Finally, it’s here. Celebrate with the buffet.
- Here’s a team-by-team look at the SEC in season-openers.
- Statistical pessimism about Georgia’s 2013 season here.
- Year2 explores how much a bye week matters.
- George O’Leary demonstrates that he’s not just an ordinary asshole, he’s a tone-deaf asshole.
- MaconDawg ranks the SEC coaches on likeability.
- The War on Drugs is widely seen as an abject failure, but Georgia’s new president decides to go all in on Michael Adams’ quest to have the SEC adopt a uniform drug policy, presumably matching his own. Good luck with that, Jere.
- The season hasn’t started, but Paul Johnson is already in mid-season complaint form. On the one hand, “It’s a big mistake to think that teams play for their league.” On the other, “If you watch ESPN, it’s a 24-hour non-stop commercial for the SEC.”
- Here’s some lazy, clichéd Aaron Murray talk from Matt Hayes.
- If you’re interested in stuff like this, here’s a post on all the uniform changes in college football this season.
Get The Picture 
Johnson finished up the interview by yelling “Get off my lawn!”
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Power Rank’s view seems pretty realistic. Everyone should expect a good season from UGA. A great season depends on how the young defense responds.
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The analysis makes sense. The statistical part of it doesn’t… which is what they are trumpeting. By their own measure, UGA is statistically favored to win every game on its schedule… that must mean it will lose 3 games. They project them to go 2-2 vs. Clemson, USCe, LSU, and Florida. That’s reasonable. But, then, to drop one to Vandy (nope), Tennessee (nope), Auburn (meh), or Tech (hahahahahaha).
In reality, there are a number of things that could derail a football team, but I think 10-2 is a safe bet. That’s why there’s little value in taking the over on the win total.
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Look at the Vandy game in Nashville again. A possible trap game with Florida on the horizon for UGA and more dangerous than one might ordinarily think. Vandy gets the week off before–Georgia plays Mizzou.
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Georgia could lose any of those games. They’ve done it before, and they’ll do it again… some day. Vandy has a lot of off-field stuff to wade through, though. Who knows where the psyche of that team will be by the time UGA gets there. I also think the Franklin-Grantham spat has turned that game into a STFU game as long as Grantham is on the sidelines. I don’t see UGA overlooking Vandy the way they have in the past.
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Also, a lot depends on whether Vandy wins against Ole Miss, too. Lose that game and the air gets let out of their balloon early.
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Agreed. I think they END up really good. The question is will they be good enough weeks 1 and 2. After that I am not that worried about them as they will be battle tested.
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Murray is a bum in big games because he lost to Bama while McCarron is awesome because he won that game. Only thing is Murray had a much better game just one qb had a couple hundred extra yards rushing from his team than the other. You have to look at a lot more than win/loss. McCarron, the “best” big game qb in most peoples eyes had a sorry game against LSU until the last drive of the game, then against A&M lost the game by throwing a pick when it mattered most, and against UGA he threw for only 160 yards. Not exactly greatness there. This is not a knock on McCarron. Over the last two years he has got it done when he had to but when judging a qb some of the criteria should be how much is put on their shoulders. After all Trent Dilfer has a Superbowl ring while Jim Kelly and Dan Marino don’t. Jay Barker and Buck Belue combined for I think 3 completions in their national championship games, both are considered winners.
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So FU has won 23 openers in a row, huh? Here’s the kicker for me: “All of the victories in the streak have come in Gainesville”. Damn, they have quite a system, don’t they? I’ll bet if Georgia had played 23 pansies in a row in Sanford Stadium, they’d be on a 23 game winning streak as well.
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Psst…we lost our opener in 1996 at home to Southern Miss…
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I have no issue with UGA’s policy of adhering to society’s laws, I simply want them enforced equally among the student body as with the athletes at UGA. If 10-15% of the student body’s parents had to deal with Junior or Missy having an arrest record for something as trivial as smoking a joint we might get the drug laws regarding marijuana revised to separate it from hard-core drug problems.
It is also naïve for Morehead to expect other SEC schools to change their policies, or to think the NCAA-like Slive will exert any meaningful leadership by addressing significant issues. To be fair, it shouldn’t fall on the SEC to write new legislation about drug policies/testing, or making the playing field level, this should be standardized among all member schools, or at least those in the same division. I believe as President, Morehead is the person to bring this issue to the NCAA, why is he shooting low by starting at the SEC office? Even if successful it would just put the SEC in the same position as UGA relative to competing with teams from other conferences. We either believe a marijuana joint is as dangerous as a DUI or assault case, or we need to modify the punishment, or change the legal status of possessing or using small amounts.
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Agree. Jere is wasting his time with this one.
Even if he is successful get getting something passed, predictably UGA will be the first school to accept penalties given each school’s track record in defending such allegations.
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The rules are enforced equally among the student body as the athletes. All of them are suspended from playing in NCAA sanctioned sporting events. None of them are suspended from attending the classes they paid to attend. If the offense is bad enough, they go in front of the judiciary committee to see if class is taken away. Do you really think that the only students that have parents that have to deal with their children’s arrest records are athletes? The rest of them really have to deal with it and don’t have the athletic department recommending lawyers willing to work without pay.
I would like to see some equality among the effort in which the local police departments of the different universities and surrounding towns put in to hunting down offenders of these trivial (IMO) laws. I think we have a lot to learn from the other examples out there.
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No, why would you think that? Of course other parents have to deal with criminal situations for their children occasionally. I simply don’t believe all students are subjected to random drug testing, even non-athletic scholarship students. I have no problem with high standards, just think we don’t look at underage drinking, or simple marijuana possession the same with the general student population. Laws are more likely to change when more people are subjected to bad laws. IMO, the drinking age and marijuana laws are terrible laws as currently written in Georgia, but they don’t impact a large number of people so they just sit there.
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Blacks in Georgia need better lobbyists
http://www.atlantadailyworld.com/201306056553/Original/in-georgia-blacks-are-more-than-3-times-more-likely-to-be-arrested-for-marijuana-possession-than-whites
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What a typical douche comment. Users of marijuana tend to be arrested more than non-users, could there be more lack of respect for the law that factors in, or is just a “cultural thang”?. Not saying we are a great “nation of laws” any more, but sometimes in Rome you need to do as the Romans do. Particularly if that seems to be a better formula for success. Lobbying for reform is a good idea, not challenging it by ignoring the law, but doing so because of the color of your skin is pretty stupid. Leftists tend to be the racist group in today’s society, so seeing everything through a racial outlook fits you well. Kumbayah brother, I am off to find some driftwood for the fire.
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Cracka, please.
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3. cracka please
A statement, used by young rich white gangster wannabe’s, occuring when they believe that are being cheated. Or generally disapprove with something that is being said.
Fredrick St. John: “boy, you be trippin”
James Connelly III: “Cracka Please”
Note to self: Never engage a well trained consigliere on his successful blog that generates 25,000 plus hits a month. I just can’t help myself. I know…………………….reap the whirlwind. (sighs)
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“I am off to find some driftwood for the fire.”
Make it mesquite. I’m up for a steak before kickoff
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Just gotta point this out. Driftwood is found around rivers,lakes and oceans…… mesquite is found in and around the desert. 😉
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I’m trying to throw him off the trail. Maybe he’ll end up in Ciudad Juarez where there’s always a party going on
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Unless the lake is in Palm Springs……
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You know the folks who are really enthusiastic about Georgia’s policies? Parents? Georgia Fans? Alumni? Students? Nope. The folks that really like it are the coaches, players, and fans of our football rivals. “Yea! Great for Georgia! Not for us.” Ask Steve Spurrier what he thinks of Georgia’s policy. After a little giggle, I’m sure he tell you that it’s great.
As for the law enforcement aspect of Morehead’s rationale, last I checked the ACC and UGA cops still have their eyes peeled when it comes to Georgia athletes and the most minor of infractions.
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Why can’t we just be progressive in the other direction. Instead of supporting the State’s War on Drugs, which just a war against its own people, with the nanny state telling us what is and is not good for us, a progressive school would be in the forefront of changing these dumb-ass laws. UGA should take the point in changing the drug laws by taking on the SEC/NCAA on their drug policy. We should declare that pot is not a drug, it is a weed or a wildwood flower if you prefer, but it is not a chemical like drugs. It is simply a plant and we will not invade your players privacy by testing for a plant. Pot is not a performance enhancing drug it is a right of passage. Christ ,Kevin McLee(tailback 1975-77) was stoned his entire time in Athens ,I think his nickname was “Panama Red” wasn’t it? In short just take the THC panel out of the drug screen ,it can be done ,we have the technology.
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Paul Johnson, the perpetual victim wrapped in the casing of a genius.
Sure, Paul, ESPN is biased against Georgia Tech. Who wouldn’t want to offer wall to wall coverage of a program with more probations than wins over their rival this millenium? What network would be foolish enough to avoid covering a program who had fewer players drafted than the Colorado School of Mines in 2013?
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Duke has as many wins over Georgia Tech as Tech has over Georgia since 2001.
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Hell, you can go back much further than that. Since 1957 Duke has beaten Tech 17 times. Since 1957 Tech has beaten Georgia 15 times. Their series with Duke is closer than their series with us over the past 57 years.
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Tech is closer to Duke athletically than to Georgia, they just have a different kind of foreigner and lack a well-rounded curriculum.
Wonder if GT will elect to go with a group that branches off from the NCAA for football? Neither Duke nor GT can compete well there, better off as mid-majors like GSU and Appalachian. Boise would be a much better fit. They really need to think about it. With their record against bigger schools and their small crowd sizes, they are a much better fit a step lower.
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When he reads that, you’ll have to give Chris Christie three steps to try to catch you if he can
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I like what O’Leary said. Kids today are softer, if you ask any old timer, athlete or fan the game is softer. I understand what “they” are trying to accomplish but its having an adverse affect. We hear about more injuries now than ever. Lack of conditioning, lack of teaching, to many restrictions and yet they keep adding games to schedules. I agree with him. Football is a gladiator sport. If you don’t like the contact….don’t play.
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Not saying you are incorrect, but it’s worth throwing out there: doesn’t every generation say the generation that came after them is “softer”?
Seems like one of those things that always gets repeated but people don’t realize the same thing was said about their generation, the one before them, etc.
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Maybe we’re becoming progressively softer with each generation.
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Biggus, who do you think wins in a head on collision if both players met in their prime: Dick Buckus vs Jadaveon Clowney. IMO, Clowney would destroy him.
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That isn’t what soft means. Nobody would argue that players are not bigger, stronger and faster now. I am not even sure if I agree with O’Leary’s assessment that we are softer. I’m just saying that it being repeated by every older generation for the last 100 years doesn’t mean they are/were wrong.
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Bro, go to any Golden Corral and look around. Then tell me America hasn’t gone soft.
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Eh, none of the old generation non-“soft” players were getting hit by opponents running 4.4 40s, bench pressing 250lbs 30 times and weighing 265lbs. Paul Johnson has lost perspective. I think the reasons that injuries have increased it that the violence and force generated by the players have increased exponentially. If he can’t figure that out, he is most definitely no genius…
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Sorry, I meant O’leary…GT douche coach confusion.
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“Our Country won’t go on forever, if we stay soft as we are now. There won’t be any AMERICA because some foreign soldiery will invade us and take our women and breed a hardier race!” Chesty Puller circa 1940s / 1950s
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Jimmy the Greek, circa 1988, thought we already had been invaded
Legendary Brent Musburger, former host of NFL Today (1976-1990), was on Bill Simmons’ 30 for 30 podcast discussing Jimmy the Greek’s legacy and his controversial comment. An excerpt from the podcast:
“Simmons: So you don’t think those comments, in your opinion, reflected the person that he was.
Musburger: Oh definitely did not. Under no circumstances. I will tell you this, hanging around the Greek, as much as I did, he was an old school guy, came from a different generation. But I never ever felt that he was in any way a racist, not in the least.” Now, where are the white chicks and who’s this Herbie guy?
http://www.nowpublic.com/sports/look-back-jimmy-greeks-racist-comment-21-years-later
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The merits of the message are debatable. The fact that the same asshole who had a kid die on his practice field is saying that kids are soft while wagging his finger is reprehensible.
There are more injuries now because players are bigger, stronger, faster and they are pushing their bodies to extremes that previous players were unable to do. Also, they may be concerned with life after football (imagine that), so they try to take care of themselves better than older players did who all died or developed dementia in their 50’s.
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Agree with some of what all of you are saying about this. But it’s hard to listen to O’Leary as the messenger. He sounds like just another old guy dissing the current generation of players. And if he really feels that way, how can he go out every day and coach these kids he doesn’t respect?
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“how can he go out every day and coach these kids he doesn’t respect?”
He’ll do anything for $1,000,000.00 per year?
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Exactly.
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Is O’Leary an asshole? Absolutely. Is what he is saying true? Unfortunately it is. That said, not every kid is like what he describes.
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Some of O’Leary’s worst work
“It is difficult to comprehend how one human being can ignore another in obvious distress or prevent someone else from offering aid to one in distress, but, inexplicably, that is what happened here.”
http://mynews13.com/content/news/baynews9/sports/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2013/8/16/appeals_court_reduce.html
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^^This is one of the biggest things wrong with America right now. These caps allow asshats like O’Leary to get away with de facto murder and the victim gets inadequate compensation. Caps have been legislated into existence in areas other than protecting state government, too. I won’t go into all of them here but caps essentially subvert the system of justice put into place by the Framers via the 7th amendment. People find out about this sort of thing one at a time when something bad happens to them or a family member. When I have to explain something like this to someone who has lost a loved one or who tragically has been catastrophically injured they universally respond: “How can this be, in the United States of America?” It wrenches my guts out every time.
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Claims Bill? What it is good for? In the activist 5th DCA, nothing
http://www.thefloridacurrent.com/index.cfm?tid=73
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That is just wrong on so many levels. I’ve been lucky to have a good doctor and a good lawyer. One thing I bitch about is how things are settled sometimes. My attorney’s response was: “It’s not about who is right. Can you win and stay solvent? I’m not here to win them all I am here to keep you out of court and minimize your exposure. ” Not only does a family lose a son but what happens with all those expenses? “Additionally, the court reversed awarding the plaintiffs’ attorney’s fees of $1,897,720 and costs of $524,931.22. The ruling means that the UCF Athletics Association will not have to pay these costs.”
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AHD, your attorney is a smart guy. He has to say something to you that is palatable rather than say the harsh reality that you, or somebody in your employ, f#cked up and you are going to get your ass handed to you in court if you don’t settle. Plus he sounds like a good negotiator who is probably getting you out of sh!t for bottom dollar compared to what a jury would do to you. So don’t bitch. The guy is doing a good job for you. I am reminded of what an old judge once told me: “A good settlement is better than a bad loss.” That goes for both sides.
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We hear about more injuries now because we’re better equipped to deal with them and know more about them.
Unless you like the idea of athletes being brain damaged and wheelchair-bound in their late-40s.
“Lack of conditioning”
Ha. Let’s have Todd Gurley face off against Skippy McWhiterson from 1958 Oklahoma and see who’s more conditioned.
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Is Char Morris the highest paid assistant in D1? Can Todd Grantham put a dent in Morris’ paycheck? Can Murray move his leadership and level of play to a new standard among SEC QBs and UGA QBs, or will he play like he has the past 3 years? Will Michael Adams be in the lockerroom prior to the game to remind Murray and Bobo about throwing into tight windows and interceptions. Think back to SECCG when the refs ruled no interception on the last drive. Even though big Mike is gone, perhaps his presence will linger in the locker room as reminder to Murray about some of those bad throws in the past. Can the D keep pace on a 100 snaps against Clemson, because no damn doubt Morris is planning to go beyond that number. The Key…400 yards of rushing, 80 snaps with 70 plus rushing + 1&2s on the O line play…68% time of possession for the Dawgs. Turn the ball over TBs and see how many points Morris’s boys put on the board…could be a long ride back to Athens.
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Well done sir. Yet Chad gives me pause. After all uT paid SOD a boat load of cash. Clemson pays HS coach a boatload of cash. 1.3 mil? Gosh all those cherries that marched into Oconee Co. buying land at 10x what it was worth a few years ago were the visionaries. Broke and busted now. I don’t let the Mad Hatters game mismanagement fool me. Chad 3 years post HS? against Todd ( he coached in the pros and the SEC)? This is the SEC regardless of Les’s mess. Bloom is about to come off the rose Chad.
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