Retrovideo: Stafford vs. Snead

I randomly ran across this video yesterday. It features a Texas high school game between two players who would enjoy great SEC careers: Matt Stafford and Jevan Snead. The video is fun to watch because it is clear to see that both of these two players are far better than most of the others on the field. It is a back and forth battle, with each player making play after play.

Stafford is #7 for the team in blue (Highland Park). Snead is #4 in white (Stephenville). Highland Park won the game on a last minute touchdown pass by Stafford.


Look for the countdown feature on Stafford in the next week. Go Dawgs!!!

Reshad Jones will now throw punches in the NFL

As expected, redshirt junior safety Reshad Jones is leaving Athens early for the green pastures of the NFL. Since Jones almost left after the 2008 season, this comes as a surprise to exactly no one within the Bulldog Nation. After redshirting in 2006, the Dawg Nation was introduced to Jones during the season opener against Oklahoma State in 2007. Jones famously drew a fifteen yard personal foul penalty for punching an Oklahoma State player in the chest. The player (I can't remember who it was) went down like he had just been shot with a shotgun. The next three years were filled with ups (game securing interception in the victory over South Carolina in 2008) and downs (numerous missed tackles in the 2008 loss to Georgia Tech).

Jones coverage skills were decent and he tallied a fair share of interceptions, including this one handed pick in the victory over Georgia Tech this year:


Jones was known as a heavy hitter, a reputation that caused him to be a target of officials. This hit in the Oklahoma State game this season gave Jones the label of a head hunter (even though the hit was legal) and led to a number of bad calls against Georgia this year:


Jones leaves Athens after a successful career, though he never quite lived up to the 5 star talent he was evaluated as out of high school. We wish the best of luck to Reshad at the next level and hope to see him laying more hits like this one in the years to come:


GO DAWGS!!!

More Rambo = More Violence

Bryan Evans is a loyal Georgia Bulldog. The senior began his career at corner and after losing his job last season, moved to safety where he became the starter going into this season. Bryan has proven to be a heavy hitter, but his pass coverage abilities are marginal at best.

Bacarri Rambo began seeing more playing time for the Dawgs at safety in recent weeks. The redshirt freshman from Seminole, Florida has shown in the span of a few games that he has the ability to both hit and cover well in the SEC. Rambo made his first signature play during the Dawgs loss to Tennessee just a few weeks ago:




I think it is time for the nice story that was Bryan Evans as a starting DB to end. Coach Richt and Willie Matrinez need to get Rambo into the game as much as possible for the remainder of the season. I would love to see Rambo out there taking shots at Tebow this Saturday. Maybe they would look something like this (warning: this video contains graphic violence):

"When you're pushed, killing's as easy as breathing." - John Rambo

GO DAWGS!!!

The Heavyweight Bout: Green vs. Berry

For those of you who read the Iliad in high school, you know that at one point they attempt to end the conflict by having a one on one fight between two men. Since it seems that both Tennessee (Eric Berry) and Georgia (AJ Green) heavily rely on 1 player to help them win games, why not let them decide this game like they did in the old days. Here's the tale of the tape:

In the White corner...

Eric Berry

Height: 5'11''

Weight: 203

Age: 20

Position: Safety

Hometown: Fairburn, Georgia

Awards: 2007 Freshman All-American, 2008 All-American, 2008 SEC Defensive Player of the Year
Impressive Statistics: Has recorded 13 interceptions in a little over two seasons including 3 that have been returned for touchdowns. Berry also played quarterback in high school with a 37-5 record as the starter.

Rival for title of best player in the country at their position: Taylor Mays, USC

Famous YouTube Video: "Eric Berry for Heisman"

And in the Red Corner...

AJ Green
Height: 6'4''

Weight: 207
Age: 21

Position: Wide Receiver

Hometown: Summerville, South Carolina

Awards: 2007 Parade All-American, 2008 Freshman All-American, 2008 All-SEC, 2008 Freshman of the Year

Impressive Statistics: Through 18 games in his collegiate career, Green has amassed 86 catches for over 1500 yards and 13 touchdowns. He caught the game winning touchdowns in back to back games against Kentucky and Auburn in 2008. Green is 2nd all time in receiving yards by a high school athlete (5,373).

Rival for Best Player at their Position in the Country: Julio Jones, Alabama

Famous YouTube video: "The Catch"

I imagine the fight would look something like this:

It should be a fun battle to watch in Knoxville this Saturday.

GO DAWGS!!!

The Pygmy Goat strikes again!

Richard Samuel broke off this 80 yard run against the Hogs last night:



Pygmy Goat Touchdown Count = 2

I'll be back later with my complete thoughts on the shootout victory over the Razorbacks.

GO DAWGS!!!

Knowshon Enjoying Life as a Rookie

I tuned into the 49ers-Broncos preseason game to get a glimpse of Knowshon Moreno's first NFL action. He looked good on his first couple of carries and still had his run back to the huddle after getting tackled. But after throwing a block on the 3rd Kyle Orton interception of the night (it was only the 2nd quarter), he left with a leg injury. I guess he has found out the tough part of life in the NFL pretty quick. Earl also made me aware that Knowshon is appearing in a series of Reebok ads about life as a rookie at training camp and after seeing them I must say they are both pretty fun. Check out the videos below.

The Countdown 2009: 45 Days to Go

45

Points scored by Georgia against LSU the last time the two teams met in Athens (Georgia won 45-16) during the 2004 season.

Quarterback David Greene threw for 5 touchdowns as the Dawgs got revenge for two losses at the hands of the Tigers during the 2003 season.

The Dawgs hope to continue its current winning streak when the Tigers come to town on October 3 this season.

Grizzard - "They Didn't Last Year"

Lewis Grizzard - "Mating Call of the Georgia Peach"

Lewis on southern language and the northern interpretation. The mating call of the Georgia Peach is about 1:40-2:10 in, but it's all good.

Lewis Grizzard - "God Talks Like We Do"

Thanks to bulldog1447 on YouTube for posting some classic Lewis Grizzard clips during the past few months. We'll be posting these during the next few days along with continuing the "Countdown to Kickoff."

We start with "God Talks Like We Do" in a tribute to the subtitle of our blog.

It's not like they had a lot of big wins to vacate

The Alabama Crimson Tide are going to be forced to vacate wins for its football program from 2005-2007. This includes the first season under current head coach Nick Saban. The allegations include football players getting free text books for other students. Included in the list of players were former Alabama stars Antoine Cladwell and Glen Coffee. While being forced to vacate victories from the Mike Shula era is no big deal, I'm sure Saban is furious about losing victories from the 2007 season.

Saban's first squad dropped their final 4 games of the regular season before winning their bowl game to finish with a record of 7-6. That included an embarrassing loss to Louisiana-Monroe.

As Bubba says, this picture never gets old.

With the forfeits, Saban will now have a losing record during his first season at Alabama. As if they did not already want to remove the ULM from their records, now they will want to remove the entire season.

Oh yeah, there is one other game from that 2007 that the outcome will not be changed:

Round the bowl and down the hole, Roll Tide Roll!

Streit's Quick Thoughts

Here's some things going on in the world:

BOOM! - John Madden has announced his retirement from broadcasting. I would suspect they will continue to make the Madden football games, but I assume this means no more John Madden ads for Vagisil:

Going big time - Matt Stafford makes his late night television debut tonight appearing as a guest on the Jimmy Fallon show. Also appearing tonight, the gorgeous Rachel Mc Adams and the guy who plays the best villain on television, Michael Emerson of "Lost". It would be nice if Stafford gave a shout out to the Dawg Nation, but I highly doubt it.

First place on the line - Georgia baseball hosts the Arkansas Razorbacks in a weekend series in Athens with the overall lead in the SEC on the line. Georgia is ranked #1 in the coaches poll, but they did fall to rival Georgia Tech on Tuesday night. This should be a great battle between the two best teams in the SEC.

Foley Field should see big crowds this weekend

A Family Thing - After being on campus for only a few months, Aaron Murray has already brought the enrollment of the University Georgia up by one. Murray's older brother, Josh, will come to Georgia in the fall and try to walk-on the football team. Josh has spent the past few years playing baseball in the minors for the Brewers. Welcome to the Dawg nation, Josh!

Welcome to the Highlight Factory - Not that I really care about the NBA, but the Hawks begin the 2009 NBA playoffs this weekend by hosting the Miami Heat. You heard that right, the Hawks are HOSTING a playoff series! With Braves off to a good start (until the last 2 nights anyways), the Thrashers playing well down the stretch, and the Falcons coming off a great season, professional sports in Atlanta are finally starting to look good again.

Now Ohio State Fans can hate him too - Former Duke point guard Greg Paulus will be given a shot to win the starting quarterback job at Michigan. Four years away from the gridiron is a long time, but I guess coming off a 3-9 season, Michigan has nothing to lose.

Those Buckeye linebackers are going to hit a little harder than Danny Green.

GO DAWGS!!!

Open Competition: Starting Wide Receiver

With the announcement that Kris Durham will miss the 2009 season, there is an open position at #2 wide receiver opposite uber-receiver AJ Green. G-Day failed to provide an answer to who may pick up the void left with the graduation of Massaquoi and the injury to Durham. Since all of the candidates have very small (if existing) Georgia resumes, high school highlights make up most of the available videos on the candidates. Here's a look at them:

#1 - Israel Troupe - RS Sophomore


#2 - Tavarres King - Sophomore


#3 - Marlon Brown - Incoming Freshman


#4 - Rontavious Wooten - Incoming Freshman


At this point, I would think Tavarres King has the early lead on the position, but it will be hard for him to hold off Marlon Brown. Brown and Green could be an amazing tandem come this fall. Also, look for TE Orson Charles and DB Branden Smith to also get some playing time at receiver.

***UPDATE - As pointed out to me by one of our readers, I left Michael Moore and Tony Wilson off this list. Moore does have a shot at taking the #2 spot after a great performance in the Capital One Bowl, however I think he will perform better in the position he occupied last season at slot receiver. Tony Wilson is an amazing blocker, but I do not see him winning the full time starting position over any of these candidates.

Spring Practice: Welcome Freshmen

Georgia had three early enrollees attending their first practice as members of the Dawgs on Tuesday. According to reports, offensive lineman Dallas Lee got his first taste of offensive line coach Stacey Searels as he struggled through his first day. Quarterbacks Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger also saw their first action under center for the Dawgs. While senior Joe Cox and sophomore Logan Gray got high remarks for their work on Tuesday, the freshmen were said to have struggled. Would we have expected any better? No.

Here's a quick video of AJ Green running drills during his first practice last summer. The video is only about 30 seconds long and Green drops not 1 but 2 easy passes during a drill.


Struggling during your first days of practice at the collegiate level is expected. These three players already have a step up on the remaining 16 members of the Georgia signing class who won't begin their careers at Georgia until the summer. As past early enrollees Matt Stafford and Richard Samuel proved, getting to school early can help you earn playing time as a freshman. While I don't see any of these players having an impact this fall, I am proud to see their enthusiasm and hard work.

Today, I will leave you with another football practice scene, this time from the movie "Gridiron Gang" starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Johnson was a solid player for the Miami Hurricanes in the 90's and is famous for going into the crowd to beat up an opposing team's mascot. I would love to see a conversation between him and Lou Holtz.



Only 24 days until G Day!
GO DAWGS!!!

The Start of Spring Practice

This fires me up. Is it August yet?

Today marks the beginning of spring practice for Dawgs. Hopefully Coach Richt has the players going full steam. After finishing the 2008 season at 10-3, the Dawgs head into spring with a number of key questions they are hoping to answer between now and opening day in Stillwater.

1. Is Joe Cox ready to take the reigns?

He is saying all the right things, has the backing of his coach, and the Bulldog Nation seems behind him. With two freshmen quarterbacks already enrolled, G Day should provide us with a glimpse of the future as well.

2. Who starts at halfback?

With Richard Samuel out for spring because of surgery, Caleb King is the only experienced scholarship back who will be active this spring. I look forward to getting a glimpse of Carlton Thomas in the backfield and in the return game.

3. Can we kick the ball deep?

We all know Walsh has the leg to kick it deep, the question is whether we have finally abandoned the directional kick and just let our guys kick it as far as they can.

4. Will the lines get healthy?

This one will not be answered during spring as many of our key guys on both sides are still recovering. I can't wait to see teams try and cover the two headed monster that is Geno Atkins and Jeff Owens this fall.

5. Who will step up at the other wideout position?

AJ Green is arguably the best receiver in the nation and this spring he says he is finally healthy. The person on the other side of the field will play a key role as teams will try and double team AJ. Michael Moore showed flashes last season that he could be the man. If no one steps up, look for Marlon Brown and Orson Charles to compete for playing time in the fall.

G Day is 25 days away. Mark your calendars!

GO DAWGS!!!

Opening on the Road

Georgia will open the 2009 season on the road to take on the Cowboys of Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Oklahoma. This will be the only the 5th time Georgia has opened a season outside of Sanford Stadium since 1990. The other four season openers away from home during that time were:

1990 - At LSU - Loss 18-13
1992 - At South Carolina - Win 28-6
1994 - At South Carolina - Win 24-21
2003 - At Clemson - Win 30-0

Speaking of that 2003 game at Clemson, here are two amazing plays that started the '03 season off on the right foot:





As of right now, the next scheduled road season opener is at Clemson to start the 2013 season. Here's to hoping that the results of this years game in Stillwater and that game in '13 turn out the same as the game in 2003.

GO DAWGS!!!

Georgia Baseball moves to 12-0 and perhaps #1 ranking

The Dawgs handled Quinnipiac this weekend, winning 7-0, 19-6, and 7-2, to move their record for the 2009 season to 12-0. Friday night's game was highlighted by Trevor Holder's 7 innings of hitless ball. Saturday's game saw the bats come alive and put a hurting on the visiting team. The blowout victory including this bowb from Rich Poythress:



Sunday saw the Dawgs finish off the sweep with a workman like victory. Already ranked #2 in the Collegiate American poll coming into the weekend, the Dawgs appear to be poised to take over #1 this week as LSU lost its weekend series. The Dawgs have two more throw away games this week against LeMoyne before the real season begins this weekend against Alabama.

The 2008 Georgia team was simply amazing, with All-American Gordon Beckham leading the way to a national runner-up, but the 2009 team may be that much better. This is by far the most complete Georgia team I have seen. The pitching is fantastic and the hitting is solid throug out. The best part is, the team is filled with freshman who will be with the team for a few more years. I would be very surprised if the Dawgs are not back in Ohama come the end of this season.

GO DAWGS!!!

Georgia Baseball 2009

Your College World Series runners-up and defending SEC Champion Georgia Bulldogs baseball team will hit the field to open the 2009 season in just 10 days. Georgiadogs.com has the full preview for the 2009 squad here. The offense will be lead by pre-season All-Americans Bryce Massanari and Rich Poythress. The real strength of this team will be the pitching, with returning starter Trevor Holder and Alex McCree expected to provide a strong 1-2 punch in the pitching rotation.

Of course this is an odd numbered year, and if you have followed Georgia baseball in the David Perno era, you know that in even numbered years we go to the CWS while in odd numbered years we suck. Replacing All-American shortstop Gordon Beckham will be one of the toughest challenges for this '09 club.

For good memories, here are two videos that will remind us how great the 2008 season was for Georgia baseball.

The first is Gordon Beckham's homerun in his final at-bat at Foley Field


The second is The Outfield's hit song "Your Love", which was the music Gordon Beckham came to bat to and provided the background for Georgia's run in the College World Series:

GO DAWGS!!!

Capital One Bowl - Post Game Celebration

The team had a fun time celebrating after the victory over Michigan State.

Terrorists Choose Alabama

I hate Florida, but this is somewhat disturbing. Notice the "ROLL TIDE" during the final seconds of the video.