Monday's Meatloaf - Saying Goodbye, Draft Dawgs & Herbie's Balls

To lead off today, I've been making meatloaf for years. And as good as I am at it, I've never been able to quite replicate the dish I grew up to find comfort in. Love you Mom! Get well soon.

Perhaps the sting of last weekend's dismissal of Mett has subsided...or perhaps I'm just slow to come around to the idea of what all is ahead for Aaron Murray. So reading that the redshirt freshman's work is just getting started was good for my Dawg soul. It may be no surprise that Murray is saying all the right things, but with all of the rumors and turmoil it's nice to find comfort in something.

If you're like me, you already knew the kid was a winner. You already knew he had talent. But if a 19 year old is gonna get everyone in the huddle on the same page in Chickumbia SC on a Saturday night in September...well, he's gonna have to have the qualities of an SEC leader.

And reading up on Murray gets me thinking about the QB that was arguably Coach Richt's best field general, DJ Shockley. It's not that Murray specifically reminds me of #3...it's that I sure hope he does sometime...real soon.

Today's Ingredients

• Before we get to the NFL Draft redux, congrats to @The_Real_Paige for winning last week's #ThursdaysRTrivial. Many contestants were scared off of the idea of selecting Rennie as the first Dawg to go. Paige however, zeroed in on the ball carrier and laid the wood. Hope the Titans' jersey fits ya tweep!
• Here's Hale's complete draft wrap. It's always cool to read the words of guys you've followed for a few years after they've been selected by a pro team to play on Sundays. I can't imagine what that feels like...
• ...then again, maybe I have a pretty good idea. I mentioned several posts back that I've thoroughly enjoyed following some of these guys on Twitter and that Mike Moore has without question been my favorite. Reading their thoughts as they updated their status was agonizing as they waited and thrilling when it finally happened. Congrats to them all!
• If you wanna crunch some numbers, DawgInExile has the draft broken down for us SEC homers. And the Senator adds some flavor to that pot as well.
• And speaking of the proprietor of Get the Picture, I was reading it the other day when my 8yo (girl) was found doing the same over my shoulder. Before I sent her back to her homework, I was forced to explain the title. Quite simply, it's moments like those that Dawg dads live for. So we hunkered down, one more time.
• I can't confirm it from reading the page, but it appears that around the time the Support for Mett Facebook page was drawing hits by the thousands another page was being set up for Montez Robinson. The first Wall post is from last Tuesday night by the page's admin.
• What am I doing this Friday at 6:30pm? Well, according to Chad Simmons I'm checking my cell phone for an update of who Christian LeMay's leader is as I head into a rehearsal dinner.
• Remember the kid Stephen Hill that chose North Avenue over College Avenue? Well after Thomas' first round departure Hill's evidently been charged with being the next Yech receiver to run 30 yards downfield, jump and try and corral Nesbitt's stray bullets.
• Evidently, one of the benefits of naming an OC like Joker Phillips head coach in waiting is that the incumbent QB hits the spring game still ahead of the curve.
• If you're too young to have ever tasted Herbie's Balls, pardon the rest of us while we mourn the passing of one of Athens' dining legends. He cussed like a sailor, but his food was the perfect antidote to too many shots downtown. RIP Herbie. (h/t bendandbreak)
• Last point on the draft and ingredient for today's meatloaf goes to Daugman, who takes his hat off to Fred Gibson while referencing a nice piece that contrasts #82's career with Giants DE Chris Canty.

Always nice to hear of a player who comes back to earn his degree. Way to go Fab-Fly-Freddie!

To close up today, I strongly encourage you readers in and around the A-T-L to register for this year's Save Our Skin 5K Walk/Run. Many of you may be leaving town for the Memorial Day weekend. If not, this is a great event to use as a tuneup for the Peachtree or just to come out and get some exercise with some great people.

It's family friendly with great sponsors willing to give you stuff. The course is a fairly flat one around the Perimeter Mall area. And while you're there you can swing by the screening tent and have a dermatologist check that mole for anything suspicious. Skin cancer is very much treatable if caught early.

So slather yourself in sunscreen and start training. You can register through Active.com or at the Scan Foundation website. And don't forget to have a great Monday Reader. Here's your napkin.

Bernie