Lay your money down.

First betting line I’ve seen for the opening week of the season has Georgia as a two-point underdog at Clemson.

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Tuesday morning buffet

Mercifully, it’s a Tebow-free buffet.

• “The cool thing is I would’ve beat the crap out of my body and now I don’t have to,” Pollack said. “I couldn’t do what (David) Greene has done and be an insurance guy. I have to have football in me and it’s in my blood. If I weren’t doing this I’d be coaching.”
• Here’s a suggestion to let current players serve on the selection committee.  Would they be paid for that?
• David Greene likes what he sees out of Georgia’s offense.
• How bad was Auburn’s offensive line last season?  This bad:  “Ball carriers got back to the line of scrimmage less than 80% of the time…”
• Fighting the NCAA – it’s not just for Jerry Tarkanian anymore.
• Athlon ranks the SEC running backs, and Georgia finds itself with #1 and #4 on the list.
• Before you ask yourself what kids like Bray and Geathers were thinking by leaving school early for the NFL draft, consider that they could have taken steps to keep the option of returning to college after the draft, but chose not to do so.
• Tech fans, the AJ-C has your consolation for the lousy draft right here.
• Mark Schlabach’s preseason top 25 list (I know, I know) is ordered by which teams have the easiest path to an undefeated season, which is how you get Ohio State at number one and Louisville fourth.
• Or if you’d prefer to look at another man’s win projections for next season’s top 25, here you go.

“That was a heiney spanking.”

Good times in Death Valley, as remembered by a key participant.

An 11th-ranked Georgia team coming off its first SEC title in 20 years went on the road and thumped Clemson 30-0 to open the 2003 season in the team’s last meeting before a crowd of 83,000. Those Tigers were coming off a 7-6 season.

“All I remember is it was 900 degrees,” said David Greene, Georgia’s starting quarterback in back-to-back wins against the Tigers in 2002 and 2003. “Other than the score.”

That pretty much sums it up, other than the fact that Georgia, in true Casey Clausen fashion, played the game one-armed.

The visit to the “Death Valley” was a potentially dangerous one for the undermanned Bulldogs, who were without several key defensive starters, including star defensive end Will Thompson, who will miss the season with a knee injury. Coach Mark Richt also suspended eight players.

Enjoy.

So near, and yet so far.

Former Georgia QB David Greene on Aaron Murray breaking his passing records: "I wish we had five more yards on those passing records."—
Seth Emerson (@SethEmerson) April 29, 2013

Me, too.

Dawg porn for the recruiting trail

Jeez, somebody get this guy on tape, fast:

Here’s what Bengals defensive backs coach Mark Carrier told reporters after Cincinnati took Shawn Williams in the third round: “One thing you like about this kid is he played in a NFL-style defense with Todd Grantham, the defensive coordinator down there at Georgia and he barked out a lot of signals, they give you a lot of different looks and obviously had a lot of guys in this draft and one I think I like and fits right in with our room is that he’s not afraid to stick his face in the fire. That’s a big deal for me and a big deal for our room. You come play for us, you better be ready to go hit somebody.”

They ought to hand that out to every defensive recruit they’re chasing.

The talent gap in Georgia closes.

Really, isn’t that the best way to make lemonade out of the lemons otherwise known as Georgia Tech’s NFL draftee numbers… er, number?  I mean, the Dawgs have eight kids selected, the Jackets have no picks, so wouldn’t that mean the 2013 rosters are more balanced?  Amirite?

Heck, even Mark Bradley won’t swallow that one.  Tech is getting killed in recruiting and there’s not enough genius in the Genius to make up for that.  Attitude in a head coach will only take you so far – shoot, James Franklin’s got that, but the reason there isn’t an AD who wouldn’t take Franklin over Johnson at this point is because Franklin can recruit kids and hire competent defensive coaches.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for that certain combination of schadenfreude and sour grapes that marks the Tech fan, StingTalk, as always, is your go-to destination.

Georgia, steady flowing pipeline to the pros

John Pennington takes a look at which current SEC schools have produced the most pro talent and compiles this chart:

SEC Rank	Picks ’93-’12	Picks ’03-’12	Picks ’08-’12	Picks ’12	1st Rd Picks ’03-’12
1	Georgia 101	Georgia 56	LSU 30	Alabama 8	LSU 12
2	Tennessee 101	LSU 56	Georgia 28	Georgia 7	Alabama 11
3	Florida 98	Florida 48	Alabama 24	S. Carolina 6	Florida 9
4	Alabama 85	Alabama 45	Florida 20	LSU 5	Georgia 8
5	LSU 82	Tennessee 39	S. Carolina 18	Arkansas 4	Auburn 7
6	Texas A&M 66	Auburn 33	Arkansas 15	Texas A&M 4	Tennessee 7
7	Auburn 62	S. Carolina 31	Auburn 15	Miss. State 3	Arkansas 6
8	Arkansas 48	Arkansas 29	Missouri 13	Florida 2	Missouri 5
9	Miss. State 47	Texas A&M 25	Tennessee 13	Kentucky 2	Ole Miss 5
10	S. Carolina 46	Missouri 21	Texas A&M 13	Vanderbilt 2	S. Carolina 5
11	Ole Miss 40	Ole Miss 21	Kentucky 11	Auburn 1	Texas A&M 4
12	Kentucky 35	Miss. State 16	Ole Miss 10	Missouri 1	Miss. State 2
13	Missouri 29	Kentucky 15	Miss. State 9	Ole Miss 1	Vanderbilt 2
14	Vanderbilt 21	Vanderbilt 12	Vanderbilt 8	Tennessee 1	Kentucky 1

That is some remarkable consistency – through three head coaches – for Georgia.  And some of you might try reading between the lines to see what that chart says about one Rodney Garner.

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UPDATE:  It’s not just about recruiting.  Check out what Mike Tomlin had to say about Jarvis Jones.

“When you look at the outside linebackers in 3-4 defenses, generally there is some projection and so forth involved in the evaluation,” said Coach Mike Tomlin. “This was an easy evaluation from that standpoint. He plays in a very similar scheme, he’s asked to do things in a manner in which he’ll be asked to do it here in Pittsburgh. Very little guesswork in that regard made it a fun evaluation and made it a comfortable evaluation. He excelled in what they asked him to do, and he’ll be asked to do similar things here.”

Guilty until proven innocent.

Gee, maybe now we know why Isaiah Crowell was nervous during that arrest.

The charges that were leveled against former Georgia tailback Isaiah Crowell last summer and ultimately led to his dismissal by the Bulldogs were dismissed by the State of Georgia this week.

According to court documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday, the felony charge of possessing a weapon with an altered ID mark and misdemeanor charges of possession and carrying a concealed weapon without a license and carrying a weapon within in a school zone, were dropped by Athens-Clarke County District Attorney Kenneth Mauldin.

In the dismissal document filed by assistant D.A. James Chafin, it was explained to the court while the gun was found under the driver’s seat of Crowell’s car, which belonged to his mother, “the state would be unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this defendant actually possessed the weapon or even knew it was there.”

I’m sure the mea culpas will be flowing shortly – I’m looking at you, Coach Dooley and Mark Bradley.

Some random thoughts:

• This is what sucks about living in a 24-hour news cycle/Internet reaction world, that rush to judgment that feels so good, yet ultimately holds no accountability.  There’s no place for nuance, or for letting little things like the judicial system run their course.
• Which is why I can’t blame Mark Richt for the decision to let Crowell go.  Standing by the kid would have been an enormous distraction.  But I bet Richt gets plenty of mileage out of this going forward dealing with the media and its next rush to judgment.
• Does Georgia get a Fulmer Cup mulligan?
• I figure Jimmy Williamson still counts this as a notch on his gun.
• Remember where this all started:  “an officer smelled an odor of marijuana”, although none was found in the car at the time of the arrest.

Bottom line is that there’s a pretty high asshole quotient with this story.

Thursday morning buffet

Simple.  Nourishing.

• Finally, a media headline about college footballers not making money that points the finger in the NFL’s direction.
• Over the past five years, Georgia has been one of the slower offenses in the game.  But things have been speeding up recently.
• More Willie Martinez love:  “No Georgia defensive player has gone before the third round since the Indianapolis selected cornerback Tim Jennings in 2006 in round two with the 62nd overall pick.”
• It’s nice that the Peach Bowl name will be making a reappearance, but the BCS commissioners’ fixation with naming is getting a little weird.
• Richt says J.J. Green will stay on offense.  One thing about Green that impressed me at G-Day was that he showed good hands snagging a high, hard pass.  If he can offer some blitz protection, he definitely looks like a contributor on passing downs.
• You know this is shit Nick Saban doesn’t have time for.
• Sounds like Bill Hancock’s gotten a little sensitive about the old order he’s been defending:  “There are two letters that are not associated with this name,” Hancock said.  Hey, nobody ever said being a flack was easy.
• NCAA ponders waiving the waiver process for 6-7 teams that want to go bowling.

Wednesday morning buffet

It’s a buffet.  Just a buffet.

• “I don’t think you can ever go too wrong calling something what it is,” Scott said. “Things that make sense tend to stand the test of time.”  So how long should we give a four-team playoff?
• Alabama and Georgia are poised to dominate this year’s NFL draft.
• Preseason homerism, Gator style.
• The AJ-C breaks down Georgia’s 2013 schedule.
• SEC! SEC! SEC!:  “The ACC, the Pac 12, the Big Ten and the Big 12 all now have a “grant of rights” agreement. The SEC doesn’t have one, but it doesn’t really need one.”
• The new playoff, and a cry in the wilderness for economic fairness.  I was wondering if somebody would step up.
• Todd Gurley:  Georgia warhorse.
• They’re excited about football at Kentucky.