Playoffs? PLAYOFFS?!?!?

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Word is this playoffpac.com advertisement will air in select markets before the Thursday night BCS Title game. (Ironically, those markets are Dallas, Boise and Salt Lake)

Unfortunately, both TCU and Boise State looked liked very dominant teams from the WAC and the MWC. I tend to think the ad won't ring quite as loud as it would had TCU (...or Boise St.) won handily.

Then again...I'm not in advertising...or Congress.

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Monday's Meatloaf - And on Sunday, Hate Thy Neighbor

We've turned the calendar to a new day, month and year. And it's starting to get that feeling that we need to turn the page on the season. And while we can't really knowledgeably discuss who the defensive coordinator will be, we can look at position changes that may alter the depth chart.

It sounds like Gray is still contemplating a move from QB. If he decided to move, the positions mentioned most are WR and Safety. Gray as a receiver seems more likely to me as I've never seen the kid hit or close on the ball...well, except to wave his hand in the air.

Samuel to LB seemed like a terrific idea that is now may be in the rear view mirror. Although I realize that the move was never a done deal, I thought it made a lot of sense for a kid with his speed and approves of contact so much. Now Samuel seems content with fighting for carries rather than proving himself worthy of snaps at LB.

Personally, I'm comfortable with whatever decision Gray makes. I'd be surprised if he starts at QB in September either way, but I can understand him wanting to stay wherever he's comfortable. Samuel I feel differently on. Sure he should play where he feels comfortable. But he's had more of an opportunity to prove himself at RB than Gray at QB.

So I hope a coach can get in #22's earhole a little.

Today's Ingredients

• Lady Dawgs...14 games, 14 wins. Perfect start.
• Coach Pearl apologized for signing thugs the arrests that have tarnished the squeaky clean soiled and bedraggled image of HillBilly athletics.
• Before we leave the hardwood, remember that the nerds come to town tomorrow night. Stegeman, 7pm.
• It would appear that the previously reported 80% chance that Coach Brooks would be hanging up the sideline scowl is being re-calculated. UPDATE - he's gone.
• Slurban's decision to resign and then take a leave of absence may not be hurting the reptilian recruiting class much, but assistant coaches are reading the writing on the wall. Days after Strong named FU Gaytuh defensive backs coach Vance Bedford his DC, it is rumored that RB coach Kenny Carter may also head north. 
• And if that happens, the recruitment for Lithonia GA RB Mack Brown would get interesting. Not to mention Corch Meyer would be left with a very lily white staff.
• I'm still digesting all of Chad Simmons' info from this weekend's Under Armour game in Tampa where the nation's most talented teenagers took the gridiron. But I liked the news that Christian Green had narrowed his collegiate choices to two ($$).
• If you take a bite on just one ingredient today, make it this one. Hamp provides the hardest hitting analysis of Lubbock's Leachgate and uses a few good men to discover just who ordered the code red raider.
• EC Dawg evaluates where the DC search stands.
• AwwBarn took a laptop thief as their new QB.
• Hale caught up with Sean Jones...although I hear he used a scooter.
• Jimmy cracked corn...then Exile decided to give the guy a real job.
• Lastly, Streit's kicking my ass in his bowl pool, so it's nice of him to give me something to look forward to in 2010 for Georgia football. But I think he wrote them for all to enjoy. So feel free to click over as well.

Maybe you're like me and occasionally burn a pile of leaves, limbs and brush. I've been engaged in this practice at my current residence for over ten years.

During that time, builders, realtors and neighbors have come and gone. I've replaced countless Georgia house flags. I've mowed the lawn more than anyone on my street except for Allen, but I suspect he uses methamphetamines so there's no keeping up with him. Our HOA survived it's first socialist regime and as a result we kicked out 98.2% of the renters. We may still have to dodge kids driving motorized golf carts who are about 2.3 years away from being able to see over the steering wheel, but it's a little community Mrs. Bernie and I have made home.

So in those ten plus years I've raked a number of leaves, pruned a lot of trees. The collection of such I've always burned off, once...maybe twice a year. I get my grubby clothes on, recite the prayer...Gunter glieben glauchen globen...baptize the collection pile with fuel and strike the match! Ten minutes later the leaves are gone and only a tickle of smoke lingers. No complaints, no worries, and no tree limbs.

Then...she moved in next door. Back in June I wasn't completely sure it was her who called me out, but I just took my warning and circled September 1st on the calendar. You know, to do it legal style. Then it decided to rain about 300 inches since the end of summer and things got busy.

But yesterday was a great day for a bonfire and there was no trouble...until she rolled into her driveway. Five minutes later Joe Fireman was reluctantly talking to me instead of eating his chili and watching the second half of the Falcons game. I thought it was okay after September 1st? I stammered defensively. Yup...but not on Sundays Joe answered.

Damn. So one day this week I'm gonna bundle up again in grubby clothes, recite the prayer...Gunter glieben glauchen globen...baptize the collection pile with fuel and strike the match! FFFFWWWWOOOT!!

Then I'll calmly walk over to her front door and hand her my phone. And smile....big. Until then enjoy the meatloaf Reader. Just don't share any with my neighbor.

Bernie

Coaching Rumor Update, episode VII

By now I'm sure you realize that as soon as I hit the button that says Publish...news will break that will blow this post to bits too. But that's okay. It's still fun to speculate.

Thursday morning it appeared Coach Richt and John Chavis had shared more than a few engaging conversations. By late morning Chavis was no longer taking calls from the 706.

So my guess now is that CMR has gone back to the drawing board to determine what the primary (and secondary) plans are. Luckily, no one knows what those truly are. But again...it's still fun to speculate.

Todd Grantham is a name that keeps getting mentioned. I admit I haven't been much of a Chris Low fan, but the guy has been pretty accurate. At least as of late.

But Grantham seems a reach. I can see where he may have been on radar a couple weeks ago when the world assumed Romo would once again ruin the Cowboys chances at this seasons' playoffs. But as things stand right now, Grantham wouldn't be available to "talk" until January 11th at the earliest. Assuming that talk went well, Grantham would only have a couple days to settle in before he had to hit the road recruiting. The second dead period ends Jan. 15th.

However, it appears CMR is ok with the search taking as long as it needs. I'm just hoping that these young men will continue to be patient and know that my goal is to make a decision that will really affect them throughout their time at Georgia so I want to make sure that we do the very best job in that regard. 

Amen Coach. Amen.

Still, Grantham operates under a 3-4 in Dallas. While we may have the personnel to make that transition, is CMR willing to put his career on the line with that roll of the dice? Grantham's done a great job with the defensive front in big D, but he's not calling the shots. And when he did call the shots in Cleveland, he did pretty well...but was essentially fired because he held a players only meeting when he thought the head coach was getting canned.

Regardless of the Cleveland denouement, Grantham appears to be a hard-nosed coach with mixed results. If CMR likes the guy, I'll be interested to see how the timing works out.

Of course, if Kirby says yes on Friday...who gives a crap right?

Other readings of interest:

- Macondawg feeds the Bumpas hounds

- When Hale's confused, the rest of haven't a chance in hell

- Despite no DC, the life of RC goes on

A Rocky Flop Slam Dunk

Remember this...

It kinda makes a lot more sense now doesn't it? Co Purl jus tryna relate, keep it real. Don't hate!

Four UT ballaz arrested for drugs and guns. You know, because it's mandatory to exceed the speed limit by at least 20 when you have weed and guns with altered serial numbers in the car.

Coach Fox's boys play the HillBillys on Saturday January 23rd in Stegeman. The way I see it...these four will either be wearing orange on the side of the road that weekend...or...will all be reinstated to play for Co Purl.

Sidenote: And keep a close eye on the car, a Dodge Charger. It was a rental...borrowed from a friend.

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Feliz YdosKdiez Muchachos!!

BDB wishes you and yours a very 

Happy New Year!!

Hope you didn't see your life flush before

your eyes this morning...

Enjoy the Bowls!

Coaching Rumor Update, episode VI - UPDATED

All in all, Coach Richt is still playing this DC search very close to the vest. But recently the rumblings are a little louder. And the media leads lately are not the usual tentative high wire above a three ring circus.

In fact, it's pretty clear that LSU DC John Chavis is in Richt's crosshairs. When the Baton Rouge news station story broke earlier this week, it seemed rather ho-hum. But yesterday, former Vol beat writer and current ESPN blogger Chris Low reported that CMR is stuffing the money sacks, tight. Scout's Legge has been working to verify this latest info ($$) and even helps explain the Koenning story from a couple weeks back.

The news close to the LSU program also seems to corroborate the notion that the UGA DC job is in Chavis' lap. Once the Capital One Bowl is over, we likely won't have to wait long to know whether Chavis will roam Sanford's sidelines or if we're still looking, spurned by another potential suitor.

At Georgia Sports Blog, PWD has some great stats up on Chavis. It's hard to argue with the guy's track record for success in the SEC; he's certainly given Coach Richt his share of problems. And word is that Chavis would love to get back to the SEC East where he'd get a crack at Knutsville each year.

This wouldn't be a homerun for me on the surface. But it could easily work itself into a base clearing triple (to continue the baseball analogy) depending on who Chavis brought onboard. Although Chavis and Garner worked together one year in Knoxville, I'm not sure of how close they are. But if Garner were to stay and Chavis brought some energetic experience to the secondary coaching...well, yessir. I think Chavis would be a great hire.

You know, if it happens...

I guess one thing's for certain however: Joe Kines ain't coming back to Athens....or is he?


UPDATE Uno: It appears Chavis would consider bringing a defensive line coach with him, Brick Haley...possibly at Richt's request. Haley is LSUs current d-line coach and here's a link to his LSU bio. If true, Garner's status/role on the Georgia staff would be cloudier.


UPDATE Dos: As you likely know by now, news broke this morning that Chavis will receive a raise to stay in Baton Rouge. Here's a link to the story. Sounds like the former Vol coach had a late night chat. I don't believe we'll try and get back in his ear with another sack of benjamins. So...back to the drawing board.....

Question and Answer Session

There were several questions we had leading up to Monday's Independence Bowl. The biggest of which was how well the defense could handle the Big XIIs best offense without three coaches. 


Well, that was a resounding GATA!!


So now we turn to a barrage of post-season questions. If this were Jeopardy, Alec's big board would be lit up like the Christmas tree I'm preparing to take down. I wonder how Coach Richt is sleeping at all, cuz I know the Dawg Nation is as anxious today as it has been since about nine years ago.


Here's ten I came up with -

1. Who is the next defensive coordinator for the University of Georgia?
2. How well will he be received by a fanbase that is eager hungry desperate for a big splash?
3. Will Garner stay in Athens?
4. What coaches will round out the staff? 4b. Will there be a special teams coach?
5. Will Reshad Jones and Rennie Curran be sitting in classes on January 7th?
6. Will there be any surprise draft departures?
7. Will the '10 class stay in shape?
8. Can our experienced O-line put together a healthy, dominant season?
9. How many touchbacks will Blair Walsh have in '10?
10. Who will be Uga VIII?

So...what did I miss? And more importantly, do you have any answers?

Sunday (Special) Thoughts...on a Tuesday

The Aggies folded like a cheap suit, much like the the Nerds' O-line back at the end of November. The only thing sharper than the TAMU special teams was Ron Franklins' spotter.

• 0-0 with about 5 minutes left in the half...just what we expected right?
• How big was that Brandon Boykin KO return after the first TAMU TD? It looked like a poorly executed pooch. And I'll take it.
• And which frickin unit was playing without their coaches?
• Call me an idiot...but, if Coach Richt named Garner, Hartley or Doolittle the DC tomorrow, I'd stand in line to shake his hand.
• Otto finished his career 3-1 back in '86. Russ finished 2-0.
• There's a lot of chatter about making Russ Uga VIII....I say no.
• As nice as a win over a mediocre nerd team and a lower tier Big XII team was...don't eff with tradition.
• Back to Shreveport, who would've thought that our defense would be the unit carrying us late into the 3rd quarter?
• Yet it was the special teams that tilted the game into our favor.
• A blocked FG attempt, a KO return for a TD, a blocked punt that set up a 1 yd TD...another bad punt snap...no wonder Coach Lilly got the Powerade Shower.
• And major kudos to Bobo at the end there, for giving the FBs some love.
• As @DawgterFeelgood tweeted, I think Chapas just finished this game with more rushing yards than Dwyer did against us.
• I've already got relatives asking for tickets to next season's games. Hellz yeh!
• Lastly, God bless Mike Weaver.

Enjoy the buzz while it lasts Reader. Tomorrow Today the rumor mill cranks back up for who the next DC is.  I just hope Coach Richt gets a deep breath or two in first.

Complete ABH Photo Gallery

Monday's Meatloaf - Resigning Myself to Independence

** BREAKING NEWS **

(tap, tap, tap...) Is this thing on? Is Joe Schad here yet? Darren, please hold all my calls...

After consulting with an empty bottle of bourbon and some fruitcake crumbs...I have decided to resign from blawgging.  When I broke the news to my wife her reply was simple. What?...you have a blog?

Yeh, heartwarming. Pour me another glass of empathy on ice.



I'm looking forward to giving the laptop some time off and hope to be able to spend more time with my mirror. I love this blog and feel like I'm leaving it in better shape than when I got here. When my glass is once again half-full, I hope to return to the staff in some administrative capacity. Whatever I can do to help...and fetch doughnuts.


When I speak with Kirk Herbstreit later, I'll probably laugh at him for having more hair highlights than collegiate ones. But I'll also divulge some more details about how painful this is for me. Please tune in, with Kleenex. 


I love this blog, but there are things that are more important than tags, links and bloggeristic integrity. The stressors and the tiepos have just worn me down. This entire season I have blogged with a sprained pinkie.  In my stead, I leave a very healthy Darren the intern with the keys to the private BDB bathroom...at least on an interim basis. But right now I'm just focused on today's game against the Aggies and going out on a win.


Is my tie straight? Has Lou Holtz saturated his clip on mic yet? Is Rece replacing that sharp grin with a look of befuddlement? Ok, well it's time to heat up the oven...




Today's Ingredients

• Corch is leaving the sideline...Corch is coming back to the sideline...Corch is a clever recruiter....Corch is a sonuvabitch.
• As it turns out, Slurban is just addicted to the stressors that have caused this hooplah. I'll eat a pair of jorts if he's not on the sideline for the season opener against Charleston International School for the Blind. 
• As a result of the prime time FlipFlop, some of today's ingredients may be a little stale. I have tried to keep them as current as possible. But the reality is that by the time I click Publish, Corch Slurban may have decided to start himself at quarterback for the Sugar Bowl.
• I think Kyle put into words best what my feelings were Saturday night on the subject of Meyer stepping down. He came back Sunday to take some more words outta my mouth. 
• Rex looked deep into the heart of the man and found that he is is full of it.
• Back in Shreveport, the Dawgs have put some extra GAs in GATA. 
• Here's the latest from Hale's Practice Notes.
• The Senator provides some great analysis as usual in his Indy Bowl Thoughts.
• After falling to Clempson in last night's NashVegas Bowl, Big Blue's Brooks is 80 percent sure he's done. We'll have to wait until tomorrow to see if he's taking a page from the Meyer Spread.
• Another visit to Roughing the Kicker shows us that even before this afternoon's game in Shreveport, Coach Richt is in elite company.
• I don't think we'll have the offensive fireworks many are expecting. The Ealey/King Connector runs the clock as effortlessly as they run the ball and the Dawgs bring home a 30-20 win.
• Call that a late stocking stuffer or a gift from a wise man. Whatevs...you can bank on it.
• Yes, how sweet it would be to beat Coach Kines this evening. The King of Bend Don't Break gets broke....And speaking of Joe Kines, remember this YouTuber. We just gotta keep playing!!!

I hear Kines has invested in some listening aides since his last trip to Shreveport. Back at the podium, there's been a change in the script.

(TAPTAPTAP!!) Seriously...is this thing on? Have I garnered as large of an audience as possible? Can someone please refill my bloody mary?

Thank you all for tuning in. After a spirited breakfast, I have decided to continue with this blawgging gig. I now realize that there are more important things than taking deep breaths and being a family dude. This internet thing Al Gore invented for us is a pretty good thing. I'd hate for my absence to cause it to shrivel up like the skin of a molting reptile.

I'll still take a leave of absence, but in my gut there is much churning. And I truly feel that I'll be back tomorrow to stare at the soft glow of my laptop's screen. I hope that I didn't lose any recruits readers during what has been a very private, soul-searching time for me. It was never my goal to steal any of the spotlight from this weekend's other tackle football games.

My critics will point out that this certainly could've waited and that my knee has jerked...twice. But I know in my heart that I'm doing what's right for me, myself and I. As a bonus, it also feels right for America!

So here's your napkin Reader. We have our Independence. We have our bowl. And most importantly we have our unsolicited opinions that so easily publish on the internets. 


Bernie

the Bergwood Interview

Things have gotten pretty busy, so posting's been light. I'll serve up some GameDay Meatloaf tomorrow where I'll have some HUGE breaking news from Gainseville. The meatloaf's low on tryptophan and high on Agreecultural byproducts. The perfect complement to your gameday routine.

In the mean time, feel free to enjoy my interview with AllState's TailGater Extraordianaire...Bergwood. Back during the SEC Championship weekend he was nice enough to phone into BDB Headquarters. If you can make it through my lack of interviewing skills, maybe the State U Streaker will give you a laugh.

Many thanks to Nama for actually making this audible. I could never make it as a real journalist. It's one thing to be able to record audio on your laptop...it's quite another to make it sound like the interviewer isn't yelling at the interviewee.

Not to mention the umms and yehs...ugh.

And also some mad props to BDB Reader Pete Stuart for helping to set this up. Bergwood's a lot of fun to watch during those commercial breaks...but he's even more fun to talk to.