Penn Wagers, Karma, and kitten sweaters

I was going to tweet something like this last night:

This morning I let nearly 30 people into traffic north of Myrtle...on a Saturday morning....after Waffle House...and one last visit to "Whales". AND...this afternoon I switched out my aunt-in-law's pre-1980s thermostat with a new fangled programmable wifi-enabled one. 

Successfully.

I think I've garnered enough Karma to power the Dawgs through a mid-September road trip to Nashville.

On one hand it's like 5000 characters and twitter allows a mere fraction of that.

But also, the last time we were in Nashville, the referees lost their gotdamn mind.

Now, you can believe what you will about Penn Wagers [supposedly] "retiring". But the word "returning" is remarkably close in spelling and I just refuse to believe that bastard has given up ways to screw Mark Richt in places and means that are ill-suited for Saturday afternoons.

So until I see him in a SEC Network teleconference in the Fall from Spokane Washington while he knits sweaters for his kittens and sips Earl Grey tea from a World's Greatest Kitty Momma mug....I'll be saving all the Karma I can get.

Because Wagers is the biggest cat person to ever officiate in the SEC.

Friday's Miserable Meatloaf - Lemme introduce you to Beecher

I first met him several years ago. Maybe as many as ten. Honestly, I don't remember. But I know it was before this here blog started puttering upstream along The Internet. And I know it was after my second stint through UGA, which puts the meeting somewhere between beating Arkansas for the first SECCG and that time we drank all the beer in Tempe.

Speaking of beer, I was in a bar downtown having one and this guy comes in like a runaway train. By that I mean his entrance was a chaotic event that miraculously evaded complete and utter catastrophe an incidental death. An action as simple as opening a door and entering a room instantly became a calamity of flailing arms and legs; glasses were tossed into the air creating various flight paths for the beer, whiskey, and margaritas they had previously contained; a seeing eye dog panicked while aiding in the transition of his owner from table to restroom; napkins and swizzle straws multiplied in mid-air like rabbits on a dewy April lawn; in the corner a jukebox abruptly stopped playing the second chorus of Layla; and a waitress lost all manner of control of her language just as the room became otherwise deafly silent.

"GODDAMNIT BEECHER! YOU CAN'T F***ING BARGE THROUGH THE MOTHERF***ING DOOR LIKE A GODDAMN HYENA!!"

She yelled this at the height of her tumult through the air having tripped over Beecher's leg (or maybe it was his arm) which had propelled the tray of drinks toward a large table of thirsty patrons. After making sure the seeing eye dog didn't leave his owner abandoned and then helping the waitress to her feet, I offered a hand to pull this rangy, awkward stranger up from the floor.

"Thanks mister. At least I didn't spill beer in Rowena's hair this time. That really pisses her off."

"Not a problem. Let me get you a cold one. Looks like you could use a moment of stationary rehydration."

As he drank from the frosted mug, I marveled at how strangely tall Beech was. If he was six feet and a half, roughly 74 inches of that were his legs. Which might explain where all the beer went if just one of those legs were hollow.

We sat and chewed the fat for what seemed the whole afternoon, all the way through Happy Hour. Then moved from the bar to a corner booth where Rowena took our dinner order, surprisingly, without a single f-bomb. Somehow, in some way, Beecher had been forgiven for causing what surely amounted to six unhappy customers, $50 of broken barware, two and half tables of soggy pub food, and a black lab with post-traumatic stress disorder.

And that's how I met Beecher O'Callaghan.

Today's Ingredients
- Supposedly, there's like just over 200 days left until college football in Sanford begins again. Nothing is more miserable than this cold, melancholy, heartless winter we refer to as The Offseason.
- Personally, I've been biding time Raylan up in Harlan County. And also with Tuco and Mike and some skater dudes, as well as the world's best lawyer. The only one that can argue an executioner down from the death penalty to six months of rehab. Saul Goodman.

- And hey! The Hoop Dawgs are doing swell! Just in time for a visit from Bruce Pearl and those Auburn whateveryoumaycallits.
- And baseball starts this weekend! The Diamond Dawgs take the field in the shadow of a newly renovated Foley Field against the Eastern Illinois Panthers. PING!!
- From the Lies and other Sexy Half-Truths file, Blutarsky finds new Atlanta Falcons linebackers coach Dan Ulbrich still on the UCLA recruiting trail.
- Over at The Lady Sportswriter, Kimberley wonders if the Terry College of Business could swing Roquan Smith's decision in UGA's favor.
- Congrats to Marc Weiszer of the ABH on getting some recognition for his hard work. (h/t Emerson)
- At Dawn of the Dawg, Michael Collins asks a popular question - Is Georgia football underachieving or just unlucky?
- Assuming a competent SEC officiating crew (ahem!. Ok, I'll wait for the laughter to stop....)...Greg Poole sees where the new rule for linemen being downfield would've changed the outlook of the 2013 Auburn-Bama game.
- Lastly, stay cute Rutgers.

If you're a fellow Heathen heading to the Rock Show tonight at the 40 Watt, let me buy you a drink. Better yet, buy me one!

The reason I wanted you to meet Beecher today is wide and varied. Of the many characters I've created over the years, he's the most simple, honest, kind-hearted, complex, awkwardly amazing, and down to Earth. He's never been on a beer commercial, but I believe him to be the most interesting man in my favorite college town.

Ten or so years ago I had intended to get to know him better. I aimed to tell his stories to the world and let them chuckle heartily while being humbled. But I've neglected ol' Beecher. Partly due to time constraints, sure. It's a burden on your free time being a hotshot blogger with at least four and up to as many as twelve readers. But mostly I've neglected Beecher O'Callaghan because it was just too easy not to start something when I wasn't sure where it would lead.

Now, for better or worse, I'm gonna go see where that road leads.

No, I'm not leaving. Not in the least. Any morning I wake up and have a fresh thought to share or a rant to righteously impart, you'll find it here. Hell, maybe I'll even share another tall tale from the O'Callaghan memoirs here or there. But other than that, my pauses and stops along the way towards autumn may linger a little longer than usual.

To be honest, part of me says it's really none of your business and you probably don't care. Which means there's no real reason to post this diatribe at all. But I've grown fond of my readers here. Mom and Pops raised me to treat others as you'd have them treat you. So just don't be too alarmed if the posts gather some dust in between themselves. As Beecher'd say, "All we are is dust in a breeze." Guess he's not much of a fan for Kansas' music. Regardless, that breeze is aiming this writing vane towards that hole in the wall bar in downtown Athens. Rowena's handing us a mop and telling us to clean that shit up.

Stay upright and true amigos.

Bernie

Sunday Thoughts on Gurley being left-handed

Spectacular day in Athens. But, you knew that already.

• After all the weekdays of belaboring the point, Hutson Mason looked both better, and worse.
• He stood in and threw a couple balls that were clean, decisive and confident.
• He had a few others that were brain farts.
• Bobo allowed Mason to operate in the HUNH some. I faintly remember back when I thought we'd be using that strategy a lot more.
• Never saw JSW get on the field, but Malcolm got a few snaps and looked good. It'd been a long time since we've seen that.
• Conley's long haul from Mason reminded me of a point that Tyler made the other day. I don't recall if Mitchell was in on that play, but Conley was in single coverage and had his guy beat.
• And Ramsey...well, he's not very good rolling out, is he? Had a few balls sail on him
• But Gurley....damn.
• Seriously, if someone came up to your face today and said there was no way Todd Gurley could win dancing with the stars, split an atom, solve atlanta traffic, make a perfect omelet, ride a scooter un-maliciously...would you believe them?
• Like me, on the post game show Richt sounded a little surprised Bobo called that pass from the #WildGurley formation. You know, against Vanderbilt.
• But hey, gives the Raging Pinkels something to think about this week.
• Defensively...I'd give run defense a B and pass defense a C+. But overall they consistently forced the Commodores into long down and distances. And they only converted 2/13 on third down, 1/2 on fourth.
• Hard to complain about a blowout, but the special teams were not, special.
• Poor punts. Bad returns. Blocked PATs.
• Richt specifically mentioned the punting game in the lockerroom. Barber had four and averaged just 34 yards per. Erickson came in and only punted for 32 yards.
• Meh.
• Is it just me or should that last Vanderbilt touchdown have been reviewed?

Back to Gurley. He's the clear front runner now for every post season award he qualifies for. That's cool. And what is even more impressive for Georgia fans is that each week he finds new ways to entertain, amaze, and just generally drop jaws.

What will he do next week? I couldn't even venture a guess really. But I'm anxious to find out.

Friday Misery - Lionel, Robbie and Penn walk into a Starbucks...

This Saturday, on the SECN, live from Sanford Stadium in beautiful Athens GA....your Georgia Bulldogs play host to the Half-Caff-Venti-Non-Fat-Soy-Two Vanilla Pumps-Extra Whip-Caramel Drizzle-Hashtag-AnchorDown-Lattes!!

Anchor Done.

Yes, Vanderbilt is the Starbucks of the SEC - overvalued; a presumptive superior product surrounded by bigger, bolder blends.

When you lose to Vandy...
...you give shirtless, hatless vandy fan a reason to try rooting for tackle football again.
...you've probably also lost your virginity to Penn Wagers' and his sorority sisters of Yella Omega Flagga.
...you bring shame upon your house. A hunnerd fold.
...you have woken up from a nightmare into an even more nightmarish reality whose best possible ending is the Autozone Liberty Bowl.
...your pants are around your ankles. And not in a good way.
...what? Are you f---in' kidding me? You had ONE job asshole!
...your punter must've missed the tackle.
...you've pissed all over Homecoming like that drunk guy that's about to be face down in your neighbor's flower bed.
...you think you lost the road map for getting to Atlanta in December when in fact you never really had it to begin with.
...you've dropped your brand new iPhone7.6.1 into a bloody pool of piranhas. Way to go, Shitbreath.
...their mascot's unibrow lawyers up, thereby ending its interview with Dateline's Chris Hansen.
...God, you're pathetic.
...you force me to have forgetful New Years Eve parties.
...you couldn't out-transition James Franklin's two-star transition lenses.
...you've been surpassed as relevant by a team with a stadium the size of Ralphie May's garden tub.
...you couldn't possibly suck any worse than you suck at that particular moment of sucktastic suckitude.
...you've been outscored by a team that is overseen by something called a "vice-chancellor".
...the 1890s called and they want their outhouses back.
...and all the pretty girls would rather dance with the Dallas Ebola victim than your sorry, worthless, pathetic ass.

Homecoming. Awaygoing. Anchors down.
So long Sanford. Tomorrow is our last hurrah for awhile. When we meet again I'll be the happy drunk wearing Pinkel's visor with a pocketful of gnawed off razorback bones, dragging Muschamp's dignity by the scruff of his neck with one hand and pulling a Radio Flyer wagon full of all of Kentucky's finest bourbon with the other.

Or I'll be poor bastard looking for his drunk loser pants.

Their 40 times are irrelevant. #AnchorDerp

Either way, it's too long. Why didn't we talk about this over the summer in all those posts about the schedule? And why do we have to spend our last evening together with that creepy ass midshipman traipsing on our lawn? Speaking of our hallowed sod, please don't let these overly precocious, Ivy League rejected, snobby, wannabe Southern assholes anywhere near our Hedges, mascot mausoleum, or our midfield Power G.

Hate's a strong word Vandy. But I just can't trust you. For instance, Robbie Caldwell was the best thing to accidentally happen to Vanderbilt Football. And you ran him off like a big ole lovable dog that everyone in the neighborhood enjoys the company of...except you. You drop that anchor in your yard, misuse five dollar words while discussing a basketball season that is a month away, and kick that dog to the curb when he drops that old, dirty tennis ball at your feet.

That. Yes, that is the reason you can't have nice things Vanderpbilt. Your rallying cry calls for you to not just slow down, but to stop altogether. You think you're better than Robbie Caldwell, but in reality he's better than you. You don't deserve his charm and relaxed wit. You don't deserve random shirtless, hatless, angst-ridden fan. You don't deserve to be named after a classic American funk band. And you sure as shit don't deserve the sympathy of SEC officiating.

But don't get me started on the clusterf--k that was last year in Nashvegas. Enough. Let us bow our heads...Dear Lord, please let Malcolm Mitchell catch a 238 yards pass from Houston Madsun, despite the fact that he's wrapped in bubble wrap as a very cautious precaution. And also our family dentist asks that you keep the cotton candy guy away from our section. Thanks. Amen.

Targeting calls "still haunts us today"

New coordinator. A lot of new starters/faces, especially in the secondary. New season. But Georgia's linebackers remember last year in Nashville.

"That still haunts us today, because we know the rule they made at the end of last year," outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins said. "We call it the 'Ramik Wilson rule' or the 'Georgia rule,' because that was a direct relation of that. We knew that it shouldn't have come down to that, but it's something that will always be in the backs of our minds."

Blown calls

“It definitely hit the defender, and I’m going to be asking the officials what the ruling is on that,” Richt said. “I don’t know if they saw it while it happened or not. But as it deflected off the defender there was nobody in the area where the ball landed, I know that. But if the ball didn’t get hit by the defender it would have landed a lot closer to one of our eligible receivers. So I don’t know if we would have gotten called for that or not. It’s a good question.”

Of course, if Georgia had just handed the ball to superstar tailback Todd Gurley on first down from the 4, the play wouldn’t be an issue. Richt said twice in his postgame news conference that he wished they had done that.

Nothing will come of the former. (And as Emerson points out, the OBC has reasons to complain about Saturday night's officiating too.) So the question is if anything will come of the latter.

Hutson Mason rewound - Georgia Tech

Okay. So here we are. I'll have a few general observations at the end, but the bulk of this is designed to relay how Hutson Mason performed in his two starts. Unfortunately, I was a little more than halfway through the rewatch when I realized I should have done this much differently. For instance, what you'll see is a conglomeration of his completions, incompletions, sacks, and the interception with a brief description of the situation. It's all broken down by quarter.

For the bowl game I'll do it differently. I think it will be more helpful to just chart it all chronologically as you'll be able to see trends and have a better feel for the situation in the game. Like I said, I realized this about halfway through the Tech viewing. I didn't want to scrap two hours of work and do it all over. Sorry.

One more thing, I didn't track his rushes. I may change that when I rewatch the Nebraska game, even though he wasn't nearly as effective on the ground against the Cornhuskers as he was against Tech. I just saw enough to know that it could be a significant factor against man coverage and it could be an interesting development this season.

Anyway, I think you'll still get something from this. So here we go.

started - 4/8 43 0/1
just after that - 8/12 122 1/0
at the start of 4th - 17/26  240  2/1
final stats - 22/36 299 2/1
adjusted stats^* - 27/36 356 2/1

^*adjusted for drops and referee incompetence, see below

First Quarter
Completions - (1st down/10 yards) swing pass to Bennett for 9 yards; (2/13) tunnel screen to Bennett for a couple yards; (3/5) finally hits Conley sitting in a zone for a first down

Incompletions - (3/12) thrown a little high to Conley after being flushed from pocket

Interceptions - (3/10) off back foot under pressure trying to hit Conley on a sideline route

Sacks - one by Attachou through a double team on a play action to Gurley; another one as he slid to his right out of the pocket to force a third and long

Second Quarter
Completions - (2/14) nice out route to Conley for a first down; (1/10) screen to Gurley for 13 yards; (1/10) quick snap after screen pass and eventually rolls out to left and finds Conley on the sideline for another first down; (1/10) timing sideline out pattern to Conley for third consecutive first down pass in hurry up; (1/10) dump in the middle to JJ Green for 10 yards and another first down; (2/goal) rolls right and drops it to Gurley who goes airborne for TD!

Incompletions - (3/12) rolled right to find Gurley underneath but it was bobbled out of bounds; (3/9) pretty nice pass to McGowan that dropped for an incompletion, probably should've been caught

Third Quarter
Completions - (1/10) play action and a quick pass in the seam to Bennett, ruled an incompletion for some reason then for some bullshit reason the booth confirms the bullshit call on the field. Anyway, I'm counting it as a completion here because this is my blog and I could clearly see live (both in the stadium and just now on the television) that Bennett took three steps before fumbling. Replay only confirmed what I saw and the referees ignored; (2/10) all for naught basically as Mason hits Wooten on an out route for a first down, proving he's unflappable in the midst of incompetent rulings on the field; (3/5) nice slant route by Wooten for five yards and a first down; (3/10) play right after a Lynch drop, Mason steps into a nice pocket and hits Lynch down the sideline for about thirty yards and an outstanding catch; (1/10) drops a screen to Gurley for a touchdown that is called back for an illegal block; (3/23) another screen to Gurley that falls short of the first down marker, safe play call for the down and distance that allowed Dawgs to get a field goal and keep momentum; deep pass to Conley on a slowly developing route for about 30 yards, great protection; (2/16) another out route to Conley for 14 yards; (1/10) screen pass to JJ Green for 10 yards; (1/goal) next play a nice seam pass to Bennett for the touchdown!

Incompletions - (1/10) poorly thrown ball to Wooten that was well behind him; (2/10) next play, dropped pass by Lynch; (1/25) after the Theus illegal block nullified a touchdown Mason sails one over McGowan's head in the endzone; (1/10) to start the drive after the missed Tech field goal attempt, incomplete screen pass to Gurley that was pretty well defended

Fourth Quarter
Completions - (1/10) after Tech takes 27-17 lead, another out route to Conley for a first down; (4/6) with game in balance Richt and Bobo put ball in Mason's hands and he goes back to Bennett for a first down; (2/10) check down to Gurley for a few yards; (3/4) Mason takes a clean, hard shot from a blitzing Brandon Watts but makes a strong throw to McGowan on sideline for the first down; (2/12) easy pass to a wide open Bennett on a crossing pattern for about 20 yards;

Incompletions - (2/6) pass over middle to McGowan is dropped; (3/6) ball thrown behind Bennett; (1/10) screen pass broken up by Attachou; (1/10) misses a throw to Gurley underneath; (3/12) facing a little pressure up the middle, Mason sails one over Bennett's head at the goal line

Sacks - after the JHC interception and two subsequent handoffs to Gurley, Mason is sacked on a play action by Attachou

Overtime
All. Todd. Gurley. Four rushes. Fifty yards. Two touchdowns. Suck it engiNerds!

Overall Thoughts
>Tech mixed up their coverages early. They didn't blitz much as they were able to pressure Mason with their ends for the most part. And when he had time, Tech often had dropped both nickel linebackers into coverage that forced the pass underneath or an incompletion.

>But the last drive of the first half was spectacular for Mason. His accuracy helped Bobo match his preference for speed and no huddle. Mason responded by going 6/6 for 60+ yards and he had another run for about 10 yards. I just can't emphasize enough how big that drive was. Hopefully you remember. If not, find a way to go back and watch it. Just brilliant. And definitely changed the outlook of the game.
>The pace is important to Mason. There's no getting around that. He settled into a rhythm better when he felt in control of the snap and therefore the pace at which the play clock was running. But there's most certainly a balance there to be reached and it's something that he and Bobo will work out given enough time.
>Another consideration (and one that is getting a lot of traction of late) is how much Gurley can help Mason, especially early on against Clemson and the road trip to ColaEast. There's not much question that Gurley was a key factor in the comeback on the Flats as well as the eventual win. But Mason deserves some credit for making Tech pay for selling out on the run. He found the seams when it was needed and worked really well through his progressions.
>And to be perfectly honest, the offensive line deserves plenty of credit too. They had some lapses early. But even when Tech was stacking the box and daring Bobo to use Mason's arm, they continually made them pay by getting Gurley into situations where he was one on one against a linebacker or a defensive back instead of a tackle.
>That last bullet makes me nervous. Like, Vic Beasley and then an early trip to Chickumbia nervous.
>One last point. Not enough can be made of Richt and Bobo's trust in Mason. Early in the fourth quarter, down 10 points and facing a fourth and six at midfield, they didn't hesitate to put the ball in their new quarterback's hands. The conservative play was to punt and hope. But Mason rewarded their faith with a clean throw. Of course, it helps to have Michael Bennett on the other end with the game on the line.

So there ya go. Have at it in the comments. I'll cue up the Taxslayer Gator Bowl in the next few days and have our new quarterback rewound again. Go Dawgs!

Lester targets Saturday sales

Up in B1G country I bet this is viewed as a joke.

But down here in zip codes that are adjacent to Penn Wagers', it was undoubtedly met with a unanimous "Preach on Brother Miles!" 

Richt remembers the glory days

This had a tone of deep longing for the good ol' days didn't it?

Richt had plenty of success as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Florida State running uptempo offenses.

“We started going fast at Florida State in 1992 and then ’93 we were going at breakneck speed as fast as we could until I got to Georgia,” he said.
ACC officials, he said, put the ball on the ground and got out of the way.

“It wasn’t quite happening that way in the SEC,” Richt said. “Who knows what the reasons were?”

A decade and a half later and he still ain't got over adapting to SEC referees' incompetence ...differences. I feel ya Coach. But if Penn Wagers' off season mat drills haven't helped he and his cohorts to keep up with your preferred snap count by now, it might be time to let that one go.

Sunday's thoughts on a great day for America!

Before we dive in, I'd like to have everyone who thought the last pass, that hung tantalizingly in the air for so damn long, would most certainly find its way into a Tech receiver's hands for a touchdown please stand up...

Thank you. If you're not standing, you're either a liar or this was your first Georgia game of the 2013 season.

Some other random thoughts:

It's his team now. For realz.

- so this is now Hutson Mason's team. Not sure how much we learned except that he showed a lot of grit in his first complete game. Wasn't always easy and I thought it took him a good two quarters to settle into a rhythm. For awhile it seemed as though he was nervous, even when he had good protection. But 299 yards and a 61.1% completion percentage was a good look at what we have next season. And quite frankly I'm excited. Good game.
- [insert comment about Todd Damn Gurley doing Todd Damn Gurley things]
- Defensively I thought it was painfully ironic that we got ourselves in a 20-0 hole mostly from doing a good job against the run but failing to defend the pass against a team that really isn't comfortable doing it. Vad Lee's numbers were not eye popping (11-23 for 232) but they were much better than his season average. That hurts.
- while much of that may be blamed at not having Matthews and Wiggins, it's still one of the themes from this season I will look forward to leaving behind in the coming weeks.
- back to the rushing defense, we contained their workhorse Sims (100 yards on 21 carries) fairly well. But Lee not only hurt us in the air but also on the ground. And that's not something he's done against any other opponent when you look at his stats.
- Our front seven is really getting after it. As a whole they've gotten better each game and had six tackles for a loss yesterday. With a month to prepare and practice, this secondary can hopefully match this production. I truly think they're close (and was really glad to see Harvey-Clemons get that pick).
- I'm going to reserve any comments about the officiating until I have a chance to watch the televised version. My seat was a good one, but we couldn't really see the jumbotron to view any replays. But I can say that some of those flags came from awful spots on the field and very, very late after the play. And when I stop and consider that, it's about consistent for what we've seen this season.

Overall takeaway is this: this would've been an easy game to pack it up early. Coming in at 7-4 and having seen some really weird shit all season, this team had every reason and opportunity to say "Whatever. I'm done." Still, they hung in there and clawed their way back into it. I think that says a lot about the leadership, including Mason. And regardless of what we might say about the coaches, individually or collectively, it says a lot about them as well.

Lastly, Go Dawgs!! Have fun obsessing over our domination for yet another year nerds!

Final thoughts on Auburn. Well, probably.

Completed my civic duty yesterday. Rewatched the game in its entirety. Please, hold your applause til the end. Because I have two goals today: one is to give you this post as my conclusion to the nightmare that was Saturday night, and the other is to speak directly with Director of SEC incompetence Steve Shaw. If the latter happens, I'll come back and give you an update. For now, on with the former.

Walking away from Jordan-Hare we gave mention that this game (specifically the ending), is a microcosm of this season. We just can't put a full 60 minutes together and Lady Luck will have nothing at all to do with us. That final Auburn pass play was quite the motherload of salt for that festering wound.

But Tyler took it one step further in his "Grief Bacon" post yesterday morning when he said, "Doesn't that one play pretty perfectly sum up the whole season for both Georgia and Auburn?" Well yes. It does doesn't it. I would probably be laughing about just how deep the depths of our bad luck goes were it not for the faces of our players as they streamed off the field. People keep telling me that game was a "heartbreaker". No, it's heart wrenching. And then Penn Wagers through that sucker in the dirt and Ol' Lady Luck stomp her flat! 

It's as intense a muddle of emotions as I've ever felt - despair, grief, anger, frustration, hatred, pity, anger.

My frustration with the officiating boils down to this - it's not unreasonable to expect a game to be called evenly, fairly. That should be inherent within the context of every sporting event. And yet, the SEC fails miserably. And believe me, the last thing I want to be is the guy that blames officiating for affecting outcomes. Whether our rush defense or the officiating had more of an impact in the result is debatable. But it shouldn't be. Not at all.

So when we got to this point in the rewatch yesterday and my wife turns to me and says, "Wasn't that targeting? Right there?!?", well...I just have no answers. And it pisses me off that it's even a question. But what can we expect when Steve Shaw, much like his predecessor Rogers Redding, continues to put a butthurt midget that is harboring a 40+ year grudge at not being recruited for anything other than a mascot onto a field with a flag and a whistle?

As for the game, I'm bewildered at how easily Auburn rushed the football. Grantham's defense did not match their speed and intensity until the fourth quarter really. And I'm almost as bewildered that the offense struggled to move the ball. Some of that was play calling. Some of it is still having younger receivers stepping into big time roles and not running clean routes. A lot of it is the inconsistency in the offensive line. And the rest of the inefficiency early on is being laid at the feet of Bobo's feet with play calling. I can agree with that mostly.

But it's not just the plays being run. On a larger scale we're just not making adjustments when they're needed. Nothing pointed to that more Saturday night than the fact that at one point Auburn had four guys with more yards than the Todd Gurley, arguably the nation's best running back.

As for the last play, I have to disagree with Richt on just rushing three guys. Sure, we pressured Marshall into moving up in the pocket. I just can't help but think having one more rusher would've helped make the play for us before they made it for them. 

And in the end, that was a bigger mistake than anything Tray Matthews and Josh Harvey-Clemons did or didn't do.

Does Wagers' wife know he's screwing us?

$%#!! the pleasantries!

“I guess I wasn’t pleasant enough in my disagreement with what happened,” Richt said. “I didn’t do a good job.”
The penalty was an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Georgia bench.
“I don’t know if I’ll get in trouble for this or not, but what I saw was the ball underneath. I saw a set of legs, an Auburn player, his knees were bent kind of on the ball. His hand was free and he was trying to get his other hand in there. I saw Josh Harvey-Clemons wrapped up around the legs and the ball and everything else. I’m thinking surely he’s got possession of the ball, but the refs didn’t see it that way.”

If you want to torment yourself more, Tyler has the definitive picture.



And having watched the replay, it looked to me as if Wagers walked up and saw the same thing then patted the Auburn player's shoulder signaling their possession.

Actually, calling it "ineptitude" is giving Penn Wagers too much credit. It's flat out prejudice.

Flag on the season

Had a buddy in college that did a lot of the intramural officiating. They pay wasn't great, but the job was easy. At least that's what Jim told me as he convinced me to help out with flag football one day when they were short some officials. We had played for a couple seasons, so I knew the rule differences and felt like it'd be an easy paycheck towards that weekend's beer fund.

Wrong. The game was tight and the team that was ahead had the ball with very little time, but promptly threw a long pass that was intercepted. It wasn't an easy interception. In fact, it appeared to have fallen incomplete as I ran downfield to cover the play. That judgment, coupled with me running with the whistle in my mouth, prompted me to blow the thing inadvertently.

The result was one team being able to retain possession and run out the clock. And the other team wishing some second hand, no good referee were dead. Like immediately dead. Right there hanging from the nearest tree. Ever since then I've related too uncomfortably to scenes at sporting events where the officials are whisked away amid boos, insults and foreign objects being hurled at them. But for me on this late afternoon, it was just me and my good friend Jim. Thanks dude!

Anyway, all that to say that I write this with some level of beleaguered understanding for what SEC officials must deal with on Saturdays around the southeastern United States. Only they have much more detailed training than I had and get paid better too. Add to that the fact that they've been given somewhat of a raw deal with this targeting rule in that it is flawed - it's a rule to protect the NCAA from future litigation and, although it will likely be altered from its current state this coming offseason, it is here to stay in some form or another. The end result is a group of guys that really can't win for losing.

Hey 5Deuce, can the ground cause a
fumble? Hell no! (via)

There's always a difference watching live in person as opposed to live on television. We can watch at home and anticipate a flag, sure. But when you're there you can see when one comes from somewhere away from the play. Perhaps it's a long pass that you follow with your eyes to the end, but then trail back to the original line of scrimmage because you thought you might have seen an offensive lineman holding or a defensive player closing in for a potential late hit. Or maybe you thought you saw something yellow fly out from your peripheral vision. You want to see if there's a flag because there's a reasonable possibility for one laying near the quarterback.

However, I noticed this past weekend that I had started to scan the field even when I didn't expect a flag. I've never given too much credence to the idea that all refs, and I mean any and all of them in the entire wide world of sports, have it out for the Georgia Bulldogs. I mean sure, we've gotten screwed plenty of times where the idea would hold up in court. But overall I think the referees are just guys that are out there trying to earn a paycheck.

But there I am, expecting a flag after each and every play as if these guys are going to look for any and every wrongdoing, be it a penalty or some other form of false judgment. And if they don't find what they're looking for they will create one from their feeble imagination (hint: Herrera's "fumble" Saturday). And I realize that this is not the way it should be. Not at all.

No, I'm not naive. Really. I recognize that officiating has been a problem for years on end (JASPER'S KNEE WAS DOWN DAMNIT!!). Again, we're talking about guys doing their part time jobs, and who are human beings after all. They're going to make mistakes and logic dictates that, at times, those mistakes will be particularly untimely.

I just hate that the game we love has come to this - worrying too much (at least more than should be normal) about officiating affecting the game's outcome. Those guys are supposed to have a goal of making it in and out of a stadium without being recognized. And although we can all pull Marc Curles, Al Ford, Penn Wagers and company out of a lineup, that doesn't mean it's okay to expect to have to play against an SEC team AND Steve Shaw's merry band of refs each weekend.

What's the solution? When will the SEC offices care enough to make some kind of change? Why can't these guys be held to a greater accountability? Years ago I recognized that I was not good at wearing the stripes and got my happy ass back to the sidelines. Some of these guys need to be shoved in the same direction.

Or should I say "targeted"?

/end rant

Targeting - Corey Moore edition

Heard a lot of chatter about his ejection Saturday. Some of which was aimed at him for putting himself in the situation. And I've got to say, honestly, I thought the same thing while in the stadium.

But having rewatched the game, and that particular play several times, Moore was making a good football play. In fact, I think the actual flag is questionable. Even though while in Sanford it really appeared to be moderately egregious (yes, this is how low we've sunk, assigning levels of egregiousness). It's a play Moore has certainly been coached to make for years.

Now, that's not to say I'm surprised a flag was thrown. It was a bang-bang play and the receiver was not going to catch the ball. Which is why most, including myself, were upset to begin with Saturday. Why put yourself in the position for getting a 15 yard penalty, or worse with the volume of targeting calls we've seen, when there was no chance of App State completing the play for yardage? But again, the guy's just doing what he's been practicing since he was knee high to Prince Miller.

I've got a separate post coming about officiating. I didn't queue it up today because I really want to make sure it's fair and balanced (Ha! I know right?). But my question here is how do you view this particular call? Both from Moore and the officials' point of view. And then from the replay guy's view having had the luxury of slowing the play down and evaluating it.

Targeting is aimed at 1) protecting a defenseless player and 2) cutting down on players leading with the crown of the helmet. At live speed (both in the stadium and on television) it appeared to me that Moore had done just that - lead with the helmet to a defenseless player's head/neck region. On replay it looked more like his shoulder to the receiver's chest area. So does that make the replay official more culpable?

We're in a vast gray world these days. You've got players having to unlearn techniques they've spent years developing and officials equipped with more and more authority/pressure to impact the game and outcome. Egads!

And add to the mix that this play was not flagged for targeting...jeez Louise! What a mess.

Sunday Thoughts on bowl eligibility

First of all, if you haven't seen the video of the National Guardsman's surprise return (even if you were in the stadium to witness it), click here. Great stuff.

Some thoughts on the game:

• Congrats to Murray on climbing past Wuerrfel. And when you consider the sheer number of receivers he's had to work with (both during his career and especially this season), it's that much more impressive.
• I liked the way the coaching staff handled Gurley. When the goal was just to give him enough work to get his feet underneath him after missing three and a half games, I think they did just that with 13 carries for 75 yards.
• Receiving corps is also looking healthier and more complete. Wooten has really stepped up as a target all over the field that Murray trusts. Bennett just does Michael Bennett things. Rumph will be a difference maker, hopefully very, very soon.
• If you ask me Bobo showed more of the playbook than he wanted to. But I was very glad that he kept it open a bit once Mason took over. Sure, the passes the backup quarterback was asked to make were mostly conservative in nature. But he was very crisp and confident. I think that was well designed.
• The defense has made great strides. Granted, this was a lowly Div II team, but we're starting to see the secondary and the linebackers specifically play much more instinctively. And the defensive front continues to add plenty of pressure in the backfield.
• Ramik Wilson I believe has made great improvement in just the last couple games. In short, making more plays/tackles moving towards the line of scrimmage instead of away from it.
• How much different would the first half have been had Chris Mayes been able to intercept that pass that went just off his fingertips?
• Faton Bauta!!! The only thing missing from the third string quarterback's appearance as the clock drained was Larry Munson attempting his name. My guess would be "FuhTawn Buttuh".
• That was fun, now onto some of the not so good stuff...
• The fake punt was a bad call, obviously. But it looked like the blocking was there for Davis. It's just that everyone in the stadium could see it developing, so the defenders reacted swiftly and at least two of them went virtually unblocked.
• I kinda hope that was called to set something up for The Plains.
• The penalties. Well, more on that in a minute.
• Murray's interception was yet another case of locking onto a receiver. And he had JJ Green on the underneath route for a good gain. If he just looks at another receiver there the linebacker who intercepted it wouldn't have been nearly as deep and either been a mismatch against Green or have left enough room to get the pass into Rome.
• Speaking of underneath routes...Malzahn is busy this morning installing several more into his offensive attack. I think the Mountaineers completed another one as I typed this bullet.
• Although the receivers are stepping up as a whole, they left some drops out there. And the routes aren't as crisp as we need them this late in the season.

The flags. This is something we need to look at from two perspectives. On one hand you have players making dumb plays - like Leonard Floyd letting a Mountaineer get so far under his skin that he takes a cheap shot at him and draws a meaningless penalty. I mean really?

However. The goal of every officiating crew should be to make an entrance and an exit from each stadium without drawing unnecessary attention. This season has seen whatever is the opposite of that. The targeting rule is one thing, and will surely be altered in the off season. But there comes a point in time when as an official you have to decide if that flag in your pocket is making a bigger impact than is necessary. And it's not just flags of course. How in God's name can a shitty call be made - AND THEN UPHELD!! - on Herrera's interception and then subsequent "phantom fumble"?

Overall, great day in Athens! Thanks go out to all the Redcoats, players and cheerleaders that came back to make it what it was. Glory Glory to ol' Georgia!

Targeting back: SEC officials could be punished

via gifsection.com

One of the first things I noticed on the Ramik Wilson flag for targeting was where the flag actually came from. After Ray Drew was thrown out by an official that had the flag in his hand before the pass was even thrown, I guess I became acutely aware of the periphery to the play on the field. Much of you probably saw the same thing.

For it was not the umpire standing directly in front of the play that flagged Wilson's textbook hit on Vanderbilt receiver Jonathan Krause. It was the field judge from across the field in front of the Commodore sideline that threw it.

I wonder if that is something going through SEC coordinator of circuses Steve Shaw's head this week as he has gotten an earful from Coach Richt and AD McGarity. It looks like some form of discipline for the crew could be on the table. Including but not limited to the replay official in the booth that upheld Drew's prompt dismissal.

The call on Georgia defensive end Ray Drew was made by referee Matt Moore. As Richt said on Sunday, that hit “by the letter of the law” probably met the criteria of a “targeting” foul. However, everybody – including the NFL’s head of officials, who tweeted as much – believes Drew should not have been ejected from the game. If anybody faces discipline as a result of that ruling, it would likely be the replay official, Mike McGinnis, who upheld the disqualification despite video evidence to the contrary.

But what discipline, if any, transpired as a result of all these reviews is and will remain unknown. The only way to know if anybody was suspended or dismissed as a result of this past weekend’s actions will be to determine whether any of the officials on a crew this coming weekend.

The final result -- a 31-27 Vanderbilt victory -- will of course remain forever unchanged.

Ugh.

Monday's Meatloaf - over estimating my mathematical prowess

I feel the need for something light this morning. Let's start with a word problem. No, scratch that. Let's start with the elephant in the blog space and then we'll get to the word problem.

I know I've been short on dishing out the meatloaf lately. To be perfectly honest there's just not enough time. Fall is busy enough and this autumn we have Georgia football on Saturdays and then the 9yo has flag football on Sundays. And their coach is a lot like Goff...pre-Hines Ward.

Scoreboards use math. Our alumni remind me of this all the time.

Anyway, trust me that this regular feature will continue to be a staple here on the blog. And when time permits it'll be back to its weekly self. And I have to add, yesterday when my group of little 7-9 year olds were down five with time for just one play to go the length of the field. We needed a miracle. And that happens to be the name of my little girl's right arm.

She zipped the ball 20 yards and somehow the little guy caught it. Because she had put an extra dose of mustard on it the defense didn't react in time catch him. After all, he'd already outrun their whole team on a beautiful reverse call, if I do say so myself. The Lightning Ninjas win in dramatic fashion!! was supposed to be the AJC headline this morning. Let me know when they finally post it. Now, let's get mathematical.

Ray Goff runs at his school's track every weekday. If Ray runs 5.9 miles each time, estimate how much he runs in a month.

Write down your answer and we'll discuss it at the other end. Or if you really wanna show off your brass ones, put it in the comments now.

Today's Ingredients
- "The crappiest thing about losing that game was wasting Shaq Wiggins' pick six." Blutarsky with the truth bomb.
- Emerson has an in-depth look at Georgia's problems.
- Tyler concludes that the Ramik Wilson targeting penalty may very well have cost us the game. Hard to argue that, even though it was overturned. Which of course means the penalty stands/ Because that makes so much sense.
- Oh, and about those targeting calls. On the Ray Drew flag, here's Richt: "I don't think the rule's designed for that type of play quite frankly."
- It's important to note, as Marshall does here, that the defense has shown some improvement.
- Greg helps us reset for the bye week.
- As for the special teams miscues, Travis nails it with this: "You don't think we need [a special teams coach]? Fine. But don't act like it doesn't make sense to ask."
- DavetheDawg has 15 thoughts on the loss and the outlook overall.
- If you've been anxious for the new post season format, Year2 has a mock playoff post up.
- Lastly, I don't know about you, but watching a chocolate lab puppy body surf a staircase is one thing that always gets me to smile.

Cheer up Dawgs. At least you didn't wear jean shorts to work today.

That word problem was part of the 11yo's review for a test last week. Typically, Mrs. Bernie handles the math side of the homework equation. This theory has been tested since both girls moved on from 1st grade and thereby exceeded my math skills...exponentially. (BOOM! Least I can still spell!!)

But during this review the lovely wife was getting herself all did up and even lovelier at the salon. If I go to the barber and spend more than a half hour I feel cheated. Evidently these salons do hair as if they're giving a car a tune-up. It takes even longer than the Beatles took to sing an encore of Hey Jude and Let it Be. It'd take more time to give a HillBilly a full set of root canals, or teach a WarDamnTiglesman how to spell their school's name. Or get Congress to open up the state parks again.

You get it. Mrs. Bernie was gone for a spell. So I jumped in and was convinced I'd caught the teacher handing out wrong answers. The 11yo had brought home the correct answers for the study guide with 120 miles circled. When clearly it was closer to 180 - about 30 days, times about 6 miles each day = 180. I can estimate! I can multiply! I can scoff at someone better equipped to teach how to estimate and multiply! And read a word problem correctly. So I insisted my little darling take that up with "Dr. Mathematical" the next morning prior to the test. Surely a good teacher would see her own error and make any necessary adjustments prior to handing out some poorly planned test. I mean, really.

"But Daddy, she has the problems worked out on her website. Let's check that to see how she got 120 miles."

What kind of sorcery and witchcraft is this?!? Parents and students can check their work online...and figure out right then and there that weekdays equal five days a week and therefore about 20 a month...and that 20 times 6 is indeed equal to 120. Ol' Ray Goff shorted me 60 miles! What in the name of Terrell Davis is going on here?!?

The lesson I learned is to compliment the wife's hair as soon as she walks in three hours later. And also to give Dr. Mathematical a fistbump for being able to load pictures of her study guide's answer key on the internets. Something tells me she didn't go to college in Starkville. Have a great Monday Reader! And don't be a slackass that only runs five days a week. My math skills need your complete effort!

Bernie

Sunday's thought on being more WalMart and less Target

There's a lot of reasons we lost yesterday. The least of which is how the game was officiated. But the targeting calls were complete bullshit. Take a look at this no call from the FSU-Maryland game.

Was Ray Drew's hit on Carta-Samuels worse than that? Give me a break.

Monday's Meatloaf - by a show of hands

Ok, I admit. I was morally and ethically outraged over Lester's roster management technique last week with Jeremy Hill's creative reinstatement. Almost as morally and ethically outraged as I was over the judge's decision to slap his wrist. But given some time to digest everything...I think Miles is once again proving to be one step ahead of the rest of us.

To illustrate, here's some ways in which I utilized this technique this past weekend

• "By a show of hands kids, who thinks Mommy needs to make strawberry shortcake every night?"
• "Hey y'all, by a show of hands, who thinks the youngest should pull my finger?"
• "Ok, ok. Let's vote on it. By a show of hands..." (looks around and realizes everyone else is upstairs, eats rest of the bag of Lay's Chicken n Waffles)

"I call em like I wanna see em Coach."

Anyway, so...those results were a mixed bag of opportunity, poor wordage, and absentee ballots. But this revolutionary idea could have serious wide-ranging benefits. Should When Pwnn Wagers calls an unsportsmanlike penalty after a Malcolm Mitchell go ahead touchdown over the Tigers September 28th, while Uncle Verne sells some Miller Lite to the television viewers Coach Richt can stroll to midfield, grab that sonofabitch's microphone and ask, "By a show of hands...was Malcolm being unsportsmanlike when he blew his momma a kiss?"

In Jacksonville, when that lonely gator fan wanders into the Georgia section and starts spouting off at the mouth with his football knowledge (post 1990) and refuses to use a napkin to wipe the nacho cheez wiz off his chin, you can just stand up straight and ask, "By a show of hands y'all, should we help this lonely reptile find a better seat?" Go gatuh! Bye!

And when a one loss SEC Champion trails Oregon and Ohio State in the final BCS standings despite the fact that everyone in the nation knows the Buckeyes are no better than the sixth best team in the nation, I'll just stroll onto the set of the selection show, grab the mic from Fowler, look into the camera and ask, "Show of hands out there America, who'd rather see an actual tackle football team rather than these tattooed Urbanites?"

/drops mic, glares at Mark May and heads to Pasadena

Today's Ingredients
- First off, congrats to friend of the blog David Hale...catching the lead story on the mothership's college football page.
- Kimberley has a nice look at freshman tight end Jordan Davis and his adjustment to Georgia's playbook.
- Tyler finds some comfort in some Auburn press notes. Yes, you read that right. Check it out.
- Speaking of GSB, Tyler let PWD out long enough to kill amateurism. Dead. Thanks guys.
- Meanwhile, in Athens, Weiszer reports that the defensive line is taking to Coach Wilson's way of things.
- Blutarsky asks, "Wherefore art thou Xzavier Ward?"
- In his continuing breakdown of the Capital One Bowl, Ching picks up on what was one of my favorite plays of the 2012 season.
- Ed Thomas looks at a few questions for the defense.
- Elsewhere, Run Home Jack finds Jadeveon Clowney sitting out of scrimmages.
- Remember Mizzou is an actual SEC opponent. And DavetheDawg treats them as such with this preview.
- And over at DudeYouCrazy, Brad attempts to justify an argument for a college football preseason.

Giggity!!

It's mid-August. And everyone you meet is happy. Everybody is undefeated and the sun is even shining on Charlie Weis' schematic advantage. Houston Nutt impressions are a dime a dozen.

Sure, there's a little tension. Most teams have a few games circled on the calendar that are causing some stress, even weeks ahead of time. But overall, the general consensus is that the pot of gold is still at the end of everybody's rainbows.

I even got a wave back from our neighborhood Tech fan this weekend. His gaze is usually fixed upon his shoelaces, but he met my greeting and gave me a smile. They're so cute in the summer sometimes aren't they?

Anyway, that's all about to change. I ran some numbers this weekend and it turns out that since 1996 when overtime was introduced, the first weekend that college football is available to fans inside of stadiums and on television sets, roughly half of the teams that play actually lose. Yes, 50% of teams will have a loss even before the second week of the season!

Here's hoping the Tiger tears are big. Have a great Monday Reader. Here's your fork.

Bernie