Beer of the Week - Bell Ringer Ale

If you've frequented these BotW posts you know that I'm a big fan of RJ Rockers, a small brewery in Spartanburg SC. They don't produce as much beer as some others, but I see that as a good thing. Because they don't spread themselves too thin, everything they make is really good.

And that includes their Bell Ringer Ale. This is an American Strong that is sweet, smooth and deceptively bold. Ahem!...hence the name.
When you pour it you immediately realize this is a hearty brew. But the nose is sweet, I pick up caramel and a lot of malty goodness.

Then you taste it. Your mouth only verifies what the nose has told you, this is going to be a great experience. It's not overly sweet at all. The hops give it plenty of bite and the malts smooth the edges of all the tastes very nicely.


I think Bell Ringer's the perfect beer to start things off on a gameday, and it's name also tells you it can finish the gameday experience off nicely too. Because what Dawg doesn't like to hear a bell ringing after a win? 


Thanks for the reminder ScooBoo. And while we're all here giving toasts, head over to Untappd and check in your beer. Today's the site's 1st birthday. 


Pour em slow, but pour em often. Enjoy the "day off".

Mid-Season Roundtable

Kevin at College Football Zealots convened another roundtable, this one to assess all things Red and Black mid season and to ready ourselves for Florida. Part two will be up next week. Make sure you check out all of the questions and everyone's answers using the link above.

At the mid-way point what makes you the most excited about this Georgia football team?

Definitely the way the defense is playing. I can recall several occasions as recently as last year where the defense had just lost their intensity and was looking to get off the field. Now you can tell there is a vested interest in not letting the opponent score. And when they do give up points they don't look too thrilled about going to the sideline. More importantly we're swarming to the ball well and seem much more disciplined in our assignments than in recent years.  At the beginning of the season I needed to see progress on the defensive side of the ball. And since week one I feel that we have. A lot of it.

Which player has been the biggest surprise on offense so far this season?

I think it's clearly Michael Bennett. While Crowell and Mitchell have lived up to expectations, Bennett has become that go to receiver that can make the tough catch in traffic and give you 12 yards when you need 10. Mitchell is clearly our best option at receiver and King is having a decent season. But you need more than those two. Brown seems to be ready to contribute and enjoyed a great game as a wide open target against Vandy. Wooten just can't seem to find the field much at all. Who knows how long this concussion will hinder him. But Bennett has been steady, hauling in 18 catches so far this season.

Out of all the games left on the schedule which one worries you the most?

Florida, for all the obvious reasons. The WLOCP is our nemesis as much as the Florida Gators themselves. We're the clear favorite. We're getting some key players back. We've won 5 straight while they've lost 3 straight by a combined score of 96-27. But we've been in this position before and crapped our pants. I need to know if all this hard work since the South Carolina game is going to pay off or if it's just going to be another painful memory next to the St. Johns river. This is a big game for the relationship between myself and Coach Richt. Not that he's paying much attention to that, I hope...but I'll have some more definitive opinions about the program he's running on October 30th.
Winning this game could do wonders for the Georgia football program while sending Florida reeling into desperation mode. I would try and spend some energy being cautiously optimistic if I hadn't been kicked in the crotch 18 of the last 21 years.

Friday misery, chapter 6: bye bye Bernie

It's a bye week. So what's there to be miserable about? 


My bye week road game
I love the idea of travelling in the Fall, cuz nine times out of ten it means seeing the Dawgs play somewhere on the road. This weekend the Dawgs are taking to the road, but it's to see Mama, fish a little, hunt deer, read Bibles on Grandma's front porch while sipping lemonade.

Eye candy, not arm candy.

So where am I off to? My wife's high school reunion. Now, I've long been convinced that I was put on this Earth to adore and care for Catherine Zeta-Jones. But our paths never crossed; and the judge has seen fit that they never will. And perhaps that is for the best. I'm just not cut out to be arm candy so that Mrs. Bernie can show me off to people she used to turn down for school dances and dismiss from the cool lunch table. Catherine is better off with someone more polished and politically correct for the red carpets she graces.


For the wife...I'll do my best. I packed a tie. And clean underwear.


But I was supposed to be off the hook for this. When the issue first presented itself I celebrated the fact that it would be during football season. I have a great wife. She knows that if mowing grass and painting walls takes a backseat to Georgia football, driving to Virginia to grin and bear it during a 20 year catchup gossip session had no chance in hell.


But they chose the off week. YGTBFKM. 


Worry? Me?
I have two kids. When they ask to venture outside my public area comfort zone (ie. mall, Wal-Mart, crowded restaurant, soccer field, up the street to Brandon's house...) I get nervous. I'm not tied nearly as closely emotionally to our football players as Coach Richt. Yet he's releasing 115 kids loose on the continental United States.


I'm a nervous wreck. Do they allow scooters on I-75? Can we get Twitter and BookFace to crash for a few days so that the temptation to post certain pictures is removed? Where's Mudcat's car?


It's times like these that you can just sense the AJC journalists start to drool at the thought of Monday morning's column. You can hear the radio personalities smiling through their teeth at the opportunity to light up the call lines all next week.


I trust our players. Truly. I just hate old history lessons.

Girl you know it's true!

Ca$h bar? No thanks.
Speaking of history, back to the school gymnasium in Virginia...


Wife paid money for this right? A good wad of dinero actually. And then Wednesday...that's right, two days ago...I come to find out that the only thing it covers is some shrimp cocktail and soft drinks. Oh!...but there'll also be a cash bar.


Gee thanks. Nothing says let's talk about how y'all used to skip chemistry class like a $5 well drink. By the time we get to the revisionist history of the senior prom I'll be taking out loans against the kids' college education for a half empty bottle of José Cuervo.


With any luck Milli Vanilli will be the band. Maybe that's where all that ca$h went.


Have a great bye y'all. I've got my flask of bourbon packed and ready for whatever punch they serve Saturday night. Just hope I don't get over-served and end up dancing with Mrs. Bernie's old History teacher.


Or the wrestling coach.

"Florida Players were starting to celebrate a bit early"

1980 Dawgs released another clip of their newly released DVD yesterday on YouTube. It's from the greatest WLOCP of them all. I'm sure you're familiar with the play.

"That was something wasn't it?!?"


It damn sure was. Go Dawgs!!

Bye week blues

Mostly some housekeeping notes for you as we near the first weekend of the season that has no Georgia football. Together we can get through. Chin up now. It's ok.

- First and foremost, I intended to have a separate post dedicated to what would have been Lewis Grizzard's 65th birthday. But time did not permit its finish. Maybe it'll fit in Monday's Meatloaf. In the mean time here's a link to some Grizzard based posts under the tag I've dedicated to him.
- What I recommend to people though on a special day like today, is to head over to the site dedicated to him and read one of his columns. (If that link doesn't work I'll correct when I'm off the mobile.) Check out The Grit Tree. Or simply read from your favorite book.
- God I miss that man dearly. Happy Birthday Mr. Grizzard!
- More on this tomorrow, but the family and I are heading out of town for the bye week. That is going to result in little to no posting, barring breaking news.
- However I do have a chapter in misery coming tomorrow. And there's been a request for a Brew of the Week post, so that will come Saturday. Which works out well because Saturday is the first anniversary of the ever popular social beer drinking app Untappd. More to come.

So get some rest Dawg fans. Have a safe and relaxing bye week. Stay away from underage alcohol and scooters. And consider Remerton a ghost town.

- Posted using BlogPress from Bernie's iPhone

Coach Bobo, after some reflection

Some great comments and reactions to yesterday's post, both here at my little blog and on twitter. More than anything that proves I've got great readers and the best followers.


I've reread what I wrote a couple times and stand by what I typed. I do agree with DawgFaithful that it was probably ill-timed. We have won five straight games and are coming off what may have been Bobo's best called game of the season. 


In fact, Saturday was definitely Bobo's best game when you consider that he didn't have his starting tailback for the 1st quarter and wasn't even blinking over the thought of attacking Vanderbilt's strength - their secondary. Consequently, Murray had a career day.


But yesterday was an example of how I still believe the only people that read this blog are Nama and my wife. I tend to assume everyone has read everything thing I've written on Bobo. That's my fault and a rookie mistake. Especially considering all the new visitors I've had recently. (Hello, my name is Bernie. Beer's in the cooler...no, over there...)


Truth is I've been pretty fair to Bobo. I really do think he can make a great offensive coordinator. I even think that it could happen in Athens. We've seen it. I just don't believe we've seen it enough. Whether that's because he's not experienced enough yet, or Richt's still got his hands in there, or because some plays are still the head guy's, or because of injuries and misfortune, or having to use good players to help block instead of run routes...I don't know. Maybe a little bit of everything.


But I tell you what I do know, I'm tired of excuses. If we're not scoring points because of the offensive line, the depth at running back or because the concessions at Section 326 aren't selling enough peanuts, then Mike Bobo needs to figure that crap out. This is his offense. 


Can I do his job? Hell no. Which is why it's so frustrating to see us line up in shotgun to kill clock. My daughters knew Samuel was going to take that ball right towards the sideline on 1st and 15. And any doubt Vanderbilt didn't know it as well was erased pretty quickly after the snap. Put Figgins back in there and let #22 run downhill right behind him. We all know that's what he does best. The head coach even said as much Monday night on the Hotline.


Coach Richt has the attitude that every play when executed correctly will succeed. Good, sound philosophy to impart on his young protégé. And for the most part I agree. But this is a league where you sometimes need a lot more than execution.

Midseason Roundtable discussion

The bloggers' answers will be up tomorrow at College Football Zealots. If you want a sneak peak at the questions, here they are.

At the mid-way point what makes you the most excited about this Georgia football team?

Which player has been the biggest surprise on offense (and why)?

Out of all the games left on the schedule which one worries you the most (and why)?

What do you think?

- Posted using BlogPress from Bernie's iPhone

On the Air - Muschamp

Thought maybe you might want to listen in as Coach Hissyfit talks about Florida's off week and getting ready for his first WLOCP as a coach.

On the Air - Coach Richt

SEC Today - 10/19/11

Bobo, Mediocrity and Winston Churchill

"I cannot forecast to you the actions of Mike Bobo. He is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key. That key is...well, hell if I know."

My apologies to Winston Churchill. However, maybe Coach Bobo does resemble Russia in some sense. Methodical...stubborn...refusing or unable to see the big picture.


But it has become rather easy to forecast our offensive coordinator's playcalling. And that's just as frustrating as it is depressing. Bobo's had rare moments of brilliance, seemingly in sync with both his own personnel as much as his opponents'. He's caught defensive coordinators flipping when they should've flopped. But he's been unable to transform those unique moments of sagacity into eras of dominance. Instead we're left waiting for another flash from the lightbulb inside our former quarterback's head. 


I've said before that I don't think Mark Richt did Mike Bobo any favors by promoting him to offensive coordinator so early in his career. At least not in the SEC. But the problem with criticizing Mike Bobo is the stats seem to work both sides of the argument. Take a look.

	Total off rank	yds/game	yds/play	plays/game	points/game
2007	74th	375	5.6	67	32.6
2008	22nd	422	6.7	63	31.5
2009	75th	362	5.9	61	28.9
2010	56th	385	6.1	62	32.1
2011	50th	411	5.7	71	32.3

Here's what stands out to me:

• Over his tenure, 31.5 points a game and averaging 6.o yards per play. Not too shabby. But seem skewed by certain players who were matriculating in Athens at the time.
• In other words, a good OC should be able to make yards and points from what he has on his roster. I don't see much of an adjustment to the specific skill sets of his players.
• 2008 is like a fair temptress. God she's sexy. Seven yards a play? Yes, please!
• But damn, 2009 sobered us up once Staff and Moreno left town.
• 71 plays a game this season only validates what we expected was happening: the no huddle and shotgun are working for the most part. Wouldn't be surprised to see that number rise to higher than 10 more a game than last year.

Overall, the stats say to me that we're mediocre at best as an offensive unit since Bobo took over. Mediocre can win championships but only if it relocates to a different landscape. 


And Russia is a cold, barren land.

The "love" for Crowell

I was reading through Weiszer's soaked practice notes and found this nugget on Crowell interesting.

Tailback Isaiah Crowell says his lingering sore right wrist “should heal better now,” with two weeks between games. He hurt the wrist again he said in pass protection and said his right elbow was also sore.

“Should be better by next week,” Crowell said. “It was really my wrist, but my elbow got hurt a little, too. …I hope it gets a chance to heal this week and next week.”

Asked why he was held out the first quarter, Crowell said “Really, I just think coach (Mark) Richt should handle that question. I don’t really know.”

Crowell said he was eager to get into the game, but the injuries limited his playing time. He finished with 10 carries for 35 yards.

Now, I think he'll be fine as far as the injury. But the little bit there about hurting it again on pass protection reminded me of the exchange between him and Coach Richt as he came off the field.


Why was he punished? Probably due to a curfew or missed class. But I couldn't help but notice his intensity on pass protection Saturday night. Perhaps Crowell felt the love Richt was giving him.

Humpday Hilarity - Meatball Sub 4S

Connectivity wherever you go. Plus only 758 calories.

SEC Today - 10/18/11

Hannah Chalker fills you in on What's Hot and What's Not.

Bulldog Hotline redux, the commies

I've got a post in the oven on Coach Bobo, just didn't have time to finish it last night. The short of it today is that it's hard to complain too much about an offense that's gaining over 400 yards a game and put up 33 points while leaving at least another six in missed field goals.


However, I need to beg to differ a bit over a couple of responses last night on the hotline.

Dave in Stone Mountain says in the three games we’ve beaten Florida in the last 21 years we’ve had a 7-0 lead and a 100 yard rusher in all three of those wins. Wanted to point that out. Also, concerned about how we always seem to jump into the shotgun once we get into the redzone. And the first play always seems to put us into 2nd and long yardage. Why do we always get into the shotgun when we’re in the redzone even if we’ve been successful in the I? Richt – doesn’t think it is “always”, but says we do play a lot of football in the shotgun. Says he definitely will look into it, is interested to see how much it happens.

Scott in Grayson congratulates CMR on number 101. Appreciates Coach Grantham. Asks if Rambo was coached to get down after that interception at the end to avoid a fumble or was it a personal choice. Also asks about the shotgun formation on the last drive, why didn’t we use instead a couple TEs and a FB to kind of pound it out? Richt – Rambo probably felt the game was over. Many felt that way probably. Says he would probably ask that he get as much as he can while he’s in space. As far as being in the shotgun at the end of the game, we didn’t get much on a read play going sideways when we probably could’ve pulled the ball and gotten yards vertically. The time before when we tried to get a first down we were in an I-formation and some two-tights and were trying to pound it out and still weren’t able to get a first down. But we also had a five yard penalty that made it 1st and 15. We could’ve thrown a pass but that produces the risk of an interception or stopping the clock and giving them 40 seconds. The bottomline is we’ve got to get a first down when we need one to finish a game. Regardless of whether we’re in the eye or the gun it doesn’t matter. We’ve got to execute.

The shotgun is effective for us. And I'll have some proof tomorrow that the no huddle is working too. But adjusting to the grind it out philosophy Saturday night failed. I understand the logic of if people do their job and "execute" the play should be fine. But I also understand that when the defense knows you're going to run, it pays to have at least one extra variable in the backfield.


Bruce Figgins' adjustment to fullback has been a bright spot for this offense. And Zander Ogletree continues to get more reps during the game. Everyone knew Samuel was going to take that handoff from Murray in the shotgun and sweep right on 1st and 15. It's friggin' Vanderbilt. They're smart kids, right?


Stick a fullback back there and give those linebackers one more thing to think about. If nothing else you're at least putting Samuel in a position to do what he does best, run downhill.


It's not rocket science, is it? Am I missing something?

Franklin's face, case closed

If you're a member at DawgPost, just click here ($$) if you haven't seen Dean Legge's account of what happened and pictures of the confrontation. It's nice to finally see something other than the back of Franklin's head, a different perspective both figuratively and literally.


If you're not a member, just consider the entire thing settled and we can just move along. I'm not sure what's worse, the media for jumping on one side of the story or the fans who blindly support one coach while throwing another under the bus for coming to the side of his own player.


I had not intended to post another word on it until I saw Legge's account. But rest assured that this will be the last thing I type on it, barring the SEC losing it's mind in their investigation. If you can find any fault in Todd Grantham's actions without recognizing where and how this started, make sure you never say a word to my kids. You'll like that ending even less than Saturday night's.


Case closed.

Mumme Poll - week seven

My ballot for this week:

LSU

Alabama

Oklahoma

Wisconsin

Boise State

Clemson

Oregon

Arkansas

Stanford

Oklahoma State

Same as last week. I don't foresee the top spots changing much until LSU meets Bama. But you never know I guess.


I'm still not completely sold that Oklahoma State is top ten material with the defense they have. But I give them credit for taking care of Texas in pretty impressive form. Couple that with their win over Texas A&M and it's enough to keep them ahead of Kansas State and a few one loss teams.


Kansas State and Houston are the only undefeated teams now that I don't have ranked. KSU has a tough road coming up. After Kansas, should they survive games against four ranked teams I could see them getting into my top ten. Houston...not so much.

SEC Today - 10/17/11

Hannah Chalker updates you on all the weekend action.

Monday's Meatloaf - And here we are...

Halfway through, it's time to take a break. I don't know about you but I'm flat out exhausted. Saturday night took a lot out of me. I spent most of yesterday becoming one with my sofa. At 8:30 I guess I fell asleep during a commercial. Because I woke up and the episode of Always Sunny I had been watching had fast forwarded all the way through. 


Time for bed sleepy head.


And time to take a deep breath and evaluate things some. We've reached the point in the season where things can take a glorious turn or can trip us into a brick paver. Face first. Ouch.


This season we get two full weeks to hate florida. This is the moment I personally have been waiting on for a long time. Let's start this thing off right...

With your bright orange shirts

and your sissy blue britches

You can go to Hell you sonsabitches!

Gators, Gators...how'd ya like to bite my ass?

Today's Ingredients

Pass the bourbon, STAT!

• Redcrake gets us started nicely with a contest we can ALWAYS win against the gators - mockery. 
• Pending any unforeseen surprises like a loss during a bye week, the Dawgs are heading down to the WLOCP as a ranked team.
• CCRider has the answer to a puzzling question about Charlie Weis.
• Paschall outlines the Dawgs next test.
• Kennesaw Taylor describes this FU team as a lame gazelle. But warns that we still gotta be paying attention.
• When answering his three Vandy questions, Tyler discovers that the point could be moo. You know, like a cow's opinion.
• His thoughts might be incomplete, but Big Muddy reminds us of how we felt after our 2007 close win in the Music City.
• UGACory looks at the good and bad of the win over Vandy.
• Lattimore's a helluva a player. So it makes sense that his season ending injury would affect the SEC East race. Weiszer gives it a go.
• Phil Steele's mid term grades are in. 
• Not to be outdone, Socrates grades out the SEC East.
• And one thing I failed to add in my final thoughts from Saturday night: did you notice we ran a pass play to a fullback!!! Dallas Lee's helmet got in the way, but hey! That's progress folks. Give it a hug!

Now, I'm sure we've covered before that Mrs. Bernie and I don't share a similar appreciation for certain cinematic masterpieces. To crudely over generalize, she digs those Oscar crapfests and I prefer a good cult classic. Like The Big Lebowski. I could watch that movie 20 times straight and still be laughing hysterically everytime Jesus Quintana talks bowling alley smack to the Dude as he's abiding.


But last week my little lady was kind enough to record something for me while I was at work. She can't stand to hear me quote The Princess Bride but knew I would enjoy seeing their reunion as it aired on morning television. Quite simply, I thoroughly enjoy this movie. I read the book twice and have seen the movie too many times to count. And yet this reunion had plenty of anecdotes I'd never known about. Make sure you catch the memories of Andre the Giant, especially as Crystal recalls the time he passed out in a hotel lobby. 


Giant > a Renault.

There's your meatloaf...as you wish! Reader. Have a great Monday.

Bernie

Closing the 'dore on Vandy and douchegate

I rewatched the game yesterday and had a few more thoughts to share. Was it ugly? Oh hell yes it was. But I thought Blutarsky put it best when he pointed out that this was the kind of game we lost last year. That Colorado loss still sticks in my craw, so I find it easier to take ugly wins against Vanderbilt.


Offensively the plan was about the exact opposite of what I thought it should be, run first to open up throwing lanes. It's not that I was afraid of Vanderbilt's secondary, I just don't think Vandy had played a good rushing team. Can't really pin this one on Bobo as he could not  start the game with his leading rusher. So even more praise should be lifted towards Aaron Murray for the game that he had.


But I will point out one thing I think Bobo missed. When we're trying to run out the clock and close the game out, isn't it easier for the defense to read a run play from the shotgun formation? Wouldn't we have been better served in the I-formation where at least the linebackers have to spend at least some mental energy deciding where the ball is going? 


And yet still...the Rambo pick gives us the ball with just 70 seconds to ice and we can only move backwards. Unbelievable. Nearly as unbelievable as using a timeout to gather ourselves before they rush 11 guys towards Drew Butler and we still can't block them all. So glad Butler and Sailors could cause just enough disruption in the ensuing chaos to prevent the Commodores from scooping and scoring.


Also, if not for that 3rd down snap that went over the Commodore quarterback's head, we don't win that game. They were running at will and there didn't seem to be any solution to stopping it, at least that we could come up with.

Somewhat wild, but not so crazy.

In the end I hope the team takes some pride from facing adversity in all directions and still getting out of there with a road win. Because of that there is still much to play for. Great game for Ray Drew, Marlon Brown (actually all of the receivers stepped up big given the game plan), Richard Samuel, Abry Jones and Orson Charles!...to name a few.


I didn't really listen to the broadcast team of Rathbun and Couch Saturday night. Yesterday though my ears bled as I was subjected to Jordan Rodgers being billed as the next best thing in the SEC. I really expected to hear Aaron Rodgers pipe in at some point throwing away all mystery as to whether he was in the booth with them or not. In the debate of what's worse: SEC officiating or SEC broadcast teams...the margin is narrowing. If not for Uncle Verne, well...Penn Wagers would be in trouble.


Now...douchegate. Not surprised at all that Grantham is being billed by some as the villain in the "events" at midfield. I'm not going to link to them because 1) they're easy enough to find if you really have to subject yourself and 2) I'm not going to help these guys get any extra clicks. What really agitates me is that I now know the head football coach at Vanderbilt's name. I miss the days when the Commodores would come up in conversation once, maybe twice a year. And you would simply say "Oh, you know...the guy that looks like Steve Martin...Bobby Johnson! Yeh him."


I had to wiki this d-bag to remind myself where James Franklin came from prior to his stop in Nashville. Last year he was the head coach in waiting...at Maryland! Now he's going to bring Vandy to the top by teaching his offensive line to chop block and yelling at opposing players. Listen to his post game presser if you want to regurgitate your breakfast. The only reason he couldn't "find" Coach Richt at midfield is because he was too busy word tackling Shawn Williams.


You know what other name I know now? Logan Stewart. The Vanderbilt center. This curly red-haired piece of crap was the one aiming for the legs of our defensive line. His dive into the back of Kwame's knee should warrant a suspension and certainly deserves much more than a punch. He and Coach Franklin, I hope they have a long and happy marriage.


There. Book closed. Hello bye week.

Sunday's Chop Blocked Thoughts

I had a dream Coach Grantham punched Lionel Ritchie in the nose. The win came just as ugly as we've come to expect in Nashville.

• In many ways this reminded me of the Ole Miss game, where an inferior team uses well executed trick plays and takes advantage of poor special teams play to stay in the game.
• I'm glad Coach Richt loves Isaiah Crowell. I don't know what the kid did to deserve so much love as to sit for the first quarter. But I hope his teammates straighten his head for him. We're inches from the top of the SEC East. We can't have our starting tailback on the sidelines unless the defense is on the field.
• As soon as I heard Crowell would be sitting at the start of the game any thoughts of us running away with this one went out the window.
• Hello Marlon Brown! Seems as if Vandy's secondary forgot he was even on the roster.
• For the 4th consecutive week I think the offensive line continues to get better.
• Murray had the kind of game we've been waiting for. Over 300 yards, 3 TDs.
• I had heard we were working out of the "wildcat" a little in practice Wednesday. I thought we'd see it in Jax first. But perhaps we were just giving Muschamp something to think about.
• Defensively we were brilliant at times and completely off our game at others. Unlike previous weeks we didn't successfully make adjustments to what our opponent was doing to hurt us most. Vandy continually gashed us on big runs, to the tune of 200 yards.
• The defense did their job on 3rd downs, holding Vandy to 33%. But the Commodores were 2-2 on 4th down...so...
• ...special teams. Ugh.
• I guess having a bye week after their worst game (which is saying something) can be a good thing. But there is obviously much to work on.
• Walsh was 4-6 and the misses weren't exactly chip shots (50, 42). But we're past the point where if and when the game is on the line that you just casually trust he'll make it for you. Way past the point. That's one thing for me as a fan. It's a much bigger deal for Coach Richt when that situation presents itself.
• The rest of the special teams' play was a comedy of errors. Except that I wasn't laughing. 
• As for this - 

• Some are going to talk about how Grantham needs to just chill dude. In fact, Richt said about as much after the game. However, if someone comes up to my kid and calls them out I'm going to react in much the same way. James Franklin was clearly over the line in yelling at Shawn Williams and Grantham was just pushing him back to his place.
• The larger story is that the referees let this game go early. If you're going to call Kwame for throwing a punch then you have to call them for all the chop blocks.
• This game didn't have the blatant cluster #$@! of a "non fumble" review that the Tennessee game did. But it was the worst officiated game I've seen in a long time.
• And that's saying a lot as well.

Thanks to those of you that hung around yesterday for the live blog. It's a officially a bye week. But there's much to work on for the team, and much to discuss in the Dawgosphere. Let's get busy shall we...

Georgia-Vandy Highlights