Monday's Meatloaf - Jill and Boss, a couple of rolling stones

Last week up was down, right was left and bourbon had nearly lost its flavor. Today, not all of that is fully corrected. But at least no off duty cops were harmed in Da'Rick Rogers' one catch for -4 yards.

Pretty good weekend overall. The Mad Hatter continues to mesmerize his opposition with bewildering decisions that seem better suited for a PlayStation than an SEC playing field. Luckily Slurban's hand held controller's A button is stuck. And if only Darth Saban had a better defensive coordinator he could've held the Visor to under 21 points. Then we really would be smiling.


But like Mick used to say, you can't always get what you want...but if you try sometimes, you might find...you get what you need. And the Dawgs needed a spark, a jump. Jill in Hoschton began the sentence. Boss Bailey completed the statement. The rest simply fell into place.


It's not gonna erase the last four games, but it's given us a start.

“I think I’ll do that (lead the team out of the tunnel),” Richt said. “I actually had a little fun. That’s the first time I’ve done it. When I got to the big G there—the breakaway flag or whatever you call it—it just caught me off guard because every time I’ve been to that point there was nothing there. I didn’t realize what it looked like until I broke through it. It was fun and it got my blood pumping a little bit, too, so that was good.”

It was good. A good start. Now let's get after it.




Today's Ingredients

• First of all, Happy Birthday to Mike "Big Dawg" Woods. 
• I've come to really enjoy Battle Hymn's week by week run downs. Take this nugget: I would pay a decent bit to see video of Boss Bailey's pre-game speech to the team. He may not be in his prime anymore, but I still wouldn't want to cross him. Amen.
• You can dismiss this performance, you can dismiss this team, you can dismiss these coaches, but you cannot dismiss the effort we saw on Saturday. Up in Exile, hammer meets nail.
• DannyDawg has some spectacular photos included in his recap of the game Saturday.
• Speaking of photos, Rex thinks AJ looks good, even wearing orange.
• Each week I get a little more excited about Aaron Murray's progress. His play Saturday was just shy of spectacular. The Senator reminds me that I should give credit where it's due.
• Big Muddy finds one play by Aron White to keep him smiling...and smiling...
• The Dawgs picked up their first 2012 commitment after the game, wideout CJ Curry.
• ecdawg uses snarkasm expertly amid the release of Bryce Brown's affadavit.
• Reptiles can regenerate; Tim Tebow snips little children. But this just in - John Brantley can't just heal himself.
• Les Miles may be lucky, or damned to Hell for all eternity...but his use of the two-QB system is hardly flawed.
• Lastly, despite beating AlaDamnBama...is it possible there's still a QB controversy in Chickumbia?

Saturday the changes were noticeable. The leverage in the trenches, the stiff-arms, the coach leading the team onto the turf for a battle. What ensued was a contest to determine who remained in the divisional cellar. There's no getting around that.

But the week leading up to it was one full of little tweaks, adjustments that all seemed to lead us in the right direction. When difficult times arise, I've always tried to focus on what I can control, for to spend time and energy attempting to change what isn't going to is fruitless. And that is why Jill from Hoschton deserves some credit here. With all the focus on X's and O's, she called in Monday night with a suggestion high in simplicity and value.


We can't control the opponent's X's or O's, but we can control how we prepare for them by kicking practice up a notch. We can give the floor to Boss Bailey Friday and let him show this team what it means to bleed Georgia red. We can play Alec Ogletree more, and send him in on offense simply to block a HillBilly out of his boots. Coach Richt can not just meet his team on the field, he can lead them there.


Because in the end, having our head coach's blood pumping a little more might just get everyone's doing the same. Have a great voyage into Monday Reader. After all, that Columbus fella didn't just wait on the sidelines either. Here's your napkin, now go to it.


Bernie