We drunk and I suck

Film at 11.

Vandy- what to look for today

I've been up much of the night preparing a couple pork shoulders. During the game the guys and I will be making our next batch of beer. All in all, outside the arena it is shaping up to be a nice Saturday.

I hope it is inside the arena as well. Here's what I'm looking for:

• Offensive line consistency. If those guys up front don't come to play and come to play hard, it's going to be a long afternoon for Georgia fans. And an even longer one for Aaron Murray. A Todd Gurley can help mask some inconsistencies on the line. But without him and a host of other playmakers, Murray really needs these guys to step up.
• How "set" is the defense. I really think Tyler hit on something big with his post earlier in the week about the defensive play calling. If for nothing else it gives us something to look for today. The last thing a young and not very confident defense needs is getting calls in late from the sideline.
• Who steps up on offense? Murray needs someone to take the pressure off. When he starts to feel like it is all on him is when we start to see the uncharacteristic mistakes. Can Reggie Davis be that guy? Can Jay Rome or Artie Lynch be released to run some routes? Does JJ Green go on a tear?
• Defensive ditto. The same goes for the defense that is still looking for an identity. Ray Drew is really playing well by pressuring the quarterback, but Vandy will use a lot of quick passes to slow down the pass rush. Can a defensive lineman get their hand into one of those passing lanes to create a deflection? Better yet, can a defensive back react quick enough to jump a route?
• Special teams. They've become the equivalent of a four letter word around Athens. But games in Nashville tend to be very difficult for Georgia. Whether it keeps the pace as a high flying touchdown frenzy or devolves into a low scoring slugfest somehow, special teams will play a key role. Every kickoff is important and every punt is crucial.

That's a lot to ask I know. But sure would be nice to go into the off week before Florida with both a win and a lot of confidence!

Friday Misery - "To catch a Commodore"

And I ain't talking about Lionel Ritchie.

"I wear my eye glasses at noon..."

I'm not going to Nashville. And I'm flat out miserable about it. To all of you who are: enjoy yourselves, have a great time, hunker down. 

And for God's sake...bring home a win!

Hunker > Anchor

I reached out to Nashville's Corey Hart wannabe, Mr. James Franklin, this week for an interview. His response was extremely eager at first, strangely eager actually. Creepy. 

But after consulting with the Supreme Chancellor of Student Athletic Athleticism at Vanderbilt University he hedged. So I asked for a simple statement. Here's his response:

We're not gonna take any shit. (Please pardon my colorful and mildly intimidating language Supreme Chancellor of Student Athletic Athleticism.) I've made this clear from the get go. When Georgia's defensive players started yapping a couple years ago and your defensive coach was really mean to me, I went straight to Coach Richt and told him about it! That's right. We're not going to take anybody's crap without getting even. I'm trying to build a program based on high moral character. And except for some dirty chop blocks and a few rape indictments, we're doing pretty good.

WE'RE VANDERPBILT! ANCHOR DOWN!!   

So yeh. There's that. But how you gonna stop Todd Gurley...Michael Bennett....Malcolm Mit.......Keit....(shit!)....Justin Scott- We...(oh dammit!!)...

How you gonna stop Aaron Murray?

"Wanna see my hot tub young man?"

WE'RE VANDERPBILT! ANCHOR DOWN!!

I rest my case. Show up and win. If our minds are back in Athens or in Knoxville or ahead in Jacksonville...well, our chances are cut in half.

While both a hunker and an anchor are "down" in trajectory, one is for winners wanting to rise to the top. The other is for losers waiting to have their battleship sunk.

Let me just break this down for you...

That last section was too woe is me and my woe is just about damn broke. So here's why we win: 

They suck at everything but SATs. 

Their mascot's uni-brow once sat on a stool next to Dateline's Chris Hansen and discussed an online chat log.

Their quarterback's name - Austyn....with a "y"...

They're pure-bred yuppies who'd rather drape a sweater around their necks than strap on a helmet and sweat for a few hours.

Their undergrads play drinking games with chess pieces. 

They rhyme with "dandy". 

Their football players evidently can't get dates by any legal means. 

Their fans do shit like this for giggles. 

The ones that actually tailgate prefer to listen to Nickelback, the muzak version.

They also prefer a chilled, fermented grape over beer. 

Jay Cutler. 

They steal shit from your kicker's duplex while he's kicking the winning field goal. 

Their basketball court is permanently erect. And that's really creepy.

Their football stadium is the 18th largest stadium in the state.

Their players have stars on their helmets but have been tackled by our punter.

James Franklin's transition lenses.

Did I mention their quarterback's name?

When chilled, fermented grapes run out, they break out the Zima.

Out of 74 meetings with Georgia, they've won 18.

And two of those wins came while I was matriculating and Goff was...was....goffing. Times have changed. Let's keep it that way. Cuz The New Vandy ^TM just creeps me the hell out.

Go Dawgs!

Playing fast vs playing overwhelmed

Great piece here by Gentry Estes about the young defense absorbing a massive playbook. I think Josh Harvey-Clemons sums it up nicely.

“A lot of those guys from the secondary last year, they’ve told us the playbook they have in the NFL is not even as hard as the playbook we have here,” safety Josh Harvey-Clemons said. “It just shows you right there how difficult our defense can be, I guess. …

"We run a very complex defense. You’ve got to know a lot to play fast.”

And it's not just the freshmen. As Estes points out, even some of the more experienced players are playing different positions than the ones where they played previously. People ask where Jordan Jenkins has been. Well, he's at his new spot - the Will.

Add in a bunch of new kids and it explains a lot as to why we're seeing so many players standing instead of running because they're not sure yet what they're seeing. Reaction is good. Reacting late yields yards. And points.

Gurley, Matthews both a "no go"

In what was the least surprising news of the week, Richt said neither Georgia's top running back nor its free safety are expected to play Saturday. Gurley appears to be making some progress, but he'll rest the tender ankle another couple weeks and hopefully be 100% ready for Florida. Richt said he was running at a very conservative tempo and making some cuts. Just not doing anything that would lead you to believe he is ready to play.

Matthews meanwhile wasn't even practicing on his pulled hamstring. He, along with Gurley, will miss his third consecutive game.

But, there was some news out of practice that I found interesting and positive. John Theus will start at right tackle in place of Kolton Houston. Theus has been a big mystery this season. Considered a top prospect for the NFL one day, he let a guy who hadn't played football in years supplant him as the the starter. When Theus is in top form, this line performs better, bottom line. We need him at full tilt down the stretch if we're going to keep the pressure on Missouri et al. for a trip to the Georgia Dome.

Also, mentioned yesterday that Johnathon Rumph will play for the first time on Saturday. Here's what Richt had to say about the lanky wideout:

“He hasn’t played all year, obviously,” Richt said. “He hasn’t practiced in a long time, or at least before this week. He’s still getting comfortable with the system. To think that he’ll make a huge impact, it would be hard to predict that, but hopefully he’ll get in the game and when he gets opportunities, he’ll make plays.”

Thursday headers - anchoring down

Some news and notes from Vanderbilt as well as Athens. As well as Vegas. Well, not really.

- Need a Woody Widenhofer reference this morning? Okay, Vanderbilt will be making a CBS appearance Saturday for the first time in over a decade! And it's the first time a game at Vanderbilt Stadium has been on CBS in over 20 years.
- Commodore defensive end Kyle Woestmann feels good about being able to "exploit" Georgia's offensive line and pressure Murray. This has been an area of emphasis for Vanderbilt in the off week as their ability to pressure the quarterback has seen a significant drop off since conference play started.
- Meanwhile, in other news, former Commodores Brandon Vandenburg and Corey Batey will stand trial next August.
-If you thought some of the names on the new playoff selection committee were interesting, how about the selection criteria? Talk about having a lot of gray area to work in.
- It's been eight years since the ACC had a matchup of two top five teams. Clemson is looking for payback.
- Georgia is one of three SEC East teams favored on the road this weekend, giving 8.5. Florida is favored over host Missouri by 3.5 and South Carolina by a touchdown over Tennessee. That covers everyone in the division except for Kentucky, who is getting 3.5 from Bye Week.

Just don't use up too much of that 2014 Kentucky Derby money!

But can he play safety?

JUCO prospect Jonathon Rumph, who highlighted spring practices and GDay, could play this weekend for the first time all season in Nashville.

The 6-foot-5, 208-pound receiver out of Holmes (Miss.) Community College has been sidelined through the first six games with a nagging hamstring injury.

Though Richt said “there’s not much doubt he’ll play,” it’s still up in the air how often Rumph will take the field.

“You got to just see by the end of the week how comfortable he is and how comfortable we are with what he knows and the way we think he can execute,” Richt said.

Meanwhile, Bobo wasn't quite as confident.

 “To be honest, I don’t know yet,” Bobo said. “He practiced a little bit [Tuesday], but not a lot. I’d say we’re still up in the air.”

Probably comes down to how well he does today as to how much he'll see the field and be counted on to block, run clean routes and catch the ball when Murray targets him.

So...anyone remember this?

It's Vandy week! And the first trip back to Nashville since the chop block and the chippiness and "the confrontation" post-game.

Don't you just know that James Franklin would love to stick it to Grantham? Kick him while he's down? Especially after the way last year's game in Athens turned out. Plus, the 'Dores have had an extra week to prepare for this one. So there's also that.

Suddenly, very glad this one isn't a night game.

Humpday Hilarity - Where God put Earth's idiots

If you weren't already aware, Mrs. Bernie is from Virginia. Smart enough to come south to UGA. But still proud of her home...

When God created Virginia

God was missing for six days. Eventually, Michael, the archangel,

found him, resting on the seventh day.

He inquired, "Where have you been?"

God smiled deeply and proudly pointed downwards through the

clouds, "Look, Michael. Look what I've made."

Archangel Michael looked puzzled, and said, "What is it?"

"It's a planet," replied God, and I've put life on it.

I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a place to test Balance."

"Balance?" inquired Michael, "I'm still confused."

God explained, pointing to different parts of Earth.

"For example, northern Europe will be a place of great

opportunity and wealth, while southern Europe is going to be poor.

Over here I've placed a continent of white people, and over

there is a continent of black people. Balance in all things."

God continued pointing to different countries.

"This one will be extremely hot, while this one will be

very cold and covered in ice."

The Archangel , impressed by God's work, then pointed to a

land area and said,

"What's that one?"

"That's Virginia , the most glorious place on earth.

There are beautiful mountains,

rivers and streams, lakes, forests, hills, and plains.

The people from Virginia are going to be handsome, modest,

intelligent, and humorous,

and they are going to travel the world.

They will be extremely sociable, hardworking, high achieving,

carriers of peace,

and producers of good things"

Michael gasped in wonder and admiration, but then asked,

"But what about balance, God? You said there would be balance."

God smiled, "Right next to Virginia is Washington , D.C. ..

Wait till you see the idiots I put there!"

At least they were impressed by the fans...

Like many of us, Pinkel was not impressed with our defense.

Now with the New York Jets, neither was Sheldon Richardson.

But if you were in attendance and at your seat for pregame, please pat yourself on the back.