The Countdown 2011: 78 Days to Go

Reasons to Love Athens: Feta and Fries at the Grill

(Note: This is the first in a series of posts on this year's countdown about the home of our Georgia Bulldogs, Athens)

One of the reason Athens is known as a great college town is the abundance of great restaurants. From fine cuisine to a late night snack, the Classic City has a little something for everyone. For those of us that spent many a night at the bars downtown, the last choice of the night was often to pick between one of two places: Little Italy or the Grill. And while I loved getting a few slices of pizza, nothing beats the french fries with feta at The Grill.

The Grill has been open on College Avenue for over 20 years and is the perfect late night destination for the hungry college student. When you end up hungry after a night downtown this fall, head on over to The Grill and order the fries. You won't be disappointed!

The Countdown 2011: 79 Days to Go

Caleb King: One Last Chance

When Caleb King chose to come to Georgia, most fans in the Bulldog Nation rejoiced. The best running back from the state of Georgia (who was considered one of the best in the nation until a leg injury his senior year) was staying home. The expectations were high when Caleb arrived on campus in 2007. With the emergence of Knowshon Moreno that fall, King stayed on the bench and would not make his debut until the 2008 opener against Georgia Southern. King ran well that ( totaling just under 100 yards on the ground) and Georgia fans remained optimistic.

Now, almost 3 years later, many Georgia fans see King's career as a failure. From a series of injuries to academic and off field issues, King has never lived up to the hype. But there have been highlights to King's career. The 75 yard touchdown against Georgia Tech in 2009 may be the one most remember, but my favorite was a play which King never touched the ball. Against Auburn in 2009, King blocked an Auburn defender into the air as Joe Cox hooked up with Israel Troupe on a long touchdown.

Blocking is the one area where most people are satisfied with King. He has been the best blocking back for the last few seasons. Georgia's offense requires its running backs to block and with Crowell just arriving on campus, the Dawgs will need a solid blocker. My hope is that Caleb takes this final year to win back the Georgia fans. If he finally lives up to expectations, he will not only make himself a better draft prospect but he will help relieve some of the pressure off Isaiah Crowell.

The Countdown 2011: 80 Days to Go

Tight End U

During the 1980's and early 1990's, many fans liked to call Georgia Tailback U. From Herschel Walker to Garrison Hearst and Terrell Davis, the Dawgs always seemed to have a great player at the running back position. While Georgia has had good players consistently at a number of positions in recent years, the tight end position has been extremely strong.

When Coach Richt arrived in Athens, he already had a great tight end in Randy McMichael. When McMichael moved onto the NFL, Benjamin Watson (who began his career at Duke) took over and after two successful seasons moved on to the New England Patriots. The next great Georgia tight end was Leonard Pope, who became a hero to Georgia fans after catching two touchdown passes in 2004 victory over Florida. After the Dawgs won the SEC in 2005, Pope moved on and Matrez Milner became starting tight end. Milner performed well enough to get drafted by the Atlanta Falcons. Ironically, one of Georgia's best teams of the decade (2007) failed to feature an NFL tight end. Tripp Chandler had some drop issues, but would still have been a starter at most SEC schools.

And that leads up to the group of tight ends currently at Georgia, which may be the strongest tight end group in the country. The group is so strong that Bruce Figgins was able to move to fulback this year. Orson Charles is poised for an All-American season and senior Aron White would start at almost any school in the country. Artie Lynch is coming off a redshirt season and we haven't even seen Jay Rome in a bulldog uniform yet. Georgia truly has become tight end U in college football.

The Countdown 2011: 81 Days to Go

Profile: Christian Robinson

Number: 45
Class: Junior
Height: 6'2''
Weight: 226
Position: Inside Linebacker

Career Totals:

Games Played/ Started - 25/11
Tackles: 65
Sacks: 2
Tackles for Loss: 6
Fumble Recoveries: 2
Quarterback Pressures: 4

2010 Review:
Robinson became a starter for the Dawgs in 2010, appearing in all 13 games (including 11 starts). Robinson and Akeem Dent formed a good foundation in the middle in the first year under Todd Grantham. He recorded a career high 6 tackles against Georgia Tech.

2011 Preview:
From everything I have read, Christian Robinson has become one of the team leaders of the defense. His vocal leadership, along with solid play on the field, will make him a player to watch this fall. I am really excited about him being paired with sophomore Alec Ogletree at inside linebacker. Look for an increase in Robinson's tackle total as last year's team leader, Akeem Dent, has moved on to the NFL.

The Countdown 2011: 82 Days to Go

2011 Opponent Profile: New Mexico State

School: New Mexico State University

Mascot: Aggies

Conference: WAC

Last Conference Championship: 1978 (Missouri Valley Conference)

Head Coach: DeWayne Walker (3rd season, 5-20 overall record)

DeWayne Walker became head coach at New Mexico State in 2009 after spending three years as defensive coordinator at UCLA (and as interim head coach in a loss to BYU in the 2007 Las Vegas Bowl). He has failed to have much success at New Mexico State, winning only a single conference game each of the last two years.

Rivals: New Mexico and UTEP

Last Season: 2-10 (1-7 in WAC)

Interesting Fact: "The Woodson Curse"

Future hall of famer Warren B. Woodson became coach of the Aggie program in 1958. His team won the 1959 Sun Bowl and went a perfect 11-0 during the 1960 season. After a few more successful seasons, the university administration invoked a clause which required state employees to retire at age 65. Woodson was turning 65 that year, and despite another winning season and a blow out over rival New Mexico (53-7) he was forced into retirement. In 40 years since Woodson's forced retirement, the Aggies have only had 4 winning seasons and have not returned to a post season bowl game.

New Mexico State travels to Athens to take on the Dawgs on November 5.

The Countdown 2011: 83 Days to Go

Isaiah Crowell: High School Numbers and Predictions

Georgia has had many players with amazing high school statistics come to Athens to play for the Bulldogs. That case holds true for Georgia's top player in the class of 2011, Isaiah Crowell. Here's a look at the amazing stats he put up at Carver-Columbus.

2007: 22 carries, 219 yards, 3 TD

2008: 85 carries, 1,017 yards, 15 TD

2009: 175 carries, 1,915 yards, 25 TD

2010: 147 carries, 1,721 yards, 18 TD

Career Totals: 429 carries, 4,872 yards, 11.35 yards per carry, 61 TD

So what can we expect out of Crowell this fall? Marcus Lattimore rushed for 1,197 yards on 249 carries for South Carolina. This would be almost 100 carries more than Crowell had in any season during high school and with Caleb King and Ken Malcome around, I just don't see him getting more than 20 carries per game. Knowshon Moreno carried the ball 248 times as a freshman in 2007 despite splitting carries with senior Thomas Brown.

My prediction: 195 carries for 1,014 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The Countdown 2011: 84 Days to Go

2011 Schedule: From Least to Most Important

12 - New Mexico State - November 5

A bad out of conference opponent the week after Florida. The Dawgs should be either eying an SEC crown or pissed off about another loss in Jacksonville. This one should be easy.

11 - Coastal Carolina - September 17

Any questions? The only reason it is more important than New Mexico State is that it follows two tough opponents to open the season.

10 - Vanderbilt - October 15

Vandy will be horrible again and the Dawgs should roll.

9 - Georgia Tech - November 26

Other than bragging rights, this game is not too important at this time. That could all change depending on how the season goes.

8 - Ole Miss - September 24

The first true road game of the season. Hopefully the Dawgs will be looking to go 2-0 in the SEC.

7 - Mississippi State

MSU surprised everyone last year, but I don't think they will be as nearly as strong this year.

6 - Boise State - September 3

This is important on a perception scale, but in the terms of the 2011 season, this one is not that important. The Dawgs could lose this one and still have a great season, just ask Virginia Tech.

5 - Kentucky - November 19

The Dawgs' final SEC game could have a lot to do with bowl positioning this fall.

4 - Tennessee - October 8

The Dawgs won easily last fall, but have struggle the last two visits to Knoxville.

3 - Auburn - November 12

REVENGE!

2 - Florida - October 29

This game is always important, but this year the Gators seem more vulnerable than they have since 2004.

1 - South Carolina - September 10

The most important home opener in a long time. Whether they win or lose in week 1 against Boise, this game is a must for a good season this fall. Win it, and you are the favorite for the SEC East crown. Lose it, and it may be another long year in Athens.

The Countdown 2011: 85 Days to Go

The Emergency Quarterback: Hines Ward and the 1995 Peach Bowl

Hines Ward is one of the greatest receivers to patch passes in Sanford Stadium. His 149 career receptions for over 1,900 yards puts him among the leaders in school history. But Ward's numbers may have been even better had he not been called on to perform other roles during his Georgia career. In addition to receiver, Ward also played running back. But in the 1995 season, he returned to his high school position of quarterback.

Starting quarterback Mike Bobo and backup Brian Smith were injured and Ward moved from emergency quarterback to starter. Georgia faced Virginia and while they would lose the game 34-27, Ward put on an amazing performance. The Dawgs rallied from a 24-6 deficit, Ward completed 31 of 59 passes for 419 yards. He had 469 yards of total offense. Here is a video that appeared as part of ESPN's Year of the Quarterback earlier this year:

The Countdown 2011: 86 Days to Go

How Larry Munson Came to Georgia

Larry Munson will always be the voice of the Georgia Bulldogs. From Lindsay Scott to the Hobnail Boot, Munson's calls are at the very heart of what Georgia football means to many fans. Most people know that Munson sat in the Georgia booth for over 40 years (1966-2008), but few Georgia fans know about his career before Georgia. Here's a look at how Larry came to Athens.

Larry grew up in Minneapolis and served as a medic in the Army during World War II. After attending broadcast school and working at a small radio station in North Dakota, he applied for a job in Cheyenne, Wyoming, used a recording of an Ohio State and Minnesota football game as an audition. In Cheyenne, Munson met and befriended Curt Gowdy. When Gowdy left his position calling football games for the University of Wyoming, he recommended Munson for the job. And so started the career of Larry Munson broadcasting sports.

Gowdy had left for a minor league baseball announcing position in Oklahoma City, and when he moved on to call games for the New York Yankees in 1949, Munson once again replaced him. In 1952, Larry moved to Nashville, continuing to call minor league baseball games and appearing on one of the first television fishing shows ever produced. He also convinced Vanderbilt University to begin broadcasting college basketball games on a local AM affiliate. the success of basketball on the station led them to add football to its schedule with Munson as its lead broadcaster.

Larry Munson would leave the state of Tennessee for Georgia in early 1966. But his main reason for coming south was not Georgia football. He had been hired as a member of the Atlanta Braves broadcast team for their first season in Atlanta. During Spring Training, Munson saw in the paper that Georgia radio announcer Ed Thilenius was leaving the position. He made a call to Georgia athletic director Joel Eaves about the open position. He got the job and took over as Georgia broadcaster that fall (despite continuing to live in Nashville. He stopped calling Braves games midway through that season.) The rest is Georgia football history.

During his career with Georgia, Munson continued to work in many different areas. He continued to appear on a hunting and fishing show in Nashville for the next 12 years, called Georgia basketball games from 1987-1996, and called games for the Atlanta Falcons from 1989 - 1992.

At the 57 second point of the video below, you can here some of Munson's calls from his days with the Falcons.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-total-access/09000d5d81b7a4a7/Top-100-Deion-Sanders?r_src=ramp

Texas Rangers: Pure Class

The Texas Rangers drafted Georgia outfielder Jonathan Taylor in the 33rd round of the MLB draft today. I applaud Nolan Ryan and everyone at the Texas Rangers for this amazing move. I am glad there is still a place in sports for classy moves such as this.