Tuesday, August 30, 2011

10 Things I Think

With just a few days til kickoff, here's what's on my mind.

1. The SEC Classic Games event that has been running on FS South the last few days has been awesome. I have watched some great Georgia moments, including the entire hobnail boot game from 2011. They should do this every year.

2. Texas A&M is coming. I haven't said much on the conversation of SEC expansion, but with A&M telling the Big XII they are leaving yesterday, it seems like a foregone conclusion. My preference for the 14th team would be North Carolina. They have a decent football program with the proper booster backing plus a tremendous basketball program that would be an instant rival for Kentucky. i would much rather pick up the Tar Heels than FSU, Virginia Tech, or Clemson.

3. Bacarri Rambo has to be suspended, but the question is for how long. It seems amazing that the Dawgs will begin the season without the two players (Rambo and Hamilton) who were listed atop the safety depth chart after spring and no one really seems that worried.

4. I like Brandon Boykin's challenge to Chris Peterson on Twitter. Yes, Boise will be favored but that doesn't mean the Dawgs should go into the game without any confidence. Hopefully, the Broncos honor the request and we see Boykin take one back for 100+ again.

5. I have much more confidence in the running back trio of Crowell, Samuel, and Malcome than I did in King, Ealey, and Thomas heading into last year. Between King and Ealey, I can think of at least 4 crucial fumbles that they had in the last two years that were the difference in close games (Kentucky 2009, Miss State 2010, South Carolina 2010, Colorado 2010).

6. Tavarres King and Marlon Brown will be solid receivers this year. The last time we entered a season without a standout at receiver was 2005. I seem to remember us picking up an SEC title with Bryan McClendon, Sean Bailey, and a freshman Mohammed Massaquoi.

7. I am excited that Kwame Geathers has performed well enough to keep the starting job at NT. Big boys like Geathers and Jenkins cannot play every down, so having two dominating forces in the middle will be a great advantage.

8. Since ESPN has decided to be in Arlington on Sunday instead of Atlanta, our game has almost become the big game that isn't important to them. I have heard countless reports on LSU-Oregon, but very little on the Georgia-BSU matchup. Granted, our game is not a clash of two top 5 teams, however, it is one of the only games this week that matches two rank opponents.

9. When will the hammer drop of Miami and Ohio State? Right, it looks like they will be able to take the field this fall without any fear of bowl banishment. That means they can still compete for conference championships and reap all the benefits from playing in bowl games. Seems pretty ass-backwards that the NCAA suspended AJ Green for 4 games for selling one jersey but won't step up and punish cheaters that included the coaching staffs at the universities.

10. And lastly....

FOOTBALL, FOOTBALL, FOOTBALL! Finally! It is time to make 2010 a distant memory and right the ship in Athens.

GO DAWGS!!!!

14 comments:

Jose' said...

I guarantee you no one will score more than Ealey's 11 td's. The entire running back crew combined couldn't. Ealey's fumbles cost us less games than Murray. Stronger after top 3 scorers left on offense, and top 3 tacklers left on defense? Uh, no.

Anonymous said...

Jose, you ignorant slut. Where did Ealey come from? What about David Pollock, Justin Houston, or any other player that was an unknown commodity? I'll make you a deal, mmmkay, pumpkin? I won't assume that Samuel and Crowell will be better than Ealey and King if you won't assume they won't. We don't know.

Of course, you're not a Georgia fan. Likely, a Cock fan trolling. Have fun with that. It worked on me!

Boliver Shagnasty said...

You should quit wondering when the hammer will drop on Miami and Ohio State and wonder when the hammer will fall on Mark Richt, go ahead and add him to the dunzo list. The one thing I know now is enthusiasm needs to be tempered, 10 things will be known for sure on September 4th.

Jose' said...

Replacing top scorers isn't as easy as it looks. How'd it go the year after Stafford & Moreno left? Borwn & King COMBINED should be eable to replace AJ's td's. Crowell/Thomas/Samauel won't be able to replace Ealey's 11 td's as a trio.

Anonymous said...

Don't get so hung up on Ealey's 11 TDs. 5 of those came in the Kentucky game, and consisted of runs of 3, 2, 2, 2, and 1 yards. Dustin Royston could've popped those in (Ealey did have a nice game beyond that, though). If you think Brown and King won't get 8 TDs between them, then there will be someone else who will. Basically, you're an idiot. Not because I disagree with you, but because your math just won't add up, unless we score a grand total of about 10 TDs this year.

Jose' said...

Bobo has gone down a td a year per game in scoring against ranked teams (5 td's in 07, 4 td's a game in 08', 3 td's a game in 09, 2 td's a game in 10). Losing td producers has cost Bobo, and Bobo hasn't gotten enough reps with backups so offense keeps dropping.

Streit said...

Such anger.

These are my thoughts, not proven facts. I welcome your opinions, but please refrain from calling people names on this blog. It just makes you sound stupid.

As for my enthusiasm, it is not that high. I understand that we may well lose the first two games of the season. We're coming off a losing season and beginning with two teams ranked in the top 15. I'm not an idiot, but I still have to have some faith in my team. Otherwise I am not really a fan.

Replacing AJ Green is impossible. But to think that TK and Marlon Brown can't at least approach those numbers is stupid. TK had 4 touchdowns last year as Aaron Murray's third favorite target (behind AJ and Durham). This year, there is little doubt he will be target 1. Marlon Brown was a 5 star recruit, and while he may not have met his potential yet, this year he will be at the front to make plays.

I'm not expecting either to be all SEC, but if Orson Charles comes into his own, 30 catches and 4-6 touchdowns each from TK and MB should be more than enough.

As for the running backs, while they were both productive, King and Ealey both had issues. Be it suspensions, to injuries, to fumbles, neither player was exactly reliable. Whether he is a great running back or not, I know that I won't being seeing Richard Samuel suspended for games. Crowell seems to be doing all the right things so far, same for Malcome. I can't help but feeling these guys may be a better group than the pair we had last fall.

And anonymous is right, Ealey had 5 touchdowns against Kentucky and only 6 the remaining 12 games (well 11 since he was suspended once). That averages .5 TD per game. I don't think that is too much to ask out of these guys.

Jose' said...

Ealey was super reliable, anytime Richt gave him the ball 20x, we won the game.

Orson Charles is over-hyped. He scores 2-3 td's a year, averages 2 catches a game, and has never scored a td on a ranked team, not exactly NFL calibre.

Brown & King have never scored together, half of what AJ did last year. If they're so good, why couldn't they put up 9 td's last year?

If Samuel's such a great RB, why did we move him to LB?

By you trying to "imagine" Ealey's td's don't count, then by that same line, Murray had 19 td's vs. unranked teams, so 19 of Murray's 24 td's don't count.

Anonymous said...

Murray was a freshman last year, Jose. You can say what you want about anything he did or didn't do, but the fact of the matter is he was still at or near the top of SEC freshmen ALL TIME.

You also have this thing for what guys did vs. ranked teams. Fine. Ealey scored only 2 TDs against ranked teams last year. But, you're right, that's probably too much to ask of Crowell and Samuel.

Jose' said...

Must be a Florida fan hoping we're ok with 6-7 last year and 2-8 afgainst Florida. Florida fans don't want Georgia to change anything.

Anonymous said...

Then why do you have such a man-crush on Ealey? He was the staring tailback for that 6-7 team.

It's ok. You're either a fan of another team who's sitting at his mom's computer in skid-marked underwear laughing hysterically at what you think is a little puppet show you've created, or you're the type of person who just assumes the worst so that you can feel better about "being right" if things go south, yet still be happy if Georgia does well.

It's pathetic, but hey, whatever you gotta do to get by.

Rob said...

Jose you comments are some of the most inept, ludricris, moronic statements I have ever heard. I mysel was a big supporter of ealey but he didn't act up to the caliber of men we expect at UGA(unlike a certain visored Coach that doesn't matter your arrest totals). We moved Samuel to LB because it was a position we were weak in and he has massive experience playing and size to fit te system. I am guessing you have forgotten his prowess as a power running back. I suggest you go watch the replay of the USC game of 2009 and watch Richard absolutely pound the cocks defense for 5 yards after 5 yard. Exactly what UGA needs in a running back.
As always GO DAWGS!!

Jose' said...

I like winners, and every time Richt put the ball in Washaun Ealey's hands 20 carries, we won the game.

Richt had a couple of must win games, GT in 09, and Kent in 10. Both times, when Richt had to get a win, Ealey delivered.

I wouldn't trade Ealey for 10 Murray's.

Murray, everytime he throws 30passes or more, we lose.

Dawgfan17 said...

As for number 6 on your list in 2005 a tight end led the team in recpetions. Charles could easily do that this year which would take a lot of pressure off the WR's. I loved what AJ brought to the table and no one player can replace him. But if several guys step up and make it so the defense can't key in on one guy it will make the offense that much better.