Here’s what Ivan Maisel had to say yesterday about the SEC East:
… From four months out, the SEC East race may be the most interesting in the nation. Florida has a lot of talent and little experience. Georgia, trying to bounce back from an 8-5 season, just discovered it wasted a lot of spring snaps on a quarterback who’s no longer on the team. Tennessee is starting over. Who’s to say the Gamecocks can’t make a run?
Meanwhile, over at College Football News, Barrett Sallee yawns.
Florida is down by Florida standards. What team wouldn’t be after losing the population of a small country to graduation and the NFL Draft? But that doesn’t mean that the division is ripe for the picking. In reality, it’s the contrary. While Florida may be down a bit, the gap between the Gators and the rest of the pack is as wide as ever…
Barring an unforeseen disaster, Florida is going to win the SEC East. They have loads of talent in Gainesville. Granted, a lot of it is raw talent, but guys like Andre Debose and John Brantley are more than capable of stepping up. Is it enough talent to get the Gators in National Championship contention? Maybe. But the talent level in Gainesville, coupled with the uncertainly in the rest of the division, should give the Gators their third straight trip to Atlanta.
Obviously, I prefer Maisel’s vision. It’s the romantic homer in me.
But it’s not just that. I don’t want to accuse Sallee of having an agenda, but it’s hard for me to understand how Georgia takes a hit for its “questionable defense” while schools like Arkansas (of which he says, “It’s true, the Razorback defense would have trouble stopping a Pop Warner team, but sometimes you can win games by simply outscoring your opponent.”) and Auburn (even Sallee acknowledges “depth issues” there, which is a diplomatic way of putting it) not only get a pass, but are described as being in the mix to chase down Alabama. A little intellectual consistency wouldn’t hurt.
Get The Picture 
Sallee, obviously, is a graduate of the Stewart Mandell School of Philosophical Consistency; and you gave us a sterling example of the latter’s work within the past ten days or so. Heck, maybe he’s even a resident of Montana!
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I traded emails with this clown one time. He hates UGA with a passion. Dude has no objectivity in his “journalism”…
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Barrett went to Auburn because he wasn’t accepted at UGA – a very common theme following the inception of the HOPE scholarship fund. As a result, his inferiority complex induced hatred of all things UGA is strong and has lead to some of the most irrational football conversations I’ve ever heard.
The fact that he’s somehow considered a journalist or even a pundit is a shame.
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That was happening long before the lottery.
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Auburn: Backup school since 1865
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“Barring an unforeseen disaster, Florida is going to win the SEC East… and give the Gators their third straight trip to Atlanta.”
I believe that the gators will dominate in the south.. division of the lingerie football league
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I heard that they are going to hang a bronzed pair of Tebow’s game day pink VS panties from the plaque of his famous “speech.”
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Hopefully that “unforeseen disaster” comes in the form of a 3-4 dismantling of Meyer’s ingenious offense down by the St. John’s River.
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The hottest and must have spa accessory in Gainesville area boutiques: bottled Tebow tears.
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Though they are less potent than Gypsy Tears.
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not if you listen to the wise elders wearing jean-shorts.
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A loss “unlike any other”… the 2009 SEC Championship game.
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Fl players get a pass just because. Our five star recruit is a question mark. Theirs will not miss a beat. Just lazy journalism. Just like Mallet had all the hype…but he was just better than average. Don’t let work get in the way of hype journalism.
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Arguably, they’ve earned a pass from the media and that won’t change until the begin to lose.
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Any article you read our young guys are “inexperienced,” their young guys are “raw talent”.
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It’s as much about schedule as talent. I think the teams we play out of the West (as compared to UF and UT) might give us a mulligan on a heads up loss.
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It only counts on the field. Start beating Florida and right the ship in that series and we’ll start getting some love. Can’t say that I blame the writers for taking the safe bet.
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The point isn’t that they’re taking the safe bet – I read Maisel to be saying that the SEC East is not a lock for any particular team right now – it’s that if you’re going to knock Georgia down because of its defense, you should be looking at Arky and Auburn with the same jaundiced eye.
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Senator, lets put that Sallee character in a diaper and under a phototherapy lamp until the mighty Dawgs take home the SEC championship! That will cure his jaundiced eye… plus, he can yawn all he wants and no one will care.
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Florida is closer to the pack in the East than Alabama is in the West. That’s not to say that Alabama will go undefeated, but as far as where each of the programs are and where they are headed, Alabama is head of the class in the West. The rest are all bunched up. Mississippi State is better. Ole Miss is slightly better than average. LSU is coached down from its talent. Auburn is going to be flashy on offense and not be able to stop anybody on defense, which bodes really well for their chances in the SEC. Same for Arky.
Florida, for all of their talent, just lost a once-in-a-generation-type impact player… their heart and soul. That, plus losing a ton of experienced talent on both sides of the ball is a lot to overcome. They are still the best team in the East, but Georgia and Tennessee are “talented” too, and could knock them off their perch.
Let’s put it this way: Would it be more shocking for Tennessee to beat Florida or Auburn to beat Alabama?
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Honestly, right now, I’d pick the former.
I don’t think people realize how bare the talent cupboard in K-ville is. No offensive line, no experienced quarterbacks and two departed top 10 NFL draft picks on defense doesn’t bode well. Plus, UT is the school breaking in a new coaching staff – again.
There’s a good chance Tennessee doesn’t go to a bowl game this year, IMHO. I don’t think you can say the same for Auburn.
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I must agree with SB – the situation in K-ville is dire. 2010 will be unkind to the Vols.
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+2
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I remember similar statements being made last year. Let’s beat UT first, then talk about how shitty they are.
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Thank you. I’m tired of Dawg fans dogging on UT. We’ve been their whipping boys recently (2007, anyone?), so until that’s rectified, UGA fans need to settle down.
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After reading your comment, I tried and failed to find an article I read a few days back in which Coach Dooley announced he would have guest, amateur coaches for the Spring game. Unless this was an April fools joke, it looks very bad for the Vols when the NEW coach is declining the opportunity to lead his first Spring game.
Beyond that perception, the very real departure of players and coaches cannot be a good thing. I won’t be surprised if UT loses to UK and Vandy this fall. UGA has nothing to worry about in K-ville.
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Found it:
http://www.thestate.com/2010/04/16/1247467/dooley-adds-twists-to-vols-spring.html
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How quickly they forget that Florida was obscenely talented in 2007 and finished 3rd in the division.
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Florida’s offense will probably look a lot like the 2006 Gators – maybe even a little better. The defense will probably look more like 2007.
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These are some of the more knowledgeable and finest posts (sans the personal comments about Tebow) that I’ve seen from UGA fans and writers. The “heart and soul” comment from The Realist and Blutarsky’s comments qualify them to be writing in the place of both Maisel and Sallee who were both gutted by their own crude and prejudiced analyses.
Good Dawgs!
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I’m actually a fan of Tebow: great player and good guy. But there comes a point where he is over-exposed in the media/gator fan adornment department and there is push-back. I was hoping the furor around him in the national media and among the college football blogs etc would die down once he graduated, but unfortunately, it has only heightened with the draft approaching. Seriously, I have heard equal screentime given to Tebow as they have directed toward Bradford / Suh. Did I mention that a projected 2nd -4th round pick has gotten as much press as the number 1 & 2 picks? Maybe some Tebow tears in my bubble bath tonight will cleanse my weary soul.
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Look out for the “Cocks” & the Dawgs have the talent to be competitive all season long.
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For once I want to see us do the 1980 thing again. Just win and not have to worry about some other team having to win for us to get in the SECCC.
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The writers pick last years leader until somebody knocks them off. It’s the safest pick and these guys are thinned skinned to begin with (corch wouldn’t be yelling at them if they had any guts).
Dawgs have 90 wins in 9 years, and have recruited ‘top 10’ talent for many years. It seems 10 wins a year is no longer good enough or CMR wouldn’t have made such big changes. The question is – how many more wins do the changes get us?
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Hopefully 4 more in a single season. If that happens UGA will be SEC East Champion, SEC Champion and BCS National champion.
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Mallett has the hype? Yeah, this year. Last year he was the big guy with the big arm but it remained to be seen what he could in the offense. And what he did was way better than ‘average’. That’s why he’s got the hype this year.
Arky will basically have the same setup as last year, eh (ie big offense and sieve defense)? Perhaps, but I don’t think so. The D will be better than most expect, maybe much better. If that’s the case, watch out. I’ll go out on a limb here and say Georgia and Arkansas could switch spots on defense. The Hogs have more experience; they lost fewer talented players; plus we’re not breaking in a new defense with a new coordinator.
Who’s going to be UGA’s QB on Sept 18th? Mallett and Co. will get their points (especially against a defense which will have issues early in the season); the only thing that remains to be seen is if your O can score on our D like you did last year. If they can’t, it will be a long day in Athens.
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“That’s awful big talk from a one-eyed fat man.” Do you go to each competitor’s blogs and give the same spiel, or are the Dawgs being singled out?
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Oh no, ya’ll are special. ;^) Seriously, I rarely respond to postings on any blogs, even those for the Hogs, but this one seemed to be different…
What’s the ‘big talk’? Mallett has some richly deserved hype coming his way this year. What he has to do is come through in big games, especially on the road. Fortunately we won’t have to wait long for either of these: in our third game, we play Georgia in Athens and, right after that, we play Bama in Fayetteville.
Why be surprised that our defense will be better? Couldn’t hardly be any worse and we still won eight games. I follow the progress of our team, as I imagine many of you here do for Georgia, and I’m increasingly impressed with the news coming out about the defense. New hire Steve Caldwell (DE Coach) is doing well with his charges and the secondary, with the return of Isaac Madison (our best cover corner) from injury which held him out all last year, is looking very salty and deep. Our major liability will be the ‘backers but even there we have had some great news during spring.
Georgia’s defense has big holes to fill with relatively unproven players, yes? A new defense, the 3-4, which can be difficult for college players to run effectively. You need a good strong NT up front and they’re hard to come by. So hard, in fact, that Georgia moved an offensive player to defense in search of a good fit. Not a good sign. I like your new DC (he was a coach for my favorite pro team before he came to Athens) and he could be a good one down the road. However, he is brand new to the team, so I wouldn’t expect any major good surprises especially in the SEC. I do hope y;all whip those gaters but good this year.
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Can you say East Carolina?
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Sure. I can also say: “won in overtime.”
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Can someone tell me the last year that wasn’t “South Carolina’s year…finally”?
Every single season we hear that…literally, EVERY ONE.
It’s a joke
Can we just make them win it a single time before we make them the super-shocker team?
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Neither Maisel nor Sallee would rate as average football minds on this blog so their opinions don’t get much argument from me. Those thoughts fall into the “who cares” basket, and it has no effect on what we have to do to earn respect. We just need to perform and the respect will be there while these two “over-their-heads” columnists slink back into the caves they must view CFB from.
The East is a virtual toss-up so I have no problem with anyone picking anyone of three teams: UGA, SC, or uf. You can make a case for any of them, but to say there is no one close causes that analysis to lose all credibility. Bama is a much bigger favorite in the West than anyone could be in the East, and it isn’t close.
I agree with Hawgfan, Mallet is a very talented QB who deserves our respect. The only issue he seemed to have last year is performing under pressure from a strong rush. If we don’t find a way to bring serious heat when they come to visit, we will need 35+ again this year to earn a W. Fortunately their defense seems to have the same questions that cost them last year. Could be a great Big 12 style shootout again this year if our defense doesn’t jell quickly. The Arky worries me more than the early trip to Columbia, and I am plenty worried about that one.
Tough September for us, we have to grow up fast on defense. I think our offense is solid enough to hold serve until the defense gets it together.
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Even with a RSF QB? And didn’t I read that Georgia is replacing a part of the OL as well (could be mistaken on that last…)?
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Georgia returns starters at every position on offense except for QB.
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Not to mention every back up except 1 WR and 1 OL, if they stay healthy we will get a 4th year OL that was a starter his freshman year back from injury and a 5th year sr WR to replace the two backups with more talented guys. So the only question on offense this year will be can Murray do a better job of not turning the ball over than Cox. If he manages to cut down on the turnovers the offense could be the best UGA has seen under Richt and possibly the best best since #34 was running past, over and through people in the 80’s. I know that is a bold statement but IF Murray can get it done the talent around him is tremendous.
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