Do they not have the Internet in Montana? Because otherwise, I’m at a loss to understand this Stewart Mandel status report:
… What began as a quarterback derby in Athens has devolved into a quarterback panic. Redshirt freshman Murray, ranked only behind USC’s Barkley and Texas’ Garrett Gilbert in Rivals.com’s 2009 quarterback rankings, will take over the reins this fall just as Georgia fans always imagined. But the Tampa native didn’t exactly wow observers this spring. In fact, classmate Zach Mettenberger finished spring on even footing, if not slightly ahead of Murray.
Contrast Mandel’s “even footing, if not slightly ahead” with Mark Richt’s recent announcement of the post-spring depth chart.
“We see Murray ahead of Logan right now,” Richt said. “It’s just a matter of, on a consistent basis, [Murray] performed better than Logan at this point. That’s really all there is to it. It’s the usual things -– accuracy, decision-making, those types of things.”
After briefly hesitating, Richt answered the inevitable question of whether Murray would have been No. 1 even if a third quarterback, Zach Mettenberger, had not been kicked off the team on Sunday. The answer, Richt said, is yes.
“I’m not out to hurt anybody worse than they may have been hurt to this point,” Richt said, “but Aaron would have been the No. 1 quarterback.”
Those aren’t even close.
But what does Richt know? He’s only a coach, not an observer.
Between this post and T. Kyle’s casual mention of it earlier today, I have to say I really enjoy the tenacity with which Georgia fans have clung to that “Montana” slight. Mandel was, is, and forever shall be an idiot of the first order, but keeping a three-year column alive as a quick-and-easy byword for stupidity takes some real dedication, and you guys have shown it. Bulldogs, indeed.
A sincere Well done, sirs.
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May 4, 2010 was three years ago? Jeez, time flies.
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Jerry is referring to Mandel’s signature Mail Bag piece about why he doesn’t consider Georgia to be a national power.
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what’s wrong with using Mandel’s signature abbreviation for “I basically pulled it out of my colon”? Personally, I think you could use it more often as a synonym for an attempt to cloak baloney in a shroud of reasoning.
If people don’t appreciate the clever way UGA fans in general and you in particular have kept this bit of sparkling genius alive, maybe they should encourage Mandel to quit writing stupid things.
Sincerely,
81GraduateOfARegionalPower.
ps: it’s just a shame Mandel chose Montana instead of Idaho. I guarantee you they know what our helmets look like up there. If you hold one up in front of 100 relatives of Jared Zabransky, they all go into the fetal position.
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81Dog, I know sincerity is as hard to get across on the Interwebs sometimes as sarcasm, but I really do get a kick out of Mandel’s “Montana” meme getting dragged out for another beating once a month, like clockwork. I meant what I wrote.
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Well, there is one other reason we raise it up and wax it down like clockwork orange…
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Jerry, I assumed you meant what you said. Whatever your allegiance might be, I can understand your point. I just don’t happen to agree. When life hands you shorthand references for stupidity by a particular columnist, make lemonade. And then, find someone with vodka.
Personally, I find Stewart Mandel tiresome, and his original point about “100 people in Montana” was really kind of lame. Others may think he was spot on, but that’s the beauty of America.
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Thank you for the link to the origin of the Montana thing. I wasn’t creeping around here three years ago. Now I understand.
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Good post Senator. That’s why we all have to heavily discount the writings of guys like Mandel, at least until the season actually begins.
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It seems to me that more and more these days, sports writers are completely willing to blatantly fabricate information to support their stories, even if the facts are completely different.
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That isn’t an original concept to sports writers. It just filtered into sports from the “news” departments…
Jim
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Mandel forgets that Richt may know something about coaching a QB.
But Mandel’s topic heading, “RichRod seems ready to untie Shoelace,” was useful because it gave us the back-story on what will probably be this season’s leading candidate for best nickname…
http://www.annarbor.com/sports/how-shoelace-robinson-came-to-be/
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Technically, he’s citing “observers” and I think we all read enough comments to know that plenty of people who “observed” the G-Day came out with a better impression of Mett than Murray. So he’s not completely off base. The problem is how he insinuates that these unnamed (hypothetical?) observers have an accurate grasp of the situation, which they don’t.
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You’d have a valid point if Mandel had posted that before the depth chart went public.
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Hutson Mason will start. My Girlfriend’s son knows a guy that has a cousin that is dating a guy that knows a trainer on the football team. The depth chart is just a ruse because Richt’s problem is loyalty so he will start program guys except when he can start a true freshman at QB. You heard it from me first!
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+100
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Not THAT is some OBSERVATION!
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You can learn a lot on the blogs. Like that Richt doesn’t start the better younger players so that he can start the guys that kiss his butt. Thomas Brown, Mo-Mass, Trinton Sturdivant, Clint Boling, Ben Jones, Cordy Glenn, Matt Stafford and A J Green all started as true freshmen but that was another clever ruse by Richt.
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As we know from reading the AJC blogs Richt will start the lesser quarterback every time. That’s the only reason Stafford, Greene and Shockley saw playing time.
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Thewhiteshark bites again. Right on.
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Where (specifically) is the panic?
My general belief is that folks here, Dawgsports, and the other Georgia-centric blogs are the ones who obsess most over Georgia football….no?
I wouldn’t categorize any comments I’ve seen as panicked. Do we wish Mett was still available? Yes. Do we wish Logan had made better progress? Sure. Are we up shit creek if Murray gets hurt? Absolutely. But then, very few teams will be in good shape if their starter goes down.
Never underestimate Mandel’s propensity towards inaccuracy and needless hyperbole.
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