Helping out the engiNerds

h/t Dawgtoons


Sad. Senseless. Like a deliberate pass out of bounds...on 4th down...

courtesy of uga1980

Balls to the wall...

...and across the ESPNs yellow digitized line.


Year2 has a great post on why coaches need to be more aggressive in game planning and play calling. It's broken into areas of onside kicks (ones that aren't necessitated by time remaining and the score), going for the 1st down marker on 4th down instead of punting and underdog strategies.


If you can get past the memory of the field goal attempt in the Liberty Bowl, this is a great read:

The number of fourth down conversion attempts per game has a clear negative correlation with winning percentage. That's not surprising given that teams don't tend to go for it on fourth down unless they're behind. Teams that spend a lot of time behind are usually bad, and that extra time being down leads to more fourth down conversion attempts. The conversions per game is still negative but a lot closer to zero, as good teams attempt fewer fourth down conversions but tend to be good at making them. How do we know that? Because conversion percentage is correlated quite positively with winning percentage. The better the team, unsurprisingly, the better chance it has to succeed on fourth down.

A good seasoned quarterback certainly helps coaches have the confidence to go for it. A bullish line would help as well. But it's also worth a thought that Richt has shown some swagger this off season. Of course, not taking any crap from a fan on a road tour stop is a lot different than deciding you're gonna step on the head rooster's throat. But it could lead to another spectacular state trooper fist bump.*

courtesy of RedStripeDawg

*may be forced, but I always look for a way to fit that video awesome sauce into a post. Apologies.

Yet to be determined

I found this to be an appropriate video. Starts with some painful highlights then journeys into the high points. 

courtesy of uga1980

I'm determined not to buy into any off season hype. But I'll admit I'm more than anxious to see Murray play football again.


66 days.

New Capital Hill Ruger

Too funny not to share. (h/t Mac)


New pistol being introduced as the Politician. 

Doesn't work and can't be fired.

On Benedict leaving...

WiFi here is sketchy at best. So while I'm connected (I think) I wanted to weigh in some on the next chapter in the off season book The Thin Red and Black OLine.


Brent Benedict and Coach Richt parted ways officially on Sunday. After sticking with Bruce through some dark days of knee rehab (and truthfully when not many were absolutely certain that he would play again), Richt was cast aside over what seems to be a difference in conditioning opinion. I agree with ecdawg, this was another case of a player not seeing eye to eye with the S&C program.


And today Socrates backed up ecdawg's words of Benedict visiting Gainesville before he was released. If this is true I've gone from being worried about him leaving at a time when depth is so thin to saying good riddance. I understand feelings and situations change, but Richt and his staff deserve and have earned the courtesy of being treated with respect. Alleged meetings with rival coaches is as close to the opposite as it gets.


Also in a related post, Weiszer looks at the state of the offensive line here.

Channing Crowder, master of cryptic messages

Former Gator Channing Crowder's words are difficult to decipher in this quote from his radio show:

"I'll say hypothetically I don't have any more of my Florida jerseys," Crowder said Sunday. "There were some Jacksonville businessmen that really hypothetically liked my play."

I'll follow his lead and say hypothetically that I think did a good job of networking back then...assuming these Jacksonville businessmen weren't yet of Facebook in 2004.


I'm sure AJ Green is somewhere (as the kids say) smh...

On air with Coach Fox

- Posted using BlogPress from Bernie's iPhone

Eligibility questions looming this morning

The Ledger-Enquirer in Columbus is reporting that the NCAA is aware of benefits Jarvis Jones and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope may have received from AAU boosters.

Columbus police interviews conducted during an investigation of the Parks and Recreation Department reveal that director Tony Adams and top lieutenant Herman Porter may have jeopardized the amateur status of two University of Georgia athletes who played on the Georgia Blazers, their city-funded, Nike-sponsored AAU basketball team.

Police records show that an unauthorized bank account controlled by Adams and Porter was used to pay for flights to and from Los Angeles for Jarvis Jones, a two-sport star at Carver High School who played football for one season at the University of Southern California, and for the cell phone bill of the mother of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a five-star shooting guard from Greenville High School.

The report goes on to say that UGA Compliance Director Eric Baumgartner has not heard or received anything form the NCAA at this point. Jones is expected to make a large impact in his first season at Georgia and Caldwell-Pope is Coach Fox's prize recruit, also much needed after the early departures this Spring.


Stay tuned.

Ga/Fla: Rivalrous reasons for hope

Ok, I'm hitting the road for some vacation. Before I finish shoving (crap) in the trunk, here's the last installment of the week for the Ga/Fla series. I feel that it is incomplete. Please feel free to add to it in the comments.


So...the Georgia-Florida game isn't a rivalry in the truest sense of the word. The good news is we haven't totally screwed the overall series, yet. But with a mark of 47-40-2, there's little time to waste. Luckily there are some reasons for optimism.


Watered down swamp juice?
Let's start with something outside of our area code. True, this is a time in the Georgia program where much self-evaluation is needed. But we must at least address the changes that have happened in Gainesville since Will Hill intercepted that pass in overtime then smoked a joint all the way down to the Georgia goalline.


I think it's a given that Will Muschamp will be a good head coach. Does it happen right away or does he mature into it? Weis is a suspect hire at best. Brantley is still getting re-re-wired for yet another style of offense, and his Spring performance was pretty dismal (4 of 14 for 45 yards).


And as a prelude to the WLOCP the Gators get the Tide, LSU and Auburn. I doubt they lose all three of those, but I can easily see them limping into AllTel. Do they limp in a beaten animal...or angry?


Hot seat postulate
So many people are concerned with whether or not Mark Richt coaches his way off the hot seat or onto the unemployment line. I think there's a bigger issue. If Richt is to be our coach next year I don't just want him to save his job. I want a new winning attitude instilled. 


I'll go into greater depth later as to why I think the WLOCP could be a one game barometer, but suffice it to say I'll be watching our stock at the end of October closely. If CMR is to transcend simply winning more games we should see a team who's just as hungry at the end of the game as they are at the coin toss. 


I mean let's face it, Houston Nutt could garner a winning record against this 2011 slate. 




New attitude
This is to be taken for what it is worth, which in the Summer is very, very little. But there is the possibility that the team has a new and improved attitude about tackle football heading into the Fall. I'm not drinking any Kool-aid until after Carolina leaves town at the earliest. Been poisoned the last couple years by all the rah-rahs...we're awesome, wait and see! talk. 


But there is the possibility that we evolve into a team that is not just satisfied with what comes easy. One that is at least somewhat prepared for a full 60 minutes. 


And a full 60 minutes in Jacksonville could be just enough to turn the current of the St. John's river. Thanks for reading. Y'all have a great weekend.

Sweetwater's Browneyed Buckeye

Thought you SEC fans and brew fans would both enjoy this (h/t Scott). If you're unfamiliar, Sweetwater does a Dank Tank series as a way of stretching their creative genius. The bottles are bombers (about 22 fl oz) and are mostly awesome.


But this one, just special...read carefully. (hint: you might need to click on the image and magnify)