Prepping the preseason

Pretty complete rundown of the preseason questions the Georgia Bulldogs are facing this week as camp begins. Weiszer looks in depth at the offensive line, defensive back depth, running back post-Crowell, the new kickers and which players might break out this season.

Grantham will use the first third of training camp to further evaluate the players, particularly the freshmen.

Kick it to me? I don't give a shit.

“Some guys we’ll play more than one spot and cross-train a little bit,” he said. “We’ll work to get the older guys skill set honed in to where it need to be.”

Game preparation for opponents will be the focus of the second-third of practices. The final portion will be used to gear up for the Sept. 1 opener against Buffalo.

Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo will use the preseason to get a better feel for this team’s offensive identity.

“That’s going to be the main focus, trying to figure out who we are, what’s our best personnel group, what gives us the best chance to be effective offensively,” Bobo said. “And just getting guys ready to play that can compete and contribute. Not just the first team, but in some depth.”

But as we start to re-acquaint ourselves with the beauty that is tackle college football...as we reflect on what we were left with in 2011 and what we hope for in 2012...as we evaluate what this team needs that last year's didn't have, I put this question at the top of the list:

Can we finish a full 60 minutes? In the second full year of the "new and improved S&C" are we a fitter and stronger team that can kick some 4th quarter ass?

Flashback: '73 in Knoxville, "a whipped ball club"

"My God, Georgia beat Tennessee in Knoxville!"


One of the best fake handoffs in the history of bootleggin'.

The votes are in...Malcolm wins!

Two out of two defensive coaches agree, Malcolm Mitchell is Georgia's best cornerback.

Said Grantham: “He is very good. He’s good. He’s really good.”

Told that Lakatos said he’s the best corner, Grantham didn’t argue.

“He is,” Grantham said. “He’s a very talented guy.”

Of course even with actual elections, voting in November doesn't always mean favorable results going forward. Still, I'd love a landslide victory here.

Barner vs Burner, 26 wins.

Richt hates Jim Kelly, et al.

Terrific interview here. He's wearing his Evil Richt suit, but this is Casual Richt at his finest. Not only does he have to be the most unlucky patient back up quarterback, he also has to wait on Kathryn to find the ring during his proposal. 


As the Thinking Bulldog says...#waiting.

h/t JL Blutarsky

GATArchives - Amp'd up to Wreck Tech

I remember going to a football camp in the late 1970's at Cedar Shoals High School. Coach Waters brought back some alumni to run the camp. I was working out at receiver with none other than Anthony Arnold. It was hot and almost time to break for lunch. Amp called my name and said I was to run a go route to the visiting sideline and look for the ball over my left shoulder. If I caught it, we went to the shade and cooled off. If I missed it he'd call another camper to do what I couldn't.


I caught it. It was a glorious moment for a ten year old. But nothing like the glory number 82 must've felt 'tween the hedges a couple years earlier.

h/t Dawg19

"Woerner on the 28. Ran by one, ran by another! RAN BY ANOTHER!! 50  45  40! 35  30! Scott WoernerWoernerWoernerWoernerWoernerWOERNER!! Look at the stadium. Look at it!!"


It might have been a game for the spectator, but it was a win for the Dawgs. A lot of heroes, guys that looked at a 20-0 deficit and stood ready for the task at hand. The Bulldogs' record improved to 9-1-1 on the season before a trip to the Bluebonnet Bowl.


Some bonus material related to this game:
- Garbin takes us back to meet the guy that caught the game clinching interception, David Archer.
- And he also breaks down Arnold's career a little further.
- A quick Hometown Hero piece from the ABH several years ago.

Richt in Bristol

The head coach sits down with Chris Fowler to discuss Penn State trolling, running backs, discipline, Malcolm Mitchell and the upcoming season as a whole.

CLICK HERE

Humpday Hilarity - "Judy choppin' and a kungfu kickin'"

"Sometimes it doesn't always work for a ninja." Indeed.


h/t Heath

Update - he even had a show down with a black belt on the Jerry Springer show.

Time and PSU

Continuing the discussion...

As athletic departments across the country reassess and perform their own "gut-checks", it occurs to me that few are in the predicament that Penn State found themselves in when Sandusky's terror games began to surface.

While the perpetrator in Happy Valley was an assistant coach, the chief co-conspirator was a head coach so revered his words and actions were beyond reproach. Both men had time on their sides. They had been at PSU long before their administrators, as well as before most of the current students' parents were old enough to vote. This certainly helped facilitate and cover up the madness that was going on within the football program.

That kind of tenure is lost in today's "win NOW" culture. Joe Paterno began at Penn State in 1950 as an assistant and took over head coaching duties in '65. At the same time Sandusky was finishing his playing career and assimilated into his coach's staff. The only current coaches that come close to that kind of tenure are VA Tech's Frank Beamer who was hired in 1987 and Kansas State's Bill Snyder in 1989 (albeit with a brief hiatus from 2005-08). The next longest is Troy's Larry Blakeney in 1991, after that it jumps all the way to Mack Brown at Texas in 1998.

It's hard to imagine something of this magnitude and horror happening at another athletic department. And surely there were many other factors at work. As many programs check their own house for dry rot and cracks in the foundation, many will find a coach that is bigger than the institution itself. But gone are the days of time allowing these coaches to perpetuate this status over generations of matriculations.

Not to mention erecting statues before their email accounts are fully accessible they're six feet under the gridiron.

Proximity and PSU

The NCAA could've given Penn State an enema. Instead they went in for the full colectomy. It was ugly, and has an acrid odor.

If you enjoyed this morning's Dr. Mark Emmert show, riddle me this: did you get the feeling that this was happening at some distant institution? Is the impact similar to a California earthquake while your toes are dug into the red clay of the Georgia Piedmont region?

I have a lot of enemies in college athletics. Like many of you I despise Tech, hate Auburn and loathe the thought of reptiles. But I wouldn't wish what happened to Penn State this morning on any of them. Happy Valley was obliterated with a fate much worse than the death penalty.

The implications reach far beyond their campus however. Mark Emmert is a small town sheriff pretending to be a CIA operative and your local Baptist preacher all in one. If it looks a little awkward now, just wait a while.

On the morality meter, the Freeh Report exposed a slam dunk of a case. But what happens next? Does Bama get punished for giving Mike Price a credit card? Is TCU penalized for allowing players to minor in processing and distribution? When Coach Richt has to tell a recruit that UGA in fact does not have a scholarship for him, is that ethically ambiguous enough for Emmert and his small band of minions? Sounds like a stretch, sure. But the morality door is open now.

Indeed, what happens next? That's a question both Nittany Lion fans and any fan with their colors represented in their closet are asking today. Albeit from differing perspectives.

Monday's Meatloaf - lion hearted

This morning...

I want justice.

I want the healing process to begin.

I hope the NCAA sends the program 
to hell to wait on its monster.

I hope the Happy Valley community 

can step toward resurgence.

I'm eager to see blood.

I'm eager to see an end we can 

somehow live with.

I need a pound of flesh.

I need closure.

This morning's news scares the hell out of me. Supposedly Penn State is in for "unprecedented penalties." Appropriate, sure. But that moral door is about to be wide the hell open. Scary precedent indeed.

via

Today's Ingredients
- Regardless, from what I read yesterday it sounds like the death penalty is off the table, which is good for the fans and players (ie. other innocent victims). But it sounds like it's going to be a fate worse than death.
- If PSU does get slammed, will some Nittany Lion castaways find solace with their old S&C coach, Mr. John Thomas?
- In case you didn't catch it earlier, PWD (and his brother) have some suggestions for PSU and th NCAA.
- Speaking of trouble with the NCAA, ecdawg finds what may be more trouble for Miami.
- Tyler found something other than the pictures in GQ to admire.
- It clearly lacks the sexiness and intrigue of scooters emerging from alleys, but Blutarsky finds that Coach Richt has clearly lost control in Chapel Hill and Blacksburg.
- Our old friend Ben Dukes reminds us that he'll be back soon enough.
- "By the time I was in 8th grade, I was set to go to Georgia." - Brice Ramsey on staying close to home.
- Harris English didn't just cross the pond for the fish and chips. Loran Smith brings us closer to this UGA golfer and budding star.
- Daugman has his impressions from a recent HoopDawgs' practice session.
- cocknfire simulated the first week of the season. Dawgs beat Chan Gailey's Buffalo Bills soundly, but some of the other results were surprising.
- Lastly, Adam finds a Bama toddler that has already passed Tuscaloosa's pre-requisite coursework.


We're 40 days out from kickoff. Which also means we're that close to tailgating as well. So Scott and his buddies have a great new cooker you might want to check out.

• Stainless steel construction
• Produces over 25,000 BTUs with 1 lb. cylinder
• Brings 2 inches of grease to 300° in 5 minutes in a 12” cast iron skillet
• Folds for easy transport and storage
• Safety latch holds the cooker steady while in use

That thing might even cook a nice meatloaf. But don't take my word for it, check it out here. It's nice to be able to smell the tailgates again. Football is nearly here. But for the moment, we'll have to make due with today's lunch. Here's your fork Reader. Dig in.


Bernie