Dan Mullen lays out the praise for his team’s opponent this week, our beloved Georgia Bulldogs.
“In my view of things, and their record might now show it, but they’re a top 25 football team in the country – easily — right now,” Mullen said on today’s SEC coaches’ teleconference.
Easily. Hoo, boy, ain’t that nice?
Except for one thing.
… Mullen, by the way, votes in the USA Today coaches’ poll. He did not have Georgia in his top 25 this week (none of the 59 voting coaches did)…
Get The Picture 
I’m sure it’s just an oversight by whatever lackey he had fill out the poll. Media controversy, here we come!
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What Dan, now a member of TSECHCMAS* and Irwin’s HCIW**, really meant was that we are a top 26 very, very good team.
* The SEC Head Coach Mutual Admiration Society
**Jeremy’s spoken that ‘Irwin’s HCIW’ means that the next time Irwin pulls a stunt like that again to get out of work, he’s out and Dan’s in at Gainesville.
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Well we are a top 25 team. And our fans are bitchers and whiners.
SC is clearly a top 15 team and they muscled us. Ark is a top 15 team and we were two plays from winning- but we didn’t so we ain’t.
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Not all the fans. Thank you very much.
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I’m not so sure that either of those teams will be in the top 15 at the end of the season. Thus far, their claims to fame are beating us.
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Geeeez
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I wasn’t saying they definitely aren’t, and I suspect that UGA is better than they’ve looked thus far. My point is that nothing is yet proven.
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“Thus far, their claims to fame are beating us.”
They could not have done it without us. Which reminds me of:
“What’s everyone blaming me for? Blame Felix. I wouldn’t have hit into the double-plays if he hadn’t hit singles.”
-Joe Torre of the Mets after tying a major league record by hitting into four double-plays, each time after Felix Millan had singled just before Torre came to the plate (July 21, 1975).
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Assuming we right the ship and finish 8-4 or 9-3, it’ll be really frustrating if Arkansas and South Carolina do what I expect – finish 5-3 in the conference. South Carolina might manage 6-2 based on what I’ve seen from the rest of the East this year.
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No we’re not a top 25 team. Not yet at least. And while it’s rare that a South Carolina or Arkansas has a better team than UGA, I don’t look at those 2 programs as our measuring sticks.
Problem is that we’ve also been losing to KY and Vandy with more frequency and getting muscled around by subpar TN teams. Combine that with our SEC East record of 10-11 since 2006 and anyone could understand a Georgia fan’s concern and frustration.
This isn’t a 2010 phenomenon. It’s a trend and it’s getting worse. The program’s saving grace is that the changes made during this offseason will begin to pay off later this year or in 2011. There are reasons to be optimistic.
But back to measuring sticks for a second – Florida and Bama are our measuring sticks b/c there is no reason whatsoever that Georgia should ever, ever be measurably inferior to those two programs. And right now that gap is large and growing. And that is what makes people upset.
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Holy crap I’m going to jump off a cliff if a UGA fan posts “our SEC East record of 10-11 since 2006” one more time. Ok, we get it. We are in a rut! We haven’t performed up to where we should be. Please take your cynical rhetoric to http://www.dawgsports.com. The rest of us are going to be looking for some sort of reason to root for the dawgs this weekend instead of dwelling on some negative shit and being constantly depressed about being a dawg fan. I am proud to be a Georgia Bulldog despite who the hell our coach is or how the hell he’s doing in whatever time frame you’ve decided to select to serve your purpose!!!
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…tell it all PuffDawg… tell it all. I agree.
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To pile on the cherry-picking point. Since ’06 UGA is 4-0 against Auburn after only going 2-3 against them from ’01-’05. If you cull out ’07-’08, UGA was 7-3 against the East, same as ’01-’02. Yes, two of Georgia’s worst seasons under Richt came in the last four years, and this year has gotten off to a rocky start. However, they have shown signs of vast improvement on defense, with OLine (and possibly playcalling, though it’s hard to say when the blocking is… let’s be kind and say inconsistent) being the only truly disappointing aspect(s) of the team.
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That’s a fair assessment and I agree. The tale of the tape will be this season and next.
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The heat will deservedly be turned up going into next year if UGA finishes 4-4 in the conference again, which looks very possible if not probably. I’m just not to that point yet, myself.
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Off soap box… sorry to vent at you JaxDawg. Just getting really frustrated with our fans in general and the negative attitude surrounding the program. GTP is always where I come to get my balanced dawg info without some clown constantly posting FIRE MARK RICHT! Lately though, the site has been innudated with Thomas Brown’s (no, not the former player) posse.
No insult meant to TKK either. They just have a different approach over there (is there such a thing as guarded pessimism? :() that may be more in line with your awareness of the program and its current state.
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No problem. I vented at you too (below) but I’m just as tired of these idiots that criticize anyone that dares criticize the program.
We all want to be on top – I suppose some see our potential differently than others.
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I do not want to be on top. I am an apathetic fool who wants to get drunk and chase tail. I know you are but what am I?
Despite sitting through the last three games in their entirety, as well as WVU 05, Tenn 06, USC 07, Tenn 07, Bama 08, UF 08 and 09, GTU 08, to name a few, I am a fan not worth my salt because I’d rather give the winningest coach in school history benefit of the doubt and a chance to right the ship rather than “desire and push for this program” to wind up like Tennessee.
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So you’ve been around for the past decade and experienced some painful losses first hand? Good.
Were you around during the Goff and Donnan years? Were you around when we were the definition of mediocre? Honestly, were you?
I agree with you about giving Richt a shot and I’m not calling for his head. I’m pointing out the obvious that we’re trending down. Believe it or not, it’s tough for a coach to reverse a trend just as it’s tough for anyone who runs a large organization to do the same. It’s extremely tough to change who we are. The SEC landscape isn’t like it was in 1979 – it’s all about what have you done for me lately – in case you haven’t noticed.
And who says we’d wind up like TN if we replaced Mark Richt? You could easily be wrong. Scotch man below mentioned Ohio State – they replaced a coach that had terrific success spanning 10 years but he couldn’t beat Michigan and couldn’t quite get over the hump. So enter Jim Tressel and a NC. Think they regret that decision? Your statement also shows your lack of faith in Greg McGarity who knows a thing or two about hiring and winning. In Greg I trust!
Lastly, I find it interesting that you attacked my post without addressing the totality of my point. You simply blasted me for making a factual statement about the direction of the program. As if that’s against the law around here. Try reading my post again, take a breath, and try not to get so upset.
Best to you and Go Dawgs.
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I was around in those years. I sat through both Virginia Peach Bowls as well as the 1996 Southern Miss game. But I was also at every 2002 game, 2001 UT, 2004 LSU, 2005 Boise, 2005 LSU (SEC), among others. I also rather enjoyed every USCe game the past DECADE save 01, 07, 10, every Arkansas game past FOUR DECADES except 76, 93, 10, every GT game the past DECADE save 08, every Auburn game this DECADE save 01, 04, 05. I’ve enjoyed 6 of the last 10 we played against a Tenn team that has “muscled us around lately.” And if by losing to UK and Vandy with more frequency you mean 2 of the last 13 and 1 of the last 15, respectively, then yea, I’ll give you that. But I enjoyed the other 25 of those we won. Come to think of it, I’ve really enjoyed ALL of CMR 91 victories in 120 tries and 50 SEC wins in 74 tries. Is the program where I want it to be right now. Nope. But am I going to cite lousy, agenda serving, selective statistics to undermine the program (or more specifically its coach). Nope.
I actually do trust Greg McGarity which is why I don’t feel the need to spout that sort of negative crap on the webs to prove the guy I “support” is not getting the job done. I think McGarity can handle it.
Best to you as well, and Go Dawgs!
(see what I did there with the exclamation point which means I’m excited about saying “go dawgs”) 😉
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Also enjoy our 7-2 record in last 9 bowl games, all of which I’ve been to except 2009, mostly because I had a 2 month old at home but also because Shreveport sucks (was there in 1991 when we whipped Arkansas’ ass).
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P.S. I also witnessed us whip Herbie’s ass in 1992 in Orlando, which is presumably why he lobbied against us in 2007.
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Puff – Did you enjoy Donnan’s 4-0 bowl record too?
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What’s your point? Could’ve sworn Donnan had a losing record against Auburn, GT, and Tenn.
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Now who’s missing the point?
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I would have thought your point was that bowl games are not a good indicator of success, which I thought I rebutted by pointing out CMR’s “clearly superb” (h/t Corrine Brown) record against aforementioned rivals compared to CJD, whose bowl record you attempted to use to dispel my assertion that CMR has been successful… no?
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No, the point is, you’re a hypocrite for suggesting one set of statistics (that supports your argument)has merit, and another set (which doesn’t support your argument) does not have merit.
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My argument is that you can spin statistics to your agenda all day long and fans who spout selective statistics in an attempt to prove what a crummy job our coach is doing are a cancer to the program and I am tired of the sky is falling crowd bringing a negative mojo to this blog, where I used to find balanced posts and balanced comments. My citing of Richt’s bowl record is my way of proving that you CAN indeed spin statistics however you want. Apparently it worked.
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I lost $250 on that So Miss game. And I do think that what happened in the first 5 years is irrelevant to what is happening now. And Richt certainly has my (and most fan’s) support but he’s using up alot of capital accumulated over those first 5 with the off-field stuff and the state of the program today.
This year and next will be the test. His contract is up in 2012 so you can probably add that year to the mix. I would like nothing more than to see him win an SECC over that time span but history shows that it will be very difficult.
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Agreed.
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P.S. It is ok to criticize. But constantly posting our record versus the SEC East the past 4 years is not beneficial criticism. What are you trying to accomplish there? What effect are you trying to have there? Write a letter to Greg McGarity and include that stat if you like. That might make some sort of difference to accomplish whatever it is you seek. But to come on the interwebs and constantly post that sort of thing isn’t beneficial to the University of Georgia’s football program and it certainly isn’t specifically relevant to what happened last game or what we can do to improve going forward. All that is is OMG LOOK AT ME THE SKY IS FALLING MARK RICHT IS FADING WE’LL NEVER BE GOOD AGAIN YOU GUYS ARE ALL LAZY APATHETIC DRUNK WOMANIZERS!!!!!
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Bless you Puff, you are dead on with your comments. Everyone, and I mean everyone should have concerns about their team, even Bama and Ohio State fans. The difference is whether one chooses a constructive, or destructive approach. Like you, I have always appreciated the civility and thought most posters employ on this blog. I dropped out of the DV and now avoid the Scout site because I was, frankly, embarrassed to be associated as a member with the mentality of those who dominate those sites. (Don’t get me wrong, there are several outstnding posters there, but the reputation of the sites suffer from the lunatic fringe that overwhelm them. Surfing through the garbage for quality posts is depressing to me.)
As you suggested, if you want to call for someone’s head, or call a player out, do it privately to a decision maker, or rant among your Dawg friends. Anyone that doesn’t thing players and recruits are effected by the vocal, negative nature of many of our fans is simply naive.
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ps – I’ve posted that 10-11 stat one time. above. “constantly” doesn’t equate to once. please direct your frustration with that stat somewhere else.
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I think PD and Mac’s point is that such info had already been posted enough and repetition of same served no useful purpose and was, in fact, negatively impacting the image of our team. Also, I believe the guy who originated that stat was “Mr. GA Football Returns” whom I believe has lost his license to blog here. Do you really want to emulate him, JD? To quote a great American and great Dawg fan I know: ” You’re better than that.”
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Puffdawg, ye shall be smited for your general overall lack of bitching and moaning. Like this…
Global War on Marks (GWOM), “Greg Traps a Vote”
Butts-Mehre Defense Complex, Above-ground bunker
1600 hours, 22 September 2010
McGarity said there’s “constant evaluation,” of all programs but he will avoid getting into any “vote of confidence,” of Richt.
“I’m not getting into a trap,” McGarity said. “People always want to say `Vote of confidence.’ Whatever you say is going to be taken the wrong way by someone. …I’m not getting into that trap. [And Greg walked right into the trap]….We’ve had two really tough losses here and we’ve got another tremendous task ahead of us at Mississippi State.” [Greg’s just kidding. It’s not really a tremendous task to beat Mississippi State. But if we win, we will treat it just like we beat Florida because Dan Mullen used to beat us when he was at Florida.] http://blogs.onlineathens.com/node/2258
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Great post. And if every UGA fan shared your apathy we’d continue to be “in a rut” for the next 50 f*cking years.
“I don’t care if we’re struggling to win half our conference games, I’m just happy to get drunk and chase tail!”
You think FL fan would be pleased? How about Bama fan?
Hey kid – I’ve lived through the 90’s and its mediocrity once and I’ll be damned if I’ll settle for that again. Any Dawg fan worth their salt should desire and push for this program to overachieve, not underachieve.
So you go ahead and celebrate apathy. But you can bet your ass that Greg McGarity would disagree with you.
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You want to be UF or Bama?
You wish we had Urban or Nick as Head Coach?
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I’d be alright with Nick Saban as the coach.
I don’t see why this is controversial.
Saban is clearly the superior coach right now.
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Let’s see – that’s a tough one. 3 NC’s b/t the two since we last won an SECC? Yeah I’d like to be at FL or Bama’s level right now? You’re not seriously asking that question are you?
And would I trade Richt if it meant achieving at that level? Damn right I would.
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Puffdawg Rules. Right On.
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+1!!!
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Puffdawg – Sorry the truth is so difficult for you to handle.
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I think you missed the point there, Slick.
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No dude, I think I got it.
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No, you whiffed.
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Uh huh.
How much do you want to bet that one (if not both) of those teams finish the year unranked?
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Reminds me of Dooley. I used to love hearing him poor mouth our team while at the same time making Agnes Scott sound like the second coming of Knute Rockne’s Notre Dame squad.
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He shall be smited for his lack of honesty.
Just, you know, probably not by us. We’ll beat him on a field goal as time expires.
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On paper they appear a head of us in a lot of spots…..well, I’m betting the house…. car….. but not my bride and sayin’ Dawgs win by more than a touchdown. Reckless…. yes! Fickle…hell no!
(both boys are on scholarships…so if it all goes to hell they’ll be fine! ;-))
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Give Mullen a break. You guys hated Kiffin for trashing UGA. You hate Spurrier for joking with UGA. Now your beef is that an SEC coach is fluffing UGA? Get real.
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We do not hate Dan. But when Jeremy hires him as a replacement, we will. The beef with Dan is what he said and what he did are diametrically opposed to each other. We just wish Dan could be more honest with himself.
Spurrier. We hate him. Of course. We would even if he did not poke around with us.
Lane. We don’t hate him. We miss him. But not his daddy.
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p.s. We also miss Lane’s wife. Here she is looking at what she married, wondering what in the world he’s going to say now, but all the while thinking that he knows how to make money the old fashioned way, he was born into it
http://www.knoxnews.com/photos/2009/may/09/55577/
Here’s another one where she is so surprised at what he said, her eyes are about to pop out of her head and Mike is wondering what in the hell did I just do. Mike found out a year later.
http://www.knoxnews.com/photos/2008/dec/01/42788/
“[W]e could even imagine Layla Kiffin and Erin Andews engaging in underwear-clad pillow fights as fellow sorority sisters in Florida’s Zeta Tau Alpha. Diligent research via several Florida Gator sorority girls confirms that the Zetas have a campus reputation as being “wild and cool, but a little bit slutty.”
http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/04/28/layla-kiffin-appeals-to-bruce-pearl/
Which is probably true about the Zetas
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Nah, I rather like it. I’m from the Dooley camp where you kiss everyone’s ass in public, and then kick their ass on the field (but in a classy manner, not like Spurrier throwing double-reverse passes when up by 3 scores at the end of the game).
It’s just funny to hear that nowadays.
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At least Dan didn’t use the great southern phrase for those that are not quit right “Well bless their hearts”.
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Hey, Mullin just didn’t want his quotes plastered all over the locker room in Athens. There is nothing wrong with that. Remember Dooley’s praise of William and Mary’s long snapper? I don’t care about stats either, I take TKK’s approach and assume the Dawgs will lose every game Bring on the cold beer and heartbroke country music!
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Vince Dooley quote;
“William and Mary is tough cause we have to play both of them on the same day!”
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THERE IS ANOTHER COACH OUT THERE BETTER THAN RICHT, JUST LOOK AT HOW FOX IN BASKETBALL.
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I MEAN, JUST LOOK AT HOW IS IN BASKETBALL.
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Like an accommodative adult speaking to a child screw-up, Mullen says we look good loosing games. Thanks for stroking our egos. I trust some of our players, coaches and fans will lap it up.
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Speaking of talking Purty. I just read Buck’s 4th blog this week. Amazed at how many disagree with him. Personally I do not consider the ones who disagree to be either Dawg Fans or knowledgable. All they are doing is hurting the program. I stand by that.
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Good to see that Belue and CMR saw this week what we saw in game 1 with regard to the running backs and what we complained about for 3 games. No production. No pass blocking. Poor footwork. Slow reads on lanes. Slow into the lane. No power and speed thru the lanes. We complained about this last year when no one else did. No outside game. Why not empty the backfield with this kind of play and production. But can the QB run these kinds of sets and reads?
The O line. Good but to get better they need to develope strong depth and rotation. That should allow them to be explosive and quick. And as the season wears on this could be huge in the SEC. Here again technique and reads not there yet.
QB. Good, but like a frosh in a class or subject for seniors. Smart, hungry, very competitive…ie., all the intangibles you could want as a coach. Leadership. As he learns his sets vs opposite d schemes the speed and confidence of the offense will arrive. When. Not as quick as he wants and same for fans. Execution and winning every snap is all over him. He has been fortunate to go up against good Ds in Carolina and Arkansas. Diaz will be the third test. Youngest and best QB in the SEC. Will come out of 2010 in top 5 in the nation for his class.
W-L. Again we think this is a 500 team. Good, but schedule, new D scheme, injuries, suspensions, and off the field distractions hurt put it at this number. Should be a lesson for the underclassmen and alums. Could be close, but it is a gut call and already have dropped 2. Plus too many players have missed qualtiy PT.
The sets. Well, after 4 years we have given up. There are several reasons…but it boils down to production and scoring. Current system simply does not yield that. We like what we see in Boise State’s offensive sets. We like a hybrid spread formation. Most HS have gone to spreads. There is ample personnel to recruit from this base. Also, nobody leaves a Sanford when the scoreboard is being rattled.
Something has to be done about the roster…suspensions, lingering injuries, violations. Are huge factors in deciding winners and lossers.
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Most coaches talk up there next opponent so no big deal on that front. As for Richt, what is his win % as coach and what is UGA’s overall win % for its history? What is the best 10 year stretch of winning %? Not saying those things should buy Richt a lifetime contract but I do think that it should provide some perspective to the group that thinks he needs to go. I have a feeling that Saturday is going to be the start of this seasons turn around and by the end of the season it will be silly to even think about Richt being on the hot seat.
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