Interesting quote from Christian Robinson:
“We’re holding each other accountable and have the right kind of attitude,” Robinson said. “I think we’ve eliminated some people maybe that were cancerous, whether it was people who graduated or might not be here anymore. We’ve become a team of guys that want to be here and want to do well for Georgia.”
Note the use of the plural. Must have been an uncomfortable locker room dynamic last year. And where were the coaches while this was festering? Could they not sense it?
Get The Picture 
I don’t know why it would be so difficult to detect who the problem was.
LikeLike
I going to go ahead and eliminate Kris Durham as a candidate right now. Who does that leave?
LikeLike
Must’ve been that damn Brannan Southerland. I always knew he was trouble…
LikeLike
Umm Brannan graduated after the 09 season.
LikeLike
Yes, I know. My feeble brain was thinking “Shaun Chapas” while my fingers were typing “Brannan Southerland”. I hate being stupid…
LikeLike
Is this not the exact same quote we got in 2009 after our superstars left, and people were trying to say all of the bad influences in the locker room were gone? I’m yawning at this one.
LikeLike
We heard this after 2008, too. This is what every team says after a disappointing season (or two).
Same old, same old.
LikeLike
Ah yes, “the team is the star” year. Good times.
LikeLike
I don’t know maybe I’m just being naive, but this one seems very different. For one, he doesn’t say they are more of a team because the stars are gone. By all accounts all of our stars that left were great team guys. But he does say that some of the ‘cancerous’ guys are gone. That leads me to believe they were not starters but still drug the team down. My money is on Dowtin. And another thing is that cancerous is a very strong term. Nobody described Knowshon and Staffy as cancerous. Maybe lazy but never cancerous. That means something.
LikeLike
I don’t know that people were saying Stafford and Moreno were bad influences. I think everyone around them just got lazy.
LikeLike
And that is where the coaches come in. They allowed this to happen and gave our superstars a pass. Everybody else took note and then 8-5 and 6-7 happened. Pretty simple.
LikeLike
Nobody came out and named names, but in the offseason before 2009, all the talk was that some of the stars were gone and the team was going to be better and some people that maybe weren’t pulling their weight were gone and everyone was pulling together and holding one another accountable. Well, that lasted the first drive of the Oklahoma State game. I don’t know if Stafford and Moreno were allegedly the problem, but that’s not really the point. The point is that we’ve heard this “the-bad-seeds-are-gone-happy-times-are-here-again” line before. It didn’t bear much fruit in ’09 or ’10, I’m not sure why the thinking should go that addition by subtraction would help much in ’11. I’m optimistic about the year, but this ain’t the reason why.
LikeLike
In the spring of 2009, Mettenberg talked about how Stafford hadn’t interacted enough with him the previous fall and praised Cox for being more accessible. At the time, of course, Mettenberg had been a senior in high school.
LikeLike
I’m going to put all the change in my pocket on Dowtin.
LikeLike
Different year. Same ole’ B.S.
It’s groundhog day in Athens.
LikeLike
Quit talking about the pain. Just show mw the baby.
LikeLike
uh, “me”
LikeLike
Just look at the replies to this comment. Whether you cynics agree if this an answer/solution or not, how can you make it out to be a negative? Great comment, but it gets trashed by UGA fans. Seems part of the cancer extends beyond the locker room. I personally like hearing players making positive comments, and using “coachspeak”. Sure beats hearing a bunch of Negative Nellies tear the players/coaches apart during the off season. Some use that time to be optimistic.
LikeLike
+1 Count me as Pollyanna, too. I prefer to be optimistic, otherwise, what’s the fun in following a team?
LikeLike
I don’t really care what anyone says during the offseason. As long as there are no major off the field problems I’ll be hopeful but take a wait-and-see approach until the season kicks off. We’ll find out pretty quickly if any of these changes and quotes actually meant anything.
LikeLike
Agreed. If the off-the-field issues cease, then maybe things are moving in a different direction. For Christ’s sake, how hard can it be to stay out of jail???
Wait… never mind…
LikeLike
I’m more Pollyanna than Haley Mills and Patty Duke combined … and we all remember how their stock took off when people stopped confusing them with Lindsay Lohan! (Talk about a cancer!)
LikeLike
In the immortal words of somebody quit pi$$ing on my leg and telling me its raining, just make a stop on D and win a big game for a change.
LikeLike
Christian Robinson is a great Dawg and will be a great leader , but this one does puzzle me .” Cancerous” is a very strong term, last time I heard it used in relation to the Bulldog program Ray Goff was our coach (and the cancer that had to be removed) . Some of the Braves also described Francouer this way after he was gone . I wish Chris Low would have pressed him on who he is referring to .
LikeLike
Wasn’t Quincy Carter considered a cancer?
LikeLike
He enjoyed substances that are legal for treatment of cancer if you live in California, if that counts.
LikeLike
Yeah I can’t put a lot of stock in this since I have seen the same quotes come from BM every off season. But as someone mentioned, if we stay out of the top 15 in the Fulmer Cup I will be sky high heading into the dome.
LikeLike
My money is on Dowtin as a reference point…now the way is opened for Robinson to be the defensive QB and mainstay at LB…I think that too much is placed on a few unthoughtout remarks by a guy who is anxious to start a new season and right the awful one just passed. Forget who is /was “cancerous” and get on with the new season. Go Dawgs, GATA!!!
LikeLike
Who was the other kid on defense that kept getting switched around then transferred?
LikeLike
Nick Williams?
LikeLike
That would be Nick Williams. Not to be confused with Shawne.
LikeLike
Didn’t see this. Wow. I’m on top of it today!
LikeLike
First thing our team needs to do is STAY our of trouble in the offseason, i cant remember the last time we opened a season w/o having someone suspended. Come into the Boise game full force and get off to good start and i think we have a great season
LikeLike
Who was the backup RB who was involved in the taxi incident last offseason? He seemed perpetually in trouble.
LikeLike
DJax
LikeLike
I think no matter where one falls on the optimism/pessimism continuum, it’s safe to say we’re all tired of hearing about how everyone is working hard this offseason, there’s a new focus, we’re stronger/better/faster, team leadership is solid, team spirit is high…….
whether one prays it’s true, accepst it without question, feels somewhat dubious, or fully expects a 4-8 season regardless, it’s safe to say everyone has heard it all before. Quit talking about it; show me the results. Show me the effort.
I’m an optimist. Just consider me a mild agnostic on this issue.
LikeLike
Agreed, although they HAVE to say something because the reporters are there. It’s filler. What else is there to report on now that the alley scooter epidemic has been resolved.
LikeLike
And that is my point as well. What would we want for someone to say with a microphone in their face? While everyone is going to maintain a level of caution after a 6-7 season, the alternative is to hear them say: “I can’t say we are working any harder, and hopefully some of the chemistry/discipline issues, and you wioll just have to pay your mnoney for tickets to see if we show up and lay it all out for dear old UGA.” Of course no one wants to hear that, but let someone taake the position Robinson did and it leads to the “heard it all before right before the last plane crash. Yep, can’t trust the lying bastards, it’s all BS. Woe is us.”
I don’t think a player saying this makes it so, but just because I didn’t get seriously injured in a car crash the last time someone advised me to drive slowly in the ice and snow doesn’t mean friends/parents shouldn’t say it again. It wasn’t BS, it just didn’t happen. I prefer to think folks learn from past mistakes, and like the fact they are aware of some things we all suspect were factors in the last 2 seasons.
LikeLike
This stuff is the main reason I shift into NFL Draft mode between National Signing Day and the actual draft. I love college football so much that I can’t pay attention to this sort of crap.
LikeLike
Dowtin ?, Nick Williams ?, Logan Grey ?, Seniors that never played up to their full potential ?. Could be some truth here somewhere.
LikeLike
I gotta say that this sounds a lot like 2009 with the “god some leaders in the lockerroom now that the stars left” BS.
LikeLike
Also remember that it doesnt have to be starters or stars on the team that he was referring too. It could very well be walkons or others around the program that were the problem in his mind.
LikeLike
Don’t mind players taking leadership, but Robinson is certainly no Akeem Dent on the field, or even Darryl Gamble for that matter. Not sure I’d be trashing anybody (Dowtin?) unless I was sure I could outperform him.
LikeLike
Let it go I am with 55dawg stay out of trouble stay injury free Rock the world to start the season—optimism -I think we are gonna cream boise st
GO DOGSSSSS SIC EM WOOF WOOF WOOF
LikeLike
surprise BOO MALCOME shocks everybody
LikeLike
Just the excuse de jour. Nothing more to see here.
LikeLike