Here’s a sea change in approach:
“We’re certainly going to give everyone of them a chance,” Grantham said. “I don’t mind playing young players. My philosophy is you play the best players. It’s a production business meaning that defense is about making plays so we’re going to evaluate the guys. The big thing with me is we’re going to evaluate productions and also loafs, making sure they’re running to the ball.
“If we’re evaluating guys on that, and a freshman is coming on and doing the kinds of things we’re asking I think it enhances your team because they see, ‘Hey I really can see the field. I don’t have to wait until I’m a sophomore or a junior. I can do it now.’ I think that’s the fairest way — to let the players that have earned the right to play, let them play.”
And before somebody says it, just because this is the way things should be, doesn’t mean I can’t get excited about Grantham’s philosophy. It was missing the past few seasons.
Get The Picture 
I’m definitely excited.
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Sure hope the O coaches are listening to CTG. Redshirting Knowshon may have been the dumbest thing the Dawgs have done in a long, long time.
On 2nd thought, maybe not. It’s tough to beat directional kicking for dumbest.
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Good stuff but now I’m late getting out the door. Yikes!
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Wow this is radical stuff. Let the best players play. So CTG is not a Union man and seniority will not be king. Damn it I’m getting excited again and I swore I wouldn’t.
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Why call out Bryan Evans? He played hard. He loves the University of Georgia. Playing out of position is usually poor coaching, and that was the issue with him. I think the point is that a senior will not play over underclassmen just because he is a senior. But to trash a UGA player because a COACH allowed him to play over someone (Rambo) perceived as more talented isn’t at all the fault of Bryan Evans.
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Um… that is the point, so I’m not sure what you’re upset about.
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Bryan Evans is a college football player who has had a five year expense paid ride through college. Part of being a high profile player in any sport is your play will be critiqued … by teammates, by coaches, by fans, by media who cover college football. There’s nothing personal about it, for crying out loud. I would never defend Evan’s play on the field, for a lot of reasons, and you shouldn’t either.
The thing that Georgia fans miss, however, is that the play of Reshad Jones was equally as bad, though not as noticeable to the average fan. Loafs, misreads, bad angles, and missed assignments, missed tackles, etc., are generally hard to spot on TV, especially for safeties, but if you know what to look for, most of them are there.
And it wasn’t all the fault of a coach. Almost all of it is on the player.
The pros saw that in the film, and so a first-round body with first-round physical skills, fell to the 5th round. Now Jones is the problem of the Dolphins, and I have already predicted he can’t make it in the pros. I hope he takes good care of what money he makes. Because it’s not personal.
The point is Jones could not have played for Brian VanGorder. And it’s obvious now that he wouldn’t have played for Grantham, either, without some kind of metamorphosis or intellectual illumination. The same is true for a number of players, most of whom are no longer here. And we can rejoice in that, because it means that, even though we might get beat from time to time, Georgia is no longer giving up cheap first downs and cheap scores.
Once again, they will have to be earned.
Safeties are called safeties for a reason and Evans was terrible back there. But it seems he gets the brunt of the blame for our safety play, while Jones escapes responsibility and even gets credit from many people, just because he made a few plays last year.
Evan’s faux pas were more obvious, granted. But the film doesn’t lie. To single Evans out, without Jones, is to get it wrong. No player costs Georgia more in the two years he started than Reshad Jones.
When that starts happening in Miami, Jones is going to find himself off the field. If he ever gets on it.
~~~
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Sorry, I meant to post this under the post of William.
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You forget that Jones played out of position at times because WM insisted on playing Evans. That’s not Reshad’s fault — it’s the coach’s. Also, I guess Miami must not consider him too much of a problem since they just signed him for almost $2 million. That kind of money can get you coached up.
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The problem with all the DBs was the DC/DB coach. Call me crazy but I firmly believe that RJ and BE could have been good players with proper coaching.
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Calling out Bryan Evans in the headline is what I find upsetting. Calling out Willie Martinez and his- play experience over talent- approach seems more justified. Bryan Evans did what he was coached to do. I’ve heard the comments from a few top level recruits that feel like our fan base is more than a little too harsh on our players. One said after the bashing we took after losing to Kentucky, the fans were quick to embrace the same players after the GaTech and Texas A&M massacres. But let me quit complaining about water under the bridge. Senator, you do an absolutely wonderful job covering our Dawgs. Thanks.
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Fan….fanatic…..hmmmmm.
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you are right on about Reshard. It took 3 years for him to learn the defense. Missed assignments, not tackling unless he could knock someones head off, bad angles, out of postition and most of all but never mentioned, at least 1 personal foul penalty per game! Glad to see Jones, Evans & Miller gone.
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For the most part I agree with the analysis of Reshad. He is not the brightest guy to say the least.
I will say, however, he was starting to “get it” towards the end of the 09 season. He played a great game at Tech and I believe would have had a good senior year.
I think Reshad’s biggest problem was he thought he was an All-American before he even stepped foot on campus. It took him a long time to figure out success is not guaranteed even if you have the prototype body.
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“I think Reshad’s biggest problem was he thought he was an All-American before he even stepped foot on campus.”
That is the heart of it. He’s always thought he was great.
“It took him a long time to figure out success is not guaranteed even if you have the prototype body.”
I don’t think he’s figured it out, yet, based on what he’s said since he got to Miami. He’s about to figure it out, though.
~~~
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Georgia fans have always been unique in their comfort in debasing and turning on it’s athletes in public forums. No other college fan base treat their players this way. I find it sad to think that just because someone gets a scholarship that fans think it is okay to talk so badly about them. I have yet to see UGA fans talk about opposing players this way. If I was a recruiting coordinator for a rival school, I would show these nasty comments to parents and ask them if that is the kind of environment they want their kid to play in. If fans want to insult our players can we at least do it in private like on the pay boards. Fans may be embarrassed about the drunken transgression of players but I am embarrassed by the poor manner fans treat Georgia athletes.
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Zuh?
Unique?
Have you ever used the internet prior to today?
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Yes I have read the internet before today and I am sticking to my POV.
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Didn’t a fan punch the Notre Dame QB last season? And what about coaches? The website fireronzook.com was started before he ever coached a game. Why not post your ‘manners’ admonishments to those fans.
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I talked about players not coaches. At least in the case of Clausen the fan had the guts to confront him in person verses talking about him on the internet.
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Hmm, maybe your internet is different than mine. I’ve yet to encounter a college football team whose fans DON’T occasionally critique players. And even on the internet, no less.
Rest assured, though: next time I’m upset with one of the players, I’ll do the mature thing and just punch him.
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I think there is a major difference between “critiquing” a player’s performance and bashing players. Unfortunately a lot of UGA fans bash our own players unmercifully. And I will say no, most schools do no bash their players to the extent that UGA fans do regularly.
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By the way, does your “It’s not fair to evaluate players on the internet” rule go both ways? Should we not praise players on the internet, either?
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Stormy:
thanks for the 4-1-1 (that means information).
I always thought players met with the coaches, toured the campus and made a judgment of playing time and fitting into a particular scheme.
It sounds like the real issue is if “DawgPound89” called Rashad (sic) a bum in the AJC comment section of a Chip Towers article.
Friedman’s right, the world is flat!
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Stormy’s point, as I see it, is that here is Bluto who owns this blog, and he comes running in here to PUT DOWN Bryan Evans, personally.
Bluto.
Notice the double-standard.
Undrafted free agent Bryan Evans gets singled out. Evans was NEVER considered that great. 5′ 11″ a 177 lbs. Defensive Back is not going to be drafted to play in the NFL, not with 4.45 speed or worse in the 40-yard dash.
Bluto ran in here just a few days ago and exclaimed that HE WOULD PREFER THE ALABAMA QUARTERBACK to our own :
“I’d rather have McElroy to start the year out than Murray.”
Dare to point out that Caleb King was the # 1 football player in the state of Georgia and that in the big games since 2007 when he was widely recruited as such, he has more games of 0 yards or 1 yards rushing than the entire planet, and Bluto runs in here to defend him.
So, if a guy looks good never mind never did a thing here, then Bluto defends him.
If a guy is a nobody, never was considered much by anyone, and Bluto runs in here to single him out.
I am with Stormy and with William on this.
Bluto DEFENDS the coaches.
According to Bluto, Mike Bobo is a great offensive coordinator, despite the fact that there is no URL Link he can provide where anyone ever has said so.
Bluto even says Alabama has no advantage over UGA on Offense. Again, just a few days ago Bluto said this too.
Jim McElwain is not as good an Offensive Coordinator as is Mike Bobo, according to Bluto.
Coach Richt is the greatest football coach in the history of Georgia football according to Bluto, despite 47 arrests / suspensions since February 2007, and despite 10-10 vs SEC East the last 4 years, with 27 losses in 9 years compared to only 21 by Wally Butts 40-48 and despite 21 by Vince Dooley 80-88 both with Consensus National Championships.
It just doesn’t add up.
If you are going to go out of your way and single out a football player as the face of what has been wrong for the # 11 Football Program All-Time in 1-A wins as UGA is that we instead have been # 19 in won / loss over the last entire 4 years at 38-14, when we fired Jim Donnan for losing 13 games his last 4 years here, then pick the correct player.
Bryan Evans isn’t the correct player to single out.
Moreover, it is just rah-rah UGA to do so since he left and was NOT even drafted by the NFL, is small, is not fast, is not NFL size, and was never considered any good whatsoever, by anyone anywhere.
Next you will be telling me that Caleb King is great because he ran well against one of the worst run defenses in the history of college football, the Georgia tek Nerds.
You have all the Bulldog fans saying how great Caleb King is.
It gets more than just a little tiring when it does NOT stand the test of study.
But, to come in here and pick on little nobody Bryan Evans, I am with William and Stormy on that. 25 comments about that.
Why not single out Mike Bobo ? Did he coach at Montana State ? Hell no. He coached Quarterbacks 1 season at Jacksonville State.
Look dimwit, this defense is great this season up-coming. It is addition by subtraction.
Our Offense you attempt to defend is the weak link. The reason is that there are better players not starting while Caleb King has started all 5 of the last 5 games, with better tailbacks on the roster.
A poster mentioned here today redshirting Knowshon Moreno, but we are chalk full of such examples on Offense such as 2 passes thrown to Marlon Brown, 2 to Branden Smith, starting Aron White every game until game 12 of our 13-game season despite obviously better talent buried behind him on the depth chart in Orson Charles, saying Matthew Stafford was # 3 in 2006 with Joe Cox ahead of him at # 2 and ahead of both of those Joe Tereshinski III as # 1. We have the same problem on the offensive line.
Then, I wake up, come in here, and Bluto has run in here to single out Bryan Evans.
Bluto defends himself with a nasty comment in response to William.
While on offense, Bluto sees nothing wrong at all at ripping off the redshirt of Washaun Ealey in the 3rd quarter of the 5th game. Washaun led the Dawgs in rushing last season and got only 2 starts, and not the last 2 by the way.
It’s a double-standard Bluto.
And, our problems are ON OFFENSE, not defense 2010, and it is because of Coach Richt’s Coaching Staff which for his 9 years here, has been a most God-Awful Coaching Staff, the Offense of which is still here with now Coach Richt making those decisions – not them.
I don’t see any point whatsoever in singling out just Bryan Evans, who never was any good, isn’t and never will be, with no upside, playing out of position. That is what this blog is about.
GET THE PICTURE – we are STILL doing that on Offense THIS SEASON, right now today.
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Stormy, you are utterly clueless. Go actually read some blogs for other teams. Players get trashed as bad or worse than here on every fan blog I’ve ever read.
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Georgia is far-better in line to win a Men’s Basketball National Championship than it is in Football. Clearly, this is because Mike Bobo cannot coach the offense, or Coach Richt would NOT have announced to us all that HE is going to make those Offensive Decisions and not HIS LOUSY OFFENSIVE COACHING STAFF, which he tacitly demoted while I call for them all to be FIRED.
We are loaded in basketball because our Coaching Staff is looked upon by the recruits as great. We aren’t in football, on the offense, because the recruits and no one else either – none of anybody – considers our Offensive Coaching Staff to be great.
Then, you come in here and in runs Bluto proclaiming that UGA’s Offense is BETTER than Alabama’s, which explains of course why we average 14 interceptions a year the last 4 years, average 21 fumbles a year the last 4 years, averages # 96 NCAA penalties a year the last 4 years, and has LOST 10 of the last 20 SEC East games over the last 4 years while also over the last 4 years being # 3 in Fulmer Cup Standings.
Yes, Bluto, we have just been great on Offense, no doubt of it – especially in having prepared our Quarterbacks such as no prepared QB in 2006 when we LOST 4 games and such as no prepared QB in 2009 yet again when we LOST 5 games and now once again such as no prepared QB for 2010 when we LOSE __________ games.
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So “Anonymous” changed his name to “Negative?”
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