Gameday Liveblog - Missy State

Some sights, sounds and gameday info coming your way from Athens, GA.


Go Dawgs! #therealones

SEC Today - 9/30/11

Friday Misery, chapter 3: fake canines edition

Spanking ol Nutt up and down the field last weekend did little to quash my misery. To make matters worse we have to play host to the cheaters this weekend. Sure, they refused to pony up to Mr. Newton fell short of the asking price turned sCam's bagman away but they copied our mascot just like a 10th grade physics exam.


Plus, last season they manhandled us when the game was in the balance. Is there an equal and opposite reaction this season?


Fake Dogs
Uga was born into the Bulldog Nation in 1956. Five years later the Missy State Aggies adopted "Bully". Fifty years have passed and they still can't live up to their mascot's name. Aside from a 1998 appearance in the SEC Championship game and some uncharacteristic toughness last season, the Cowbells have mostly just clanked.


I've been to Starkville. It reminds me of a port-o-let: functional, but you just can't wait to be done with your business and get the hell out of there. But being trapped in a town that modern conveniences like electricity and running water left behind decades ago is no reason to steal a mascot. Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery, but this the South son. The only thing we should be trying to imitate is Grandma's grits.


Buy in
As much as the door to the UGA tackle football program has been used recently you'd think Coach Richt would just take the friggin' thing off the hinges. The latest departures were Derek Owens and Kendrun Malcome...then Boo came back. So we're not so thin at RB anymore, but I'm still perplexed.


This is going to start to sound like a Get off my lawn!!! rant, so you've been warned. I mean, what happened to the idea of hard work pays off? I mean damn, QB is the hardest position to break through if you're a back up and DJ Shockley waited 5 years to play. The G used to mean something to every player.


And don't start making excuses for these players that leave either. That makes fans sound ignorant. I know why Owens was unhappy, just like I understand why Malcome is frustrated. But damn, keep working and get ready. Don't settle for seemingly greener pastures just so you can drop a load.


Dewey-Decibels
If you're in the stands tomorrow, get loud. It's not a library folks. You're starting to really piss me off with this sitting on your hands and waiting for a microfiche machine to fall in your lap. (For you younger readers, microfiche is like Google without the bandwidth) If you're at Sanford to do research you've reached the wrong venue. Leave the decimal filing system for Monday's action. Let's use the Dewey-Decibel system instead.


To participate just try talking to the guy who's sitting in the seat across the stadium instead of the guy sitting next to you. If I can hear myself think it's a pretty good bet that the MSU offensive line can hear Chris Relf or that skinnier white kid that LSU nearly put in the hospital.


How do you win in the Dewey-Decibel System? Glad you asked. If the preacher can't hear your voice in the Call to Worship Sunday morning, you win. Simple. The raspier and ripped to shreds your vocal cords are, the better.


Trench Warfare
Losing to any team from the state of Mississippi is a lot like losing a Miss America pageant to Slovakian woman in a size 18 housecoat with warts in unkind places. It just shouldn't happen. But losing to the feaux dogs like we did last year is especially unbecoming. The bully became the bullee as they pushed our guys around like ragdolls and controlled the clock and the first down markers.


If the same thing happens tomorrow I'm going to go ahead and apologize to those in the row in front of me, because I will get sick to my stomach and it won't be pretty. There's no reason to get pushed around like that again. It's our playground and we should enjoy the swing as long as we want damnit. Give ol' Dan a taste of what it's like to be the kid in loafers at recess. 


Nothing short of dominating these half-bred, trailer squatin', live-in-a-town-with-a-semi-functional-water-tower, cowbell clanking mouth breathers will do. 


GATA....Dawgs!

Boo!...merang!

Boo's been frustrated. Boo's been buried. Boo decided to walk out...then had a second change of heart. Lucky for him Coach Richt felt the same way.

A day after telling coach Mark Richt he planned to transfer, Georgia redshirt freshman tailback Ken Malcome has been welcomed back to the team.

“If Ken came to me tomorrow and said `Coach, I lost my mind I’m sorry, and I’d love to come back and compete here at Georgia,’ I’d hug his neck and say come on,” Richt said Wednesday. Malcome met with Richt prior to practice Wednesday to inform him he wanted to leave the team because he felt he had slipped too far behind in the competition at tailback. Richt told the media Malcome said he “felt like he had gotten so far behind in the competition at his position that he felt like he needed to go to another school and get a fresh start and maybe get a better opportunity to play.” After reports that Malcome was leaving hit the Internet Wednesday night, he had a change of heart. He phoned Richt and set up a meeting on Thursday. After the two met, Malcome was reinstated to play for the team. Malcome is currently the No. 5 tailback on the depth chart, behind Isaiah Crowell, Richard Samuel,Carlton Thomas and Brandon Harton. His only carry of the season went for no gain.

Something has been up between Malcome and the coaches for awhile. I hope this recent development has helped recharge Kendrun's battery. Cuz we could use his motor.

Countdown to Kickoff - Missy State

Crowell's next hurdle

Isaiah Crowell leads the team in rushing yards, carries and likely in enthusiasm. So in many ways I think the next big step for the freshman running back is the same as the first one: don't let your head get in the way of your feet.


Early in the Ole Miss game Crowell was busting big runs and gashing Ole Miss' defense to shreds. That was a good thing. However, he was also running his mouth after the play just about as fast as his legs were moving during the play.


Now, I'm not so old that I don't enjoy seeing a kid get excited and pumped up after making a big play. But it reached a point where I was surprised he did not draw a flag. It's one thing to get up off a tackle jawwing, it's quite another to face an opponent, jumping up and down while doing so.


And we weren't the only ones who saw it. Richt ran about half way to the huddle to try and speak to Crowell. I'm not sure the kid ever heard him over the noise, and it ended with a pat on the butt.

I guess when you put an 18 year old in the "missing man" formation you run some risk of inflating an ego, creating a monster. And let's not get into the whole #1 jersey thing again. I'd just hate to see the kid make a game changing play only to have it wiped out by a little yellow flag.

Richt seems to have brought a monster to Athens. It's up to Isaiah Crowell to keep from destroying the village.

On the air - Coach Richt

On the air - Dan Mullen

Munson's candles

Ole Lady Luck....a hobnail boot...my God a freshman...hunker down...one more time...the whatchamacallit...worse than bonkers...a metal steel chair with a 5" cushion...plus thousands more...


Gonna need a really big cake!

Happy Birthday Mr. Munson!

Wag the Dawg fan

Wasn't it only yesterday we were gleaning our inside information from players' tweets/posts/conversations with reporters, seemingly even before the coaches knew about it? Now things are much different. 

Georgia reserve running back Ken Malcome didn’t travel to Ole Miss and wasn’t at practice Tuesday. “He had some illness that we sort of sent him home,” running backs coach Bryan McClendon said. “He went and got looked at this morning. …He got sent home just so he could get better.”

Some illness that we sort of sent him home...ok. He may very well have been sick. And I hope Boo feels better. But what intrigues me is the tone I take from that quote. "If it's truly your business and pertinent we'll let ya know."


Some fans might be preoccupied with every status update of every player. Me, I'd rather have a coaching staff that has a firm grasp on the comings and goings of the team; always at least a step ahead of the most obsessive BookFace user.


For instance, I wasn't aware that Rantavious Wooten was even in a car wreck until Monday night. Didn't even know he hadn't made the trip to Oxford. Of course, I admitted that I had done little to no reading Sunday as we traveled back to Atlanta ourselves. But still, in years past this is the kind of stuff thousands of Twitter followers would know about in real time.


The case of Derek Owens' impending transfer proves there's no perfect way to suppress information that's going to get out before everything is settled. But, I think I enjoy the ambiguity in most cases.

SEC Today - 9/27/11

What's Hot and What's Not this week in the SEC.

"Hell no, he's gonna score!"

I had the opportunity to watch the new documentary on the 1980 championship season over the weekend. Quite simply, 1980 Dawgs is a must have for your collection. I didn't go into it thinking I knew everything about that season, but I thought I was pretty well versed on how the thing played out. But this film provides so much more. You'll need more than one viewing to digest everything it gives you.


It's balanced well with player interviews and footage from the games. Most of all, the words come from players, coaches, trainers and writers who were there every step of the way. And you can feel the tension mount as it leads up to the defining play of that season in Jacksonville. Hearing the commentary build up to that moment will take you back 30 years to where you can relive every step Lindsay took toward that endzone and chuckle in hearing some of the reactions from the sideline as the team went from thinking the undefeated season was about to end...to thinking Belue to Scott was merely a first down...to Erk shouting "Hell no, he's gonna score!"

It's a real treasure. For over three hours you'll be entertained, through the lows and the highs. You'll laugh as well as cheer. To help put it all in perspective, the film's director Lenny Daniel has provided this writeup for how the project began. Many thanks to him and Mike Moss for seeing this thing through.

I’m Lenny Daniel, the Director & Filmmaker of 1980 Dawgs. The early idea to produce the documentary originated about 2 1/2 years ago. I had been a UGA student and writer on the Red & Black sports desk during that magical season, and wrote features on some of the players on the team.

When the 30 year anniversary approached, I read some articles on the 1980 season, started reminiscing and decided to look for a good documentary about it. When I searched the internet, I couldn't find anything. I wrote Claude Felton at Georgia's Sports Information desk to ask him and he told me he wasn't aware of anything feature length on that team - only a few short vignettes. How could this be? This was one of the most historic teams in Georgia sports history!

I began to think about it and came to a realization “I have a production company.....I have the equipment and skills to do this.........I was there at the time and close to many of the stories as they unfolded.....Why don't I take it on?” Then, I got that feeling of ineptitude that some of us have before taking on a project that will stretch us: "It's too big to take on" "I don't have the funding to pull it off" "This is a big project for a big productions company and a large crew." I thought of several reasons to steer away from it, but it kept coming back to me. I decided to at least investigate the possibility of doing the documentary and sent out feelers to a few players and coaches. After all, I thought, their story really needs to be told while they're still young enough to recall the events and share their memories of that amazing year.

Time went by and I didn't hear back from anyone to help motivate me to proceed. One Georgia employee warned me, "It's probably not worth taking on, because you will have to pay so much in various royalty fees for the footage, that it will be hard to make your money back."

The project was starting to look like it just wouldn't happen. Then, out of the blue, Frank Ros, the captain of the 1980 team (who Vince Dooley referred to as perhaps the “best captain” for on and off the field leadership he has ever coached), called me and said he received my letter. He said he thought it would be a great idea for a documentary and he would help me get in contact with several of the players and coaches on the team. A week or so later, Vince Dooley returned my email and said he would be happy to be interviewed for the project! God, indeed, works in mysterious ways! The project took off and continued to gain momentum for the next 2 years. Twenty seven players and coaches agreed to be interviewed. The stories and emotions they shared were fascinating and inspiring. Thirty years later, the memories were clear, and they were more willing to be candid and share their inner thoughts.

During the editing process, I sent unfinished clips to my friend, Mike Moss, who is an Entrepreneur and from the same era of the 1980 UGA days. He told me he was moved by the clips, especially the honesty and emotion of the players and coaches. He got involved last year and partnered with me to help bring the documentary to the public. We felt the project needed to be shared with the Bulldog Nation. We're excited to see Dawg fans finally view the film and relive that special season when Georgia was the best college football team in the country!

Texas A&M to SEC Live Feed

There's a celebration about to commence in College Station. You can follow the live feed if you'd like. JUST CLICK HERE.

WHAT: Celebration/press conference for Texas A&M’s invitation into the Southeastern Conference

WHEN: TODAY, Monday, Sept. 26 at 6 p.m. (CST)

     Celebration will begin at 6 p.m., with a formal press conference following at approximately 6:45 p.m.

WHERE:  Texas A&M campus, College Station, Texas

      The Zone Club at Kyle Field

                               

WHO:  Texas A&M President R. Bowen Loftin, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive and other key officials

SEC Today - 9/26/11

A wrapup from this weekend's action.

Couple more thoughts from the Grove

We don't need to belabor any points, especially after an SEC road win. But here's a couple to digest before we turn our attention to the bizzarro dogs.

• The defense had a spectacular day holding Ole Miss in check completely. But it looked to like the d-backs needed different cleats. Every curl or out route they had a hard time keeping their footing making the cut.
• Coach Friend must not get any sleep at all. If Georgia does indeed make a run here down the stretch it'll be because Friend found the right tweak overhaul way to manage a young, thin and desperately apprehensive offensive line.
• Grantham. I've loved the guy's soundbytes since he was hired. Now I'm starting to come around on everything else as well. I spent a lot of time watching him Saturday and it's a given that his players always know where they stand with him. Nice to see the guy elevate off the ground too in order to celebrate the INT with Rambo.
• For what it's worth, Grantham also tried his best to encourage the offensive line late in the game when they took the field.
• Chase Vasser is small. Not Carlton Thomas small, but looks like a LB in the body of a nickel back.
• The one sentence summary of the Georgia Bulldogs so far is - A team that gets better every week. The one question that easily sums up the season - Can the Georgia Bulldogs get good enough fast enough to avoid falling out of the SEC East race completely in October?
• Lastly, an update on the Ole Miss mascot. A Rebel fan I spoke to believes the Bear's days are numbered. Of course we were in the shadow of a 7 foot inflatable Gen. Beauregard as we spoke. But he doesn't count himself as a fan of cuddly cub all stuffed with fluff.

Sorry there's no meatloaf again. Last few days took a lot out of me and I just haven't read enough of the blogs and online stories to make it worth it, for you or for me. Check the Dawg Clicks to the right here for some updated postings in the Dawgosphere. 

Oh, and about Blair Walsh

Last week I admitted I'm in no real place to analyze Aaron Murray's mechanics. This week the same goes for me and Walsh.

But...Cord and I did notice him having a lot of trouble from the right hash during halftime warmups. He must've missed 4 kicks from that spot just inside the right hash while we waited for the teams to come out of the locker rooms. And not all in the same way either. At least one miss was a straight pull and at least a couple others pushed right. When he moved over to the left hash, things seemed to fall right back into place.

Now that's just a < 10 minute snapshot of what he did at halftime. But of the three misses during the game, two were from the right hash and one from straight away. I don't know how much better it makes me feel thinking that there may be some consistent reason for the sudden inconsistency, but my untrained eye leads me to believe that it's just a case confidence. So I was definitely glad to see Richt give him that fourth try late.

- Posted using BlogPress from Bernie's iPhone

Sunday's Rebellious Thoughts

Real life slapped me pretty hard in the face on Thursday. By the time my family was able to punch back I just didn't have time to set up The Grove Liveblog. But as it turns out, 3G is about as rare in the Grove as it is in Stillwater or Starkville. So it probably would've been anti-climatic anyway.

Regardless, here's a few thoughts on the game coupled with a few pics.

- Amazing what can happen when you let your most dynamic receiving threat run pass routes.
- Our seat were in the endzone so it wasn't always easy to see, but seemed like the offensive line settled down some.
- Malcolm Mitchell, deep threat!
- For all the craziness that surrounds Nutt, gotta give him credit for doing exactly what he needed to keep the Rebels in the game late. The trick plays were as well times as they were executed.
- That being said, we should've had them by the throats a lot earlier.
- As annoyed as I am by the offense looking at the sideline for adjustments, I'm even more bothered by the defense struggling to get enough and the right personnel in the field before the snap.
- Overall though, hard to complain when your offense gains nearly 500 yards and the defense did it's job.
























- Posted using BlogPress from Bernie's iPhone

Video: Orson's TD catch

Just in case we needed proof that Orson Charles running pass routes produces points.