By the way, Matt Hayes is a complete douchebag for writing this. And that last line – Now we’re left with student union leftovers – ought to be next season’s rallying cry.
- Bloviation for the Dawgnation
-
Quote Of The Day
-
“We remember the Sugar Bowl, I think it my junior year of high school, we let Alabama beat us twice,” Brinson said of a team that also lost to the Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship game. “We’re not letting Alabama beat us twice. In the Sugar Bowl in 2018, they… thought they should have been in the playoffs and lost to Texas.” -- AB-H, 12/27/23
Search
Categories
Archives
Blogroll (ND)
- 82 Sluggo Win
- And The Valley Shook
- Banner Society
- Black Heart Gold Pants
- Black Shoe Diaries
- Blatant Homerism
- Braves & Birds
- Brophy Football
- College Football Talk
- EDSBS
- Eleven Warriors
- Lost Angeles
- MGoBlog
- RazorBloggers Network
- Rock M Nation
- Rocky Top Talk
- Saturday Down South
- Saturday Tradition
- Shakin The Southland
- Smart Football
- Team Speed Kills
- The National Championship Issue
- The Wizard of Odds
- Tide Bits
Dawg Blogs
Dawg Links
Media Links
Stats/Info Links
- All-Time Division 1-A CFB Standings
- American College Football
- American College Football – Rankings
- cfbstats.com
- College Football at Sports-Reference.com
- College Football by the Numbers
- College Football Data Warehouse
- College Football Recruiting Map
- College Nicknames
- Football Outsiders – College
- Football Study Hall
- GBE College Football Ratings
- MapGameDay.com
- NCAA Division I Football Statistics
- SEC Statistics
- Statistically Speaking
- Strangestbrew's College Football Schedulizer
- The Helmet Project
- Varsity Numbers
Useful Links
Time, time…
GATA
Blog Stats
- 73,808,531 hits
Get The Picture · Bloviation for the Dawgnation
Get The Picture 
Yea, you’re right. That last line is a back-handed slap to face and so is the “without the two first-round picks, this team doesn’t have a chance against defending national champion Florida” comment.
First he needs to see UGA’s record against defending national champs. Second as long as CMR is on our sideline I believe we have a chance to beat any team in the country. Lastly if I remember correctly the majority of these student union leftovers were recruited by Florida as well as other top programs.
LikeLike
With Stafford and Moreno, Georgia has critical leadership — and two huge stars — at important positions pushing the Bulldogs throughout the offseason and into next fall. Without the two first-round picks, this team doesn’t have a chance against defending national champion Florida — or a couple of others in the nation’s best conference
I think this is where he missed the boat. Those guys WERE NOT LEADERS. If they were the leaders of a team that played like UGA did last year, then good riddance.
With the defections of Allen and Jones, perhaps we have taken out all the trash in the program, guys who simply did not buy into the system and treated UGA merely as a AAA program, rather than a place to grow as a man and win championships.
I am very excited for 2009 and the idea that we will have a team that we can root for again.
LikeLike
With the defections of Allen and Jones, perhaps we have taken out all the trash in the program, guys who simply did not buy into the system and treated UGA merely as a AAA program, rather than a place to grow as a man and win championships.
So, leaving early for the pros is a character defect in your mind? Is that how you feel about Herschel Walker?
LikeLike
We are going to miss the early departures’ talent, no doubt. I don’t blame any of them one bit. They’ve done more for the program in three years than most complaining fans have done in their entire lifetimes. I do think there’s an element of truth in the “leadership” observation made by Joe (but that’s about as far as I can go).
I am not one to make predictions, typically, but I get a very strong feeling that we are going to be very pleased with Cox.
LikeLike
I graduated from Grady in three years. Only stuck around Athens because of a girl (now my wife). I guess I treated UGA like an AAA program, too.
LikeLike
With all due respect, D.N. Nation, your situation isn’t comparable at all.
LikeLike
I’m so glad the dark side of the UGA fan base is out in full force to denigrate every player that does not conform to their exact wishes for their lives. It’s like being a fan of a team gives you the right to dictate what makes players happy and how they should make life-altering decisions.
They were only required to stay and play for three years. And, that’s an NFL rule, not a college rule. If college is about preparing young adults for a career and a better, more educated life, then how can you possibly think these players have done anything wrong? They are seeking their career after three years at a university where they had the opportunity to receive a world class education. If they go to the NFL and succeed, it will only look good on the program and the university you root for, much like alumni who become CEO’s or scientists or whatever.
And, what good could possibly come from stupid ass comments throwing players under the bus? Will that attract a more “committed” athlete to your program? If you think so, then turn in your extra chromosome at the door on the way out.
LikeLike
The most amusing thing about this is that, at the moment I type this, Jones hasn’t made a final decision about his career. He’s still weighing his options. No doubt he’s feeling all the warmth from his well wishers this morning.
LikeLike
The Dark Side of the fan base was already on display before people started announcing their intents (whether to stay, to go pro, or to maybe go pro).
LikeLike
I lived through Herschel Walker leaving and since that time I have not really cared who left early. The players who chose to stay at their schools are doing so for their own reasons some which make sense and some that don’t, but it is their life and not any fan’s or alumnus.
Players from upper middle class families that can afford to be insured heavily and enjoy the college game/worship will stay for the most part (MS not withstanding). Players who can only dream of the money they can make from pro sports and that is why they have worked so hard for so long, will go pro. Not too many kids these days grow up dreaming of play for a college team, most of these are called walk-ons and will end their careers in college. The really great players dream of a pro career and the college game is just a step toward their ultimate goal. Accept it, embrace it and stop redshirting the stars. You only have them for 3 years so use them somewhere.
I am reminded of Robert Geathers, when he left early, all we could do was scratch our heads. He was never even a blimp on the radar at UGA but it has worked out well for him in the pros.
You can get a PHD from good ole UGA and not make in a life time what KM or MS are going to make by signing their names. If they are actually any good at the pro level then we need to hope they will feel good toward UGA and help recruit in the future.
We’ve lost 95% of our offense before (see HW), life goes on.
LikeLike
I hope to see many more articles like the one from Hayes. We need all the motivation we can get.
I’ve been very disappointed in Reshad Jones but I would like to see him stick around for another year and develop his talent. But, alas, the harsh internet coaching staff seem to want him gone.
LikeLike
Re: “harsh internet staff” and to the comments about Reshad
I think a lot of the vitriol comes from people who have seen the blogs like this and Georgia Sports are now linked by Chip Towers and have trolled on over here. I’ve been on the blogs for about 2 years now and I can see a distinct difference in the types of comments left this past season compared to the season before. I’m not talking about the disappointment in the 08 season, I’m talking about the way the team is criticized. I started on the AJC to get my information but I don’t think I’ve read a Chip Towers blog all season. Not that he doesn’t report well, but the dialogue that starts in those comment sections eventually boils down to this:
Commenter A: You suck.
Commenter B: No, you suck.
Are all commenters on the blogs terribly informed? Of course not. But I think you can see a difference in the level of “intelligence” of the posters between the AJC, what was on here a year ago and what you are getting lately. The intelligent debate comments on Get the Picture and Georgia Sports used to be about 9 out of every ten comments. But you are seeing a lot more of the “our team just sucks” type of comments these days.
LikeLike
I agree with you 69Dawg regarding redshirts. Richt should seriously reconsider his redshirting policy when it comes to high-caliber incoming freshmen. You can’t expect to keep guys around for five years anymore. If they can contribute at all, they should be allowed to do so. Considering how the special teams looked overmatched at times, I wonder if getting more athleticism on the field would not provide at least moderate improvement in performance.
Also, Reshad thinking about going pro reminds me of Chris Clemons. At the time, the decision baffles you, but it has worked out for him. Hopefully, the same can be true for Reshad.
LikeLike
The point I was making about the AAA program is that following Herschel’s leaving, UGA became an also-ran program for the better part of two decades.
As Steve Spurrier famously said (paraphrased), “UGA keeps winning recruiting titles and we keep winning the games.” Part of that truth obviously lied in the fact that we had bad coaches.
But another part of that is that after the precedent was set, UGA became a school where players came to “get theirs.” The greatest example of this philosophy is Charles Grant’s junior year. He literally did not show up for a game until Auburn, when he had 5 sacks. It was an ESPN game and a showcase for the kid to go pro. There was no way to couch his Jr. year. He was playing for a contract. His play that season typified UGA from 1983 to 2001.
What great player did we have that played 4 seasons? Hines and Zeier?
That was CMR’s first year and it concluded with Grant and Quincy Carter leaving. Since that time, CMR had managed to bring players in who were willing to give their all for UGA and to win championships. Whatever NFL plans they had were secondary to winning in college. David Pollack and DJ Shockley were incredible examples of this selflessness.
Shockley graduated in 2005 and the recruiting class that followed him that spring does not seem to have had the same traits that made him such a great man and player.
I apologize for the vitriol. No doubt, it was in poor taste. I hope that the kids’ decisions work out for them.
LikeLike
I think losing Erk hurt the program far more than losing Herschel.
LikeLike
Yeah, I ragged on RJones like a lot of others during the season. But in hindsight(always good for the non-player) I tend to give him the benefit of the doubt. He was probably a victim of injury as much as those injured, ie, not getting enough “real” practice time, having that fear of season ending injury, etc. You’ve all heard the reasons. I also am hearing how now we are downing our guys for leaving for the NFL. It wasn’t that long ago we were all quite happy with CMR and coaches with how they prepared these kids for life and for taking that next step. Cake and eat it too, please. I’m as guilty as anyone. What I’ve finally decided to calm myself is that we should be, and we have vocally prided ourselves on, being in a mode now where we can just reload from year to year. Oh how we praised CMR for doing this for our beloved UGA. Now its time to trust him with it. I can do this, kinda hard, but there it is.
LikeLike
I am repeatedly disgusted by the “fans” who slag players for leaving early. If their goal is to play professional football as their job, an opportunity to do that a year early would be foolish to pass up. A college degree is not required for employment in the NFL, so staying to get one often entails a lot of risk for no financial upside.
The expectations of “loyalty” are absurd. Where is the loyalty to the players? The SEC and its member schools make hundreds of millions of dollars off the blood, sweat, tears, and injuries of these kids, and the kids get scraps. The whole “they get an education” thing is almost irrelevant now that student loan, scholarship, and grant programs are so good nation wide that pretty much anyone can get a college education that wants one. Yes, they get it free, and that’s nice and all, but that’s a pittance compared to the freakish profits they earn for their school. So the loyalty is not two-ways.
Having kids go pro means we are getting good players. Losing kids every year is part of college sports. That is what keeps things interesting. It is a major reason college football is more exciting (imho) than pro football. A team can’t get Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott on their team, and be a top contender automatically for the next 10-15 years.
I agree that something has been “off” with the UGA teams of the last 3 years. There has been a problem with chemistry that has never been diagnosed or solved. I am looking forward to a new era mainly in hopes our team will be more like the 2002-2005 teams. But I do not blame these kids going pro. They have every right to do what is best for their life.
-Michael
Muckbeast – Game Design and Online Worlds
http://www.muckbeast.com
LikeLike
He probably didn’t notoice that we won the conference last the year before they came, or that Stafford was the third best of our last three quarterbacks.
LikeLike
douchebagery ….
LikeLike