Friday, August 31, 2012

Just Do It

2012, it's on.

Do for Richt, Dooley, and Butts, the men who have led the team for all those years.

Do it for Verron Haynes and Lindsay Scott.  For the Meat Clever and LeSack, Pollack and Greene, and Charley and Frank, and Herschel, whose names will never be forgotten.

Do it for Stegeman and Sanford, for Ramsey and Baldwin and Dean Tate, who helped build the University we love.

Do it for for Atlanta, August, Savannah, Americus, and Ringold, and ever other proud city of this great state.

Do it for Howard and Zeier, for Loran and Chuck, who cover the Dawgs with passion and grace.

Do it for the Redcoats, for the BSU, for all the houses on Milledge and all those freshmen in Creswell, your fellow students.

Do it for the bloggers, the guys on Twitter, and message board guys who fight the battle against opposing fans on the internet everyday.

Do it for the Georgia Theatre, for Weaver D's, for Gumby's Pizza (it will never be forgotten), the Grill, and all those wonderful places that make Athens great.

Do it for fans, Big Dog Mike Woods, and the greatest Bulldog who ever lived, Dan Magill.

Do it for Russ, or should I say Uga IX, who finally earned his rightful title.

And do for Larry, as we approach the first season without our dear old friend.

The time is now.  No excuses and no remorse.  The schedule is right and the team is experienced.  It's time to bring the glory back home.

JUST DO IT.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

The Wishlist: Game 1 - Buffalo

In every game, the only thing that really matters is the final score.  Statistics are merely numbers, but over the course of a season, they typically indicate the success a team has had on the field.  Each game this season I will present The Wishlist, a series of things I would like to see occur.

  1. 0 turnovers from Aaron Murray - It is Buffalo and they are without their best defensive player.  Murray needs to focus on limiting his turnovers this fall, but doing it with three new starters will be tough.  He should use the Buffalo game to get a feel for his new line and not take risks because the game should be easily won.
  2. 10 carries each for Malcome, Marshall, and Gurley - Why not spread the ball around. 
  3. No shorts passes that end in long runs given up by the defense - Missouri lives on quick passes and receivers having the ability to run.  The Dawgs need to step up and defend short passes well.
  4. 4 Sacks - With the guys we have on the line plus Jarvis Jones, the Bulls' QBs should be eating grass all day.
  5. No personal foul penalties (excluding facemasks) - This is Buffalo.  There is no reason for players to be doing anything stupid.  If this was Vanderbilt, I wouldn't mind a well placed PF.  But not here.
  6. 5+ catches from the tight end position - Replacing Orson Charles will be impossible.  It is time to see if Artie Lynch and Jay Rome are up to the job.
  7. At least a full quarter of play for Christian LeMay - We have a pretty good idea of what we have in Hutson Mason, but LeMay is still a mystery.
  8. No kickoffs out of bounds - With the kickoff moved up to the 35 this year, there is very little reason to not kick it deep almost every time.  Even if touchbacks do come out to the 25.
  9. Brandon Harton and Kyle Karempilis playing in Sanford again - It was fun to watch these walk-ons get their chance against NMSU last year.  Hopefully, they can play again this Saturday.\
  10. Georgia 48, Buffalo 10 - I would say a shutout, I suspect the backups may give up a long pass at some point.