, 2012
4:22 pm
reality Gator
January 12th, 2012
4:20 pm
nope sorry, try again later
True Dawg Fan
January 12th, 2012
4:24 pm
GTBob
January 12th, 2012
4:15 pm
So youre saying that you are right and that Les Miles is wrong?
Yes I am. What did you expect Les Miles to say? That UGA was pathetic and will never win another SEC title as long as Richt is there? That wouldn’t be nice. Coaches have to praise the teams they beat. It’s part of the job.
hahahahahahaha wow you will make up anything just so you dont have to admit you are wrong ahhahaha so sad. He gave credit that was earned. He didnt have to say that, most coaches say they played a heck of a game, he went as far as saying they but us on our back and our guys were hurting, give them some depth thats all they need.
Joey
January 12th, 2012
4:24 pm
Sure, True Dawg Idiot.
Everyone ELSE is retarded.
Yep . . .
G-Dawg
January 12th, 2012
4:26 pm
Dawg Balzz is his fetish!! Careful..that Russ will bite you!!
harold
January 12th, 2012
4:27 pm
UGA ONLY PLAYS ONE SCHOOL RANKED IN THE TOP 25 NEXT YEAR. A CAKEWALK SCHEDULE. RICHT SHOULD BE FIRED IF HE DOESN’T “WIN THEM ALL!”
Joey
January 12th, 2012
4:27 pm
reality Gator, serious question. Who is Mark B?
True Dawg Fan
January 12th, 2012
4:28 pm
DP
January 12th, 2012
4:19 pm
how stupid are you??? back pedaling??? I was dumbing down the terms so you could understand, clearly I went too far and now your just as lost ass you were before. Just bc you show that a team can be dominated like that doesnt mean they will copy your every move, so they took ideas from the “blueprints” that we laid out in the first half about how to do so. Guarantee it, no way Satan didnt see some of our plays and go hey that could work for us too lets try that.
As for your comment about the second half, im clearly talking about the first half you dolt.
G-Dawg
January 12th, 2012
4:28 pm
The words Reality and Gator should never be used together!! Gay and Terd sounds much better!!
Bulldog "Brain Trust"
January 12th, 2012
4:29 pm
Dang it Bobo, how did our blueprints get on ebay? At least nobody’s bid on them yet….
G-Dawg
January 12th, 2012
4:31 pm
Has Bobo declared for the NFL draft yet???
Joey
January 12th, 2012
4:32 pm
#10 @ 4:19.
Jaw Jaw Homer
January 12th, 2012
4:32 pm
Momma, how is the Gwags gonna beat LSU and BAMA if we still got the sorry coaches we got?
True Dawg Fan
January 12th, 2012
4:33 pm
Dawg Balzz
January 12th, 2012
4:19 pm
you stalking me or something??
True Dawg Fan
January 12th, 2012
4:34 pm
wonder if my fiance feels the same way maybe ill ask her when i get home and get back to you.
True Dawg Fan
January 12th, 2012
4:35 pm
Joey
January 12th, 2012
4:24 pm
Well you, DP, FLAT, GT Bob, Jawjaw homer which is a back up handel for someone on here thats a DA, Bobo Brain trust, and a few others make up the majority of the retards on here yes.
Jaw Jaw Homer
January 12th, 2012
4:35 pm
And Momma, if LSU put 45 points on us Dwags, and they had 500 yards of offense, how is we gonna beat the tean they didn’t score any points on and only had 92 yards of offense
True Dawg Fan
January 12th, 2012
4:35 pm
and harold cant forget that crazy guy.
CMR
January 12th, 2012
4:37 pm
I REALLY got to work on my tan down there in Fla. Wish it were sunnier in Athens during the winter.
Spank that Doggie and Call PETA
January 12th, 2012
4:38 pm
Ladies & Gentlemen>>>>>>Annoucing Today’s Worst Annoying Blogger Today!
TRUE DAWG FAN.
He has learned to cut and paste. He even figured out how to cut out portions of others comments so he could attempt to win an argument he is losing. Congratulations on today’s award. Your efforts for the entire day have and your failed attempts to make a Truthful Statement without doing so places you head and shoulders above everyone else.
Good Job on being the most ignorant failure on the blog today.
True Dawg Fan
January 12th, 2012
4:39 pm
Joey
January 12th, 2012
4:27 pm
Mark B is the writer Mark Bradley
GTBob
January 12th, 2012
4:39 pm
He gave credit that was earned. He didnt have to say that
You are the guy at the strip club who thinks the girls really like him aren’t you?
Jaw Jaw Homer
January 12th, 2012
4:39 pm
And Momma, if we got idiot fans like True Dwag Fan, will anyone think we is a real school? I be thankin folks will thank we is all big idiots.
True Dawg Fan
January 12th, 2012
4:39 pm
Bulldog “Brain Trust”
January 12th, 2012
4:29 pm
Dang it Bobo, how did our blueprints get on ebay? At least nobody’s bid on them yet….
Thats not even a logical insult. And isnt even close to what I was talking about but good try, next time get the right side of the ball!
Spank that Doggie and Call PETA
January 12th, 2012
4:40 pm
True Dawg Fan
January 12th, 2012
4:34 pm
wonder if my fiance feels the same way maybe ill ask her when i get home and get back to you.
Make sure your fiancee takes off HIS coveralls, takes his weekly bath and changes his underwear before you ask him anything.
Joey
January 12th, 2012
4:40 pm
Jaw Jaw, LSU had 237 offensive yards vs UGA, not 500. Try not to embellish.
True Dawg Fan
January 12th, 2012
4:41 pm
Jaw Jaw Homer
January 12th, 2012
4:35 pm
And Momma, if LSU put 45 points on us Dwags, and they had 500 yards of offense, how is we gonna beat the tean they didn’t score any points on and only had 92 yards of offense
Wow if you are going to do this little routine at least get the facts part right, they scored 42 and only had 230-240 yards of offense so……. We actually out gained them, not that it matters.
Les W. Moore
January 12th, 2012
4:42 pm
Oh, I had not heard that Mark Richt was leaving UGA.
True Dawg Fan
January 12th, 2012
4:44 pm
GTBob
January 12th, 2012
4:39 pm
hahahaha please show me one coach who has said anything more than their a good team, or they played great we just got lucky, or the put in a great effort. They are always backhanded compliments, but for a coach to go out of his way to speak like that about a team is a rarity these days. (FYI when is the last time you heard a coach talking about another teams depth in one of these he had to comments????)
Jaw Jaw Homer
January 12th, 2012
4:44 pm
And Momma, what is gonna happen when the Gwags have 2 loses goin into the Tech game again this year? Will True Dwag Fan blow the 2 grams of brains out of his big ugly head?
Spank that Doggie and Call PETA
January 12th, 2012
4:45 pm
Interesting Reads:
http://www.ncaagridirongab.com/2011/03/09/10-most-corrupt-ncaa-athletic-programs/
Jaw Jaw Homer
January 12th, 2012
4:46 pm
Sorry Joey, you know the drill, just messin w/ the idiot
True Dawg Fan
January 12th, 2012
4:47 pm
Spank that Doggie and Call PETA
January 12th, 2012
4:40 pm
ahhahaha yup got me again with your 3rd blog handel in the last 15 min. Funny though that all you can do is make stuff up and say that im a H o m o or something stupid like that. Its ok if I had a little brain like you and couldnt understand the game then I prob would have done it too. Bet you feel better now that you got that post in right??? Feel all big and bad now that you were “clever” enough to make a g a y joke on a blog!!
Hahahahaha keep trying people i got 10 min and im out.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
January 12th, 2012
4:47 pm
True Dawg Fan
Let me break it to you bud
The state of Georgia is a top 5 recruiting state
The Mark Richt era has put more players in the NFL than any other SEC school
The Mark Richt era ranks 2nd in recruiting behind USC
Now
Mark Richt has never beat every SEC East school in the same year but Spurrier did it at SC
Mark Richt has never won the SEC East without having other teams to help him into it
Mark Richt has never won a national title
Mark Richt hasnt won the SEC in 6 years
Mark Richt hasnt beaten a top 20 team in 3 years
Mark Richt is 7-12 against top 10 teams
Mark Richt is 31-28 against the top 25
Hello anyone home
If you think this program is going somewhere you are sadly mistaken
But hey we did good the 1st half against LSU even though we lost by 32 points
True Dawg Fan
January 12th, 2012
4:48 pm
Les W. Moore
January 12th, 2012
4:42 pm
hahahaha yup so is CTG right, and now Bobo is head coach and running for president.
GTBob
January 12th, 2012
4:48 pm
Did someone say Hay? I love farm animals. Shhhh!!
GTBob
January 12th, 2012
4:50 pm
Oh lord…here comes Flatty! #1 Fairweather Dawg Fan!!!
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
January 12th, 2012
4:52 pm
GTBob
Please explain how Im a fair whether fan
Cant wait to this one
CMR
January 12th, 2012
4:52 pm
These rubes will keep me around for years as long as I can get a couple of meaningless compliments out of Les Miles after he beats our arse like a rented mule. Only 10 wins in the record books, but the UGA homers chalk up a couple more of the “moral” variety. Add in all my February “championships” and I’m untouchable. What a gig. Only a Supreme Court justice has more job security!
True Dawg Fan
January 12th, 2012
4:53 pm
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
January 12th, 2012
4:47 pm
hahahahaha more and more cryin. how hard is it for you to understand that we had Willie martinez as our DC during what should have been NC contender years, he killed our team and we had to start over on defense. Brought in a whole new system thats only two years old. But keep crying wahh wahh wahh wahhh im impatient and cant understand why we had to basically start over after we fired willie wahhh wahh wahh wahh my brain cant comprehend something as simple as that, wahh wahh wahh wahh wahh.
Maybe one day you will get it, and stop crying like a little baby. Yes its frustraiting its been so long, but there are things that went on that kept bringing us back down (Mainly W.M. as the DC). We will get there stop crying.
Bulldog "Brain Trust"
January 12th, 2012
4:53 pm
Satan stole our blueprints.
True Dawg Fan
January 12th, 2012
4:54 pm
CMR
January 12th, 2012
4:52 pm
Still hiding???? so sad
Spank that Doggie and Call PETA
January 12th, 2012
4:54 pm
True Dawg Fan…..have not changed my handle, just got on here 30 minutes or so -AFTER WORK- which apparently having read you 10 plus ALL Day Post is a concept you do not have.
You need to send out a special Thank You to all of your fellow bloggers for allowing you to stay home, get free food( food stamps, WIC coupons) unemployment and thank your landlord or neighbor for stealing his internet signal.
10 pages…of cut and pasting….are you retarded or do you just ride the short bus with a helmet on your size 9 head?
True Dawg Fan
January 12th, 2012
4:55 pm
Enjoy dealing with all this crying and trolling folks… Im out for the day!
Cya tomorrow clowns!
foothills
January 12th, 2012
4:56 pm
S.O.S….As good of talent as LSU or ‘Bama…alas, The Stephenson High School of the SEC. BUT…the king of the (L)east.
Jaw Jaw Homer
January 12th, 2012
4:56 pm
Momma say if the Gwags get back to the Dome in Dec., what they gonna do if Saban game plans fo them for 10 days? She say they gonna look just like them LSU kittens.
True Dawg Fan
January 12th, 2012
4:56 pm
Spank that Doggie and Call PETA
January 12th, 2012
4:54 pm
Actually im at work you clown but thanks for your concern
Cut and paste is to let the person im addressing know so. Have always done it you retard.
Maybe you should learn something before you come back next time. Hope you are here tomorrow I would love to own you and embarrass you so more!
reality Gator
January 12th, 2012
4:57 pm
G-Dawg
How about the words no Nat since Jimmy Carter was President:
Mark Bradley is the worst, bulild the puppies up every year and at the end tell them you were close this time, continue to give a coach extension even though the man could not coach at any major universities in the SEC but Georgia.
CMR
January 12th, 2012
4:57 pm
Heck, we held a 7-0 lead for a good part of the first quarter against Boise State. That oughta count for something! If only that sonofagun Petersen had said a few kind words about our program afterwards, I would’ve had an 11 win season.