Sunday, November 29, 2009
A Weekend of Football
Alabama at Auburn
Analysis: Auburn played with more emotion and intensity than Alabama. Auburn played much better than expected, but fell just short.
Predicted Score: Alabama 31-7
Final Score: Alabama 26-21
Prattville High at Auburn High
Analysis: Two great defensive teams. I had never seen either play...
Predicted Score: Auburn High 31-17
Final Score: Prattville 13-9
Georgia at Georgia Tech
Analysis: See Analysis of Game Prediction. All holds true...Tech and the ACC are painfully weak
Predicted Score: Georgia 31-27
Final Score: Georgia 30-24
Thursday, November 26, 2009
This, That, and the Other
Alabama at Auburn, 2:30 EST, CBS
Analysis: Auburn's strength on defense is their secondary, and their rush defense is their weakness. Alabama's weakness on offense is passing, while their strength is rushing. Alabama's strength on defense is everything.
In short, Auburn just doesn't match up well with Alabama at all. I despise Alabama, but,
Alabama 31 Auburn 7.
6A Alabama State Playoffs, Semi-Finals
#2 Prattville High School at #1 Auburn High School, 8:00 EST
Analysis: I know nothing about either team or Alabama High School Football. However, my first cousin, Taylor, is on Auburn High School's Drumline. That'll be fun to watch.
Since I'm from Auburn originally, I'll choose them (Great Logic by the Way)...
Auburn 31 Prattville 17
Georgia at Georgia Tech, 8:00 EST, ABC
Analysis: Yea, yea, yea, Georgia Tech has only lost one game and is #7. Who cares? They haven't played anyone and are in one of the weakest conferences in college football. In addition, they are incredibly one dimensional. Remember the last time an SEC defense played against Tech? LSU destroyed them. UGA won't make the same mistakes they did last year, and are talented enough to win, despite their recent struggles.
Georgia 31 Georgia Tech 27
What I've been Listening to Lately (Suggested Listenings from a Wide Variety):
1. Sarah McLachlan (Happy Xmas, What Child is This/Greensleeves, The First Noel)
2. U2 (I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight, Magnificent, Until the End of The World)
3. Muse (Hysteria, Our Time is Running Out, Supermassive Black Hole)
4. Fernando Ortega (Our Great God)
5. Salt-N-Pepa (Push It)
Movies I've Seen Lately That I hadn't Seen
1. August Rush (My Rating: B-)
2. Twilight (My Rating: F-)
3. Keeping Mum (My Rating: B+)
4. 12 Angry Men (My Rating: A+)
5. Pump Up the Volume (My Rating: B)
6. Changeling (My Rating: B+)
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Trivial Favorites List (Top 5's)
Most Liked Teams:
1. Georgia Bulldogs
2. Auburn Tigers (I know, weird).
3. San Antonio Spurs
4. Chicago Bulls
5. Atlanta Falcons/Braves/Hawks
Most Disliked Teams:
1. Alabama Crimson Tide
2. Oklahoma Sooners
3. Tennessee Volunteers
4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
5. USC Trojans
College Stadiums:
1. Sanford Stadium (Georgia)
2. Jordan-Hare Stadium (Auburn)
3. Tiger Stadium (LSU)
4. Neyland Stadium (Tennessee)
5. Ohio Stadium (Ohio State)
Favorite Cities (Other than Athens, GA):
1. Paris, France
2. New York City, New York
3. Sandestin, Florida
4. San Diego, California/Seattle, Washington
5. Atlanta, Georgia/Savannah, Georgia
Artists:
1. Led Zeppelin
2. The Doors
3. R.E.M.
4. Jimi Hendrix/Pink Floyd/The Who
5. The Beatles
Movies:
1. Gladiator
2. Shawshank Redemption
3. American Beauty
4. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
5. Original Star Wars/Forrest Gump
Drinks:
1. Sprite
2. Water
3. Orange Gatorade
4. Chimay Blue
5. More Sprite
New Bleacher Report Article!
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/294303-the-10-wealthiest-and-most-recognizeable-teams-in-college-football
Thursday, November 19, 2009
R.I.P. UGA VII
Today, unfortunately, the symbol of the Bulldog Nation, UGA VII, passed away.
He will probably be most remembered for his tenure during the successful careers of Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno. Even though he did not last long, he'll always maintain a place in Georgia Football History.
(Blawg Moment of Silence).
Go Dawgs!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Bobo Fails Again vs. Auburn
As many of you may recall, with 13:14 left in the 2nd quarter of the Auburn game, Joe Cox ran a play action pass, pump-fake, 50 yard TD pass to Israel Troupe. At the time, it seemed like a brilliant play call on the part of Big Bird, Mike Bobo. Not so fast my friend...
On the previous 2 plays before the TD pass to Troupe, Joe Cox quickly threw the ball to stud receiver A.J. Green for 12 yard gains on each play. Following consecutive 12 yard gains, A.J. Green was taken out of the game. I was a little frustrated at Green being pulled, but figured he was taking a breather (I later found out Green was injured). After Green was pulled, Georgia had Troupe in at Flanker, Tavarres King at Split End, Shaun Chapas at Fullback, and Caleb King at Tailback.
Given the personnel in the game, notably without Green, I thought there was no way UGA was going to pass the ball. Thus, I expected another predictable toss sweep to the outside that never works with Caleb King. To my surprise, as stated above, Cox ran a play action, pump fake pass to Israel Troupe (who came off the bench and has not played much at all during the entire season) for a 50 yard TD.
Following the TD pass, I had to bite my tongue and admit that was a good play call, considering no one would have expected UGA to pass without Green in the game, following 2 consecutive pass plays.
Interestingly, today, I find out that Mike Bobo made the play call thinking that A.J. Green was, in fact, in the game on that play. That is, the pass that went to Troupe was designed to go to Green, who wasn't even in on that play. Are you kidding me?
So, what are the issues here, considering UGA did score?
1. Our offensive coordinator, who stands on the field, did not even know that the biggest playmaker on UGA's offense (A.J. Green) was not on the field when making a play call.
2. It implies that if Bobo knew Troupe was in the game instead of Green, that play would have never been called because Big Bird is so conservative and does not trust other receivers...
FAIL.
I say, good for Israel Troupe! That a way to step in and make a big play, showing the coaches the depth of talent on our team.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Mark Richt's Seat Heat Rising as Georgia Coordinators Continue Obsolete Methods
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
I've been making the same statement for a while now: Mark Richt is a quality individual and head coach who, at one time, was a great offensive mind, especially when he was the offensive coordinator at Florida State.
He still may be a great offensive mind, but Richt has allowed Big Bird (Mike Bobo) to call plays for the last two and a half years.
So, unless Richt has more play-calling authority than the public knows about, I do not know if Richt is still a great offensive mind or not because he is not calling the plays.
Being a successful head coach requires an individual to be elite in knowledge of the game and management of staff/players. I still think Richt's knowledge of the game is elite, but I severely question his management.
Prior to the 2008 season, after Georgia finished No. 2 in the AP Poll, it appeared that Mark Richt was certainly amongst the elite coaches in both knowledge of management.
Georgia went 10-3 during the 2008-2009 season. Thus, a 10-win season is a success, right? No, not necessarily in all circumstances.
Winning 10 games is certainly an impressive feat for most college football teams, but if someone broke down how Georgia lost three games last year, given their talent level, 10 wins seems far less impressive.
1. Georgia was massacred by Alabama 41-30, in UGA Funeral I (Georgia used black jerseys for the second time as a source of motivation to beat Alabama but failed miserably after Alabama put up 31 in the first half.)*
2. Georgia was destroyed by Florida 49-10, a year after the end zone celebration and defeat of Florida 42-30. Georgia was still an outside title contender before this loss.*
3. Georgia embarrassingly blew a 28-12 halftime lead over in-state rival Georgia Tech at home.*
* Georgia had two first round picks in their backfield in Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno. In addition, they had two receivers with 900-plus yards receiving, one of which was a second round draft pick and starter in the NFL (Mohamed Massaquoi) and the other who led the SEC in receiving yards (Green).
Does Georgia's 10-win season still seem as successful? I don't think so.
So, if UGA had all that talent and could only manage 10 wins (let's not forget about UGA surviving Kentucky and Auburn), does this imply that something is flawed with the coaching? Seems plausible.
Entering the 2009-2010 season, somehow, I convinced myself that Stafford and Moreno's egos hindered UGA's chemistry during the 2008-2009 season and believed that Richt would manage and lead a more cohesive "no-name" team to a surprisingly successful season.
I was wrong.
With the losses of Stafford at QB and Moreno at RB, the coaching flaws are becoming even more evident, as Georgia can't simply win on talent. The play-calling, even though good at times, few and far between, rivals that of an amateur playing EA's NCAA Football .
For example, how many freakin' times are people going to see Georgia's offense run HB draws on second or third and long? First off, UGA does not even seem to have the talent at RB this year to be consistently successful at running HB draws. Secondly, whereas other teams are aggressive in these situations, Georgia predictably concedes.
Let's take a minute to analyze Georgia's outdated, "MS-DOS" offense against Florida, or any other team, for the past eternity:
Scenario One
It's 2nd-and-16. Joe Cox lines up in shotgun formation with his feet even and shoulder width apart. This detail about his feet is crucial because when Cox puts one foot forward, he is going to throw, but when his feet are even and shoulder with apart, he almost always runs a HB draw.
Of course, if Bobo implemented different, unpredictable foot patterns, that would be "far too complex" for UGA's offense.
Bobo sends in Caleb King or Richard Samuel, who take forever to run the ball to the outside, to play HB and stand right beside Cox. The ball is snapped, and Cox runs a HB draw to one of these two, and they attempt to run to the outside, at most getting five yards if UGA is lucky.
It's now third down with 10 to 12 yards to go. Cox takes a five-step drop and is blitzed by good defenses, such as Florida or Alabama. Florida plays single coverage on A.J. Green on the outside, and Michael Moore is consistently open in the slot across the middle.
Big Bird (Bobo) calls for an Orson Charles (Tight End) deep out , and Cox throws into double or triple coverage.
Scenario Two
It's 3rd-and-9 on the Florida/opposing team's 20-yard line. Big Bird (Bobo) is gonna fool them this time!
Score: (in the fourth quarter) Florida/Other team (35), Georgia (17) —yippee!
Scenario Three
You have a senior QB who has paid his dues and waited behind Stafford for years now. So, he must be the best to start, right? No. He's only thrown 12 INT in eight games.
But Georgia has this highly talented freshman named Aaron Murray who is supposed to be the future of Georgia football. Can't he start or be given a chance?
Richt to media: We are going to start the QB who gives us the best chance of winning.
Murray hasn't even played, so how do we know that he doesn't give UGA the best chance of winning?
On the flip side, isn't it possible that some QBs give UGA the best chance of losing?
Get the picture now? In addition to the offensive coordination being basic and foolish, the defense has been allowing teams to score points relentlessly.
What's the Main Point?
Suppose you are the CEO of a large company (Mark Richt) and your company's stocks are falling because your top executives (Bobo and Willie Martinez) are possibly not competent or capable of doing their jobs. Would you continue to defend them or keep them at their current level of duties? No, I wouldn't think so.
So, if the company continues to fail and the CEO does not make changes, where would the Board place the blame? On the CEO.
Thus, if UGA's coordination on either side continues to fail and boosters begin to decline in their support of UGA Athletics (falling stocks), and if Richt does not make coordination changes, don't be the least bit surprised when Damon Evans and others place the blame on Richt, not Bobo or Martinez.
And that's where the blame should go.

