Officials and judgment calls – hey, what could go wrong?

Bob Stoops and Mike Gundy have a point about one of the new NCAA safety-related rules that we probably ought to keep an eye on.

… Stoops and Brown both brought in officials this offseason to explain the rule change. For example, pass rushers can continue to rush the pocket without a helmet if they’re engaged with an offensive lineman, but if a passer escapes the pocket or steps up to run, players must stop. If not, they can be flagged for 15-yard penalties.

“I’m not for that. Any rule that gives the officials or makes the officials have judgment calls is a bad rule because it’s not fair to them either,” Gundy said. “Judgment calls make it difficult, and so you always want to take judgment calls out of their hands.”

Anybody else thinking Jarvis Jones here?  Or Marc Curles?

I’m all for player safety, but this one’s gonna be a bitch to enforce consistently.

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You say potato, Mark Bradley says poe-ta-toe.

I was prepared to write one of those “stopped clock right twice-a-day” posts about Mark Bradley’s column on doing away with the NBA’s one-and-done rule, when his logic got in the way.

Stern said this week he’d prefer a two-and-done rule. Mark Cuban, who owns the Dallas Mavericks, is plumping for three-and-done. Some prefer the baseball way: A player can sign with a pro team if drafted out of high school, but if he chooses to play in college he can’t be drafted again until after his junior season. Me, I don’t like any of those suggestions.

… The best course would be to repeal the NBA’s rule and replace it with no rule, to return to the days where high schoolers could be drafted.

Got that?  Bradley doesn’t like a rule that allows high school players to be drafted, but no rule, so that high school players can be drafted?  That works.

As long as we’re in agreement, I guess.

Saturday morning buffet

Get off your motorcycle and grab a plate.

• Yes, Georgia may oversign in 2013.
• There are times when Les Miles really should STFU.  This is one of them.
• Pete Fiutak turns in the dumbest column on l’affaire Petrino you’re going to read.
• One reason it’s not just Petrino’s problem, Pete, is because he managed to draw state employees into his attempt to keep a lid on the mess.
• And Chris Low suggests that one path Arkansas could take with this would be to redraw Petrino’s contract, as Tennessee did with Bruce Pearl.  That actually makes a good deal of sense.
• Were Petrino to be dismissed, here’s one list of potential candidates.  I confess Tuberville never occurred to me, but I could see him making inquiries.
• You’ve got to give Vanderbilt credit for trying to light a fire under its fan base.
• Detroit Lions fans reminisce about Adam Krohn’s prediction about Matt Stafford’s pro career.
• Rocky Top Talk ponders how things could be dangerous in Knoxville this season.
• As slogans go, I guess this is better than “Win one for the Tater Tot”.  But not by much.
• A week before the spring game, there are still lots of questions in Athens.

Just your basic Cocktail Party win

Now this is more like it.

When talking with Georgia players it’s easy to tell which game meant the most for the Bulldogs. Each one talked about how important the Florida win was for the season and the program. It not only gave Georgia’s seniors a win over the Gators, but it helped put the Dawgs in cruise control on the way to the SEC championship game. Jones, who grew up a fan of both Florida and Georgia (very strange, I know) said he took it upon himself to make sure the Bulldogs came out with the win. He did his part with four sacks, including one that basically ended the game. Robinson said it was “the greatest feeling” he’s had since his arrival. That win coupled with South Carolina’s loss to Arkansas propelled Georgia into the SEC championship game.

Weather-free, travel-free talk.  Nothing more than “it was a big game, we needed to win it and we did.”  And you know what?  That’s all it should be.

Looking back, the Celebration was a great moment, but in terms of changing the direction of the series, it was as much a mirage as Donnan’s win in ’97 turned out to be.  Hopefully last year’s win has more meat on its bones.  Things aren’t going to change for good in Jax until Georgia’s players and coaches honestly believe they have.