Tight and UpTight

I'm on record as being a pretty big homer when it comes to UGA Athletics, especially football. And part of the reason I felt so good coming into this season was that the reports gave us a team that was closely knit, up to its ears in leadership and ready to play loose.

Coming off a season where the expectations were so high, it set up to be quite a relief to watch this team tear through the 2009 schedule.

Then Stillwater...LSwtf?!?...Knutsville's Kiffy Vengeance...and the Nightmare on the St. Johns.

There's been plenty of ammunition for fans to use whether they wanted to blame the coaches, the defense, the weather, the flu, the offense, the special teams, the players, the schedule, the fans, the refs...well, you get it. And we've got a few weeks before we even entertain any ideas about what (if any) coaching changes actually happen and what personnel shifts the off-season brings.

But two areas that have consistently weighed against us, week in and week out are penalties & turnovers. Those are the one common denominator each and every game; the two ton anchor desperate to sink the ship. Whether every flag flown was an actual transgression is a debate for another post. But the fact remains that we are not a team that can allow teams free yards...unless it's Homecoming against Tennessee Tech. Similarly, we have yet to win the turnover margin this season. That used to be an aberration, so it seemed.

Now...well, that's reality that's been rapping it's knuckles against our forehead (h/t Senator).

Hale has a great run down of bowl scenarios up today. Maybe you don't wanna put the cart before the horse with three to play Reader. But I'm always intrigued by bowl selections. You know, watching as things shake out on the field and in the luxury suites.

To Hale's post I'll only add that this team needs to loosen up if we're gonna make a run away from Shreveport and closer to the A T L, or (bite my tongue) Tampa. I'm sure with the mixture of upperclassmen and new talent it has been hard to find a comfort level. But it's November and there's a couple of rivalries looming. Now'd be a great time to get back to Georgia football.

That lump of coal ain't turning into a diamond...so just release it. And let's maybe pick up a loose ball instead.