IPF, stocking stuffer

You know, when Greg McGarity gets off his my precioussss shtick, and talks about the nuts and bolts, the lack of a rush to fill Mark Richt’s Christmas stocking with an indoor practice facility is a rational call.  I mean, when you get down to it, here’s the reality:

4. The football team wouldn’t use it that much for actual practice

The reason there hasn’t been much urgency is that the Bulldogs don’t actually have to cancel practice or bus to Flowery Branch that much. Every time it happens it looks bad to not have a facility, but it happens infrequently enough that the administration has to weigh that against the cost.

“You can count on your hands how many times we would have needed it this year. You can probably count it on one hand. Two days against Tech. Probably the first day of bowl practice,” McGarity said. “So that’s a significant investment for something that is used infrequently.”

Ten million bucks to relieve the head coach of less than five days of inconvenience is a luxury.  That’s all.  It hasn’t cost the program a title (and remember McGarity comes from another program that won two national titles without having an IPF); I’d have a hard time pointing to a specific loss and blaming that on adverse practice conditions, for that matter.

My only question is why didn’t he start with this explanation instead of “you want it, fans, you buy it”?

Feliz Navidad

I don’t know if this is the greatest Christmas song ever written, but it’s certainly in the running.

On the second thought, maybe it is the greatest Christmas song ever written.  Hope y’all are enjoying a great holiday season.

Habemus coordinator!

Sounds like Boom’s found his guy to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic resurrect the moribund Florida offense.

Roper has served as Duke’s offensive coordinator since 2008. This year, the Blue Devils ranked 68th nationally in total offense, averaging 408.1 yards per game. The Blue Devils averaged 31.6 points per game.

In 2012, Roper helped direct the Blue Devils to a school single-season record of 410 points and 31.5 points per game, the fifth-highest total in school history.

Roper has extensive history in the SEC. He got his coaching start at Tennessee while serving as a graduate assistant from 1996-98 and then followed current Duke head coach David Cutcliffe to Ole Miss, where he spent six years coaching quarterbacks and was the passing game coordinator during his final three seasons.

In 2005, Roper served as Kentucky’s quarterbacks coach before serving as running backs coach at Tennessee in 2006 and 2007.

Tennessee, Ole Miss, Kentucky and Duke may not sound like much, until you consider they all look a long way up from this:

Pease’s dismissal came on the heels of an injury-riddled season in which Florida ranked last in the SEC in total offense (316.7 yards per game) and scoring (18.8) during a 4-8 season. It was the first time since 1979 that the Gators suffered a losing season and the first time in 22 years that they failed to make a bowl game.

Florida scored 30 or more points just twice during the 2013 season, tying for 112th nationally in scoring offense. The Gators also ranked 113th nationally in total offense.

What do you figure the over/under is on the number of years Roper has guaranteed on his contract?

I know you are, but what am I?

I got asked this musical question the other day in the comments…

But I’m curious, is it because you’re a “Disney Dawg” as I’ve heard others say, and a reality POV threatens that paradigm?

… and it kind of got me to wondering (1) how would you define a Disney Dawg and (2) what’s the difference between being a “realist” about Georgia football and being overly pessimistic?

Bonus question:  how many of you have had or currently now have the pleasure of raising teenage offspring?

There aren’t any wrong answers here.  I’m just trying to get some context about why folks are so judgmental about certain issues.  Maybe I’ve been missing something all these many years.

Eastern Saban Time

I don’t know if anybody caught this little blurb via Loran Smith, but it’s amusing:

Prior to the Southeastern Conference championship game between Missouri and Auburn, Rodney Garner, the former Georgia defensive line coach with the same position at Auburn, his alma mater, had this offering: “Nick Saban is the only coach in our conference who could have gotten the officials to put one second back on the clock, and it bit him.” He was, of course, referring to the subsequent field goal attempt by Alabama, which was returned for a touchdown and which sent the Tigers to the SEC championship game.

If anybody had said something like that about one of Corch’s moves that backfired, he’d write a book about it.  I suspect Saban’s just walking around, muttering something like “revenge is a dish best served cold” to himself.  If he has time for that shit, that is.

Al Golden wishes you a happy holiday.

This is real, and it’s spectacular.

The Best Festivus! pic.twitter.com/bmqyVcF6SZ

— Al Golden (@GoldenAl) December 24, 2013

It’s Alabama’s world, and CBS is just living in it.

Behold the wonder that is CBS’ list of the top ten “SEC on CBS” games:

“ALL TIME” in the sense of “since 2000”, that is.  Alabama seven times out of ten?  Sheesh, guys, you need to get out more.

Texas A&M is on the list more than Steve Spurrier is.  Now that’s tradition.

I admit I’m biased, but how in the hell do you leave this game off a list like that?

It’s good to know that Mark Richt’s lost control again.

Surprise, surprise.

Georgia safety Josh Harvey-Clemons and CB Sheldon Dawson suspended for bowl game due to violation of team rules.

— Marc Weiszer (@marcweiszer) December 23, 2013

***********************************************************************

UPDATE:  This is for everyone who likes to jump to conclusions.

Sources tell me suspensions are due to academics but school cannot and will not confirm.

— Radi Nabulsi (@RadiNabulsi) December 23, 2013

History of Martial Arts

The next time someone from Georgia Tech whines about how the football program can’t compete because of academics, hit ’em in the mouth with this.

Of course, be prepared for some Olympics-level spin when you do.

We await the next excuse.

In related news, General Francisco Franco is still dead.

With any luck, they won’t hire a new offensive coordinator in Gainesville until the week of the Orange and Blue game.

It’s hard to believe Boom can’t land somebody with a sales pitch like this:

With Florida’s base of talent and deep pockets, the OC job remains attractive. After all, before Pease, Florida’s three previous offensive coordinators — Dan Mullen, Steve Addazio and Charlie Weis — left for head coaching jobs.