One thing I really don’t want to hear today is how the keyboard commanders on the message boards and comment threads care more about Georgia football than the players do. Because that’s bullshit.
- Bloviation for the Dawgnation
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“We remember the Sugar Bowl, I think it my junior year of high school, we let Alabama beat us twice,” Brinson said of a team that also lost to the Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship game. “We’re not letting Alabama beat us twice. In the Sugar Bowl in 2018, they… thought they should have been in the playoffs and lost to Texas.” -- AB-H, 12/27/23
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Get The Picture · Bloviation for the Dawgnation
Get The Picture 
What about the coaches? Can we care more than the coaches do?
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You can say that. And then some of us can disagree.
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OK. Here’s an obvious example. Would you agree that if the coaches cared more they would do whatever it takes to fix the special teams, especially punt returns? I don’t think it’s lack of knowledge or talent. I just don’t think they consider it to be important, no matter how many points it costs us.
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Like all other teams, practice time is limited, especially during the season. With a team of 2 & 3 year starters, no injuries, soft schedule to begin the season, etc. you can spend more time on ST. With first year starters, massive key injuries, brutal schedule, defense melting down, etc you just don’t have the luxury to spend much time on ST. It’s not a lack of desire or knowledge on the coaching staff, it’s being forced out of your schedule and having to prioritize.
It sucks. You hate it, I hate it, but once behind the 8 ball, it’s hard to get around it. With a fully healthy team and Missouri’s schedule, don’t you think our ST would likely be better? This is not to suggest more could not have been done, but time spent on punt returns in practice is less time for that defensive backfield to practice arm-flapping and running around in open space avoiding receivers. 🙂
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That’s pretty funny.
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And yet, everyone else seems to be able to field a punt
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the crack is strong with the Baitstand
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Georgia did not lose the game because of Artie Lynch. He had a solid game and worked his tail off. Georgia lost the game because the entire offensive unit settled for 4 field goals in a row, turned over the football inside the 30, the special teams turned over the ball inside the 30 and the safety play was as bad as it has ever been in Athens. One guy didn’t lose this game and this season, they all did and that includes CMR and staff. Artie Lynch busted his rear end all year and he should not be remembered for two tough plays. He’ll be a big contributor on Sundays for some lucky team.
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Precisely why I read your blog senator.
As disappointed as all Dawg fans were when Lynch dropped the final pass, I knew immediately there was not one person on planet freaking earth that hurt as bad as him. He is a DGD
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Sad to see that he considers those plays to be the most important of his career. In time, I will most remember him for getting us down to the 5 with a shot to win the SECC and go to an MNC game. Oh, what might have been. I hope we can get back there soon, but I fear it won’t be next year or even 2015.
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THIS.
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Frankly, I’d rather these “fans” egg our players’ houses over the Internet instead of… you know… in reality. But, hey, reasonable people can disagree.
When the worm turns and Georgia is back in the saddle (and that day will come sooner than you wish, haters), the glory won’t belong to the internet dipshits who hack away in blog comments – it will belong to the players and coaches.
I support this team, this coaching staff, and this fine university. If you think that support is a symptom of some kind of acceptance of mediocrity, then there’s not much room for discussion.
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Well said.
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+
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Hear, hear!
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While this season has felt like the Bataan death march at times, there were some incredible highs too – South Carolina, LSU, Tennessee and Tech were some of the best times and most enjoyable and entertaining games I’ve seen and memories that won’t be forgotten. Fortunately, the sting of the losses always mellows with time….
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It’s players like Arthur Lynch that make me proud to be a Dawg fan. I know the players (most) work their butts off to be the best.
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Completely agree.
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We don’t, I think, care more than either the players or the coaches and anybody who thinks they do needs…ah…to rethink? (Surely nobody who has even walked by a team sport of some kind can rationally think they care more than the players and coaches involved in the sport…Surely not.
But we do care differently than the coaches and players…we can’t really do anything about problems on the field, and I am saying that in spite of the hommage I pay to Old Lady Luck and her handmaidens.
When Artie dropped the pass my very first thought was “oh Shit, poor Artie, had a helluva game, too…
I don’t get to run up and hug Artie, so this frustrates me somewhat, makes me pissy or worse.
But I live in Tennessee Land…nobody up here gives me a ration of shit about their football fortunes…even the Bama and Auburn types are pretty tame.
If I lived somewhere where the size of my equipment was strongly impacted by the slings and arrows of my team’s gridiron fortunes, I might think I cared more than the team seems to care…especially if I don’t really understand what is going on on the field to begin with. And judging from some of the comments on previous threads, this certainly seems the case.
And especially if I can’t really do anything about it except bitch.
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Well said.
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Thankfully, the immature cretins do not last long on this board. Mr. Lynch is a DGD.
Breaking the thread here.
I have seen several posters that live in TN on this board. One of my pet peeves with the state of TN is that there is not a UGA license plate. I have seen plates representing even the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Cannot we do something about this?
Having investigated the requirements a couple of years ago, I contacted the alumni association, and was told they tried to get this through but did not have enough people committed to get a plate printed. I believe the number was 500 commitments. That could be wrong. But it was not an unreasonable number, in my opinion. I believe the problem was the alumni association did not go outside the alums and work hard at finding others who would contribute.
Are you TN residents interested in getting a UGA license plate in TN?
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We can’t get one her in VA either. Same story. Not enough fans to step up. I will point out ther is a GT plate.
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Tom, I can’t speak for anybody else, but in Hamilton County, TN, getting a special plate makes any root canal I have had look like a date with a movie starlette.
This is at least part of the reason for me.
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To get a UGA plate requires a minimum number of people in TN to commit to buy. Thus far UGA supporters in TN have not done so.
Once the magic number is reached, then it just requires us to buy it when we renew. Something like $70. Some of the proceeds go to the institution.
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We just got one in NC. The alumni association helped make it happen, but we had to have 300 tags pre-sold before the DOT would start the run of tags.
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I think it is 500 in TN, just takes someone to organize it. Hell, Penn State and Auburn even have one in TN. Ole Miss isn’t surprising given Memphis’ proximity to Oxford and the number of people who are Rebel alums. Just a numbers/revenue thingy, not any vendetta against UGA. Alum groups are the best way to get it done.
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Texas has one but its an extra $200 per year on top of the normal~$75 fee/tax. Too rich for my blood to ride around with what people out here think is a Packers tag.
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A good friend of mine many years ago reminded me that our Dawgs are mostly 18 and 19 year old boys who were trying as hard as they can on every play. They should not be booed like professional athletes; the pros get the pay, they can take the booing.
Young Mr. Lynch showed that he has progressed from boy to man during his time as a Dawg. I am proud that he is a Dawg and I know that he will be successful in the future, wherever he goes.
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+1
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Next time you hear boos at a game, consider that they might not be directed at the players.
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Unless they are directed a refs they don’t need to be heard in the arena. Recruits hear that and it does mot look good to boo our players or coaches.
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I’m pretty sure all the players and coaches are more invested in the team than any keyboard warrior out there.
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Lynch is not the problem and not the reason we lost this game. Nor is he the reason we lost the other 4 games.
I hate it for Lynch that his career ended that way, and never for a second put this loss on him. I can’t believe the Dawgnation as a whole would, either, because the game yesterday speaks for itself.
Georgia doesn’t have a player problem. Maybe that was true in some years past, where an undesirable culture was allowed to develop. But Richt took the steps to get rid of it several years ago, and there’s been no sign of anything like that this year.
These players have done everything that was asked of them, and have given everything they have on the field. If they didn’t show up with the ideal mindset or intensity, or were not properly prepared, that is not on them. They’re college players. They cannot coach themselves.
Georgia’s players, in all 3 phases of the game, played yesterday the way they were coached. Even if it were rational to blame this loss on player, one of the last names on my list would be Artie Lynch.
~~~
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Bingo!
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Uh huh, Ivey.
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The number one problem with the football program is the powers that be at the athletic department. (Not sure if this is the board, McGarity, or both.)
(1) There is no excuse for not giving the best/second best coach in program history whatever he asks for in reason to better the program – indoor practice facility and staffing (non-coach football staff) comparable to your competitors. (Yes, it does not rain much but it is much easier to work on the mental aspects at practice when it’s not 90 degrees or more in August, and you can still spend enough days outside to get the team ready for the weather.)
(2) Failing to compensate assistants at market value – see Mike Bobo.
(3) Failing to let the head coach control football policy – let CMR handle discipline issues instead of a university policy.
(4) Failing to let CMR have final say on scheduling.
CMR is a dang good coach. Let’s give him full control and see what happens.
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Considering nobody else seems to want Mike Bobo, what makes you think his market value is higher than what he is getting paid?
Serious question.
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Are you privy to the amounts Bobo has turned down from other schools?
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Because I actually read the news. Duh.
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He is a great Georgia Bulldog. I’ll always remember him as the first, and likely last, Dawg to ponder how he will teach his future children, who are likely playing football for Brown, how to hate Florida.
I wouldn’t be surprised if 25 years from now he’s the governor of Massachusetts and Conley is the governor of Georgia.
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I felt so bad for Lynch (and Wooten). Both DGDs who will beat themselves up over how their final plays went down. I hate it for them.
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You know, I think I may hate it for Lynch and Wooten way more than for myself…I guess that means I am a Disneyite. 🙂
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The heck with it. I’m going to own being a Disney Dawg…Unless of course it means me having legal trouble With Disney Corporation, People can vote me off the Island if if they choose to, I couldn’t care less.
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Lynch obviously cares a lot, but this is a generalization. I lived a year at ECV and saw too many players getting blackout on Thursday nights before games and hot boxing their bathrooms to believe they all care.
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What year was that, Q?
~~~
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2007-8.
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Thanks. I figured it would be somewhere between 2007-2009. Appreciate the info.
~~~
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I’m getting old. I had to Google “hot boxing”
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Now you’re hitting on a different topic. There’s caring in hating to lose or cause a loss, and then there’s caring enough to do everything you can to win. I think all of our players care in the first way but fewer in the second way.
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It may be a bit of a generalization as you say, but even those you speak of cared enough to go through practices, drills, conditioning, and all of the other shit players deal with. I never cared enough to try it, but as Scorpio says I care differently.
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There are plenty of complacent guys that don’t care to show up until they’re forced ie skipping all the voluntary workouts.
And for the record I’m not arguing that fans care more. There’s a continuum and everyone – fans and players – falls somewhere along it. Lumping everyone in w/ Lynch doesn’t work. It’s akin to comparing diehard traveling fans to sidewalk fans.
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Artie Lynch is a damn good dawg and he never need apologize about his playing. All the keyboard warriors can go to hell!
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Artie Lynch is one of the best dawgs to have on your team. Honest hard worker who cares about everyone. As a previous msg said…4 FG. Come on. Tough to win a game when all you are doing is kicking FG’s
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I think some fans do care more about the games than the players. But, that says a heck of a lot more about those fans than it does the players. If your self-identity depends on the outcome of a game, then you are at heart a gambler, except you’re not gambling money. You’re gambling your soul, humanity, whatever you want to call it.
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When my grandfather started going to games 80 years ago, it was for entertainment. I go all these years later, because it’s my favorite form of entertainment.
It is not life or death and if you are getting your self-worth from what 18 to 22 year old boys do 12 Saturdays a year, you’re probably going to be a pretty disappointed and sad person, more often than not….
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I hoping the guy ends up being a Tony Gonzalez type guy in the NFL. Whatever team is picks him up will be one I follow closely. Hope the Steelers get him so I can watch Jones on D and him on O. 2 years ago, I gave two shits about the NFL.
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I’m rooting for whoever picks up Murray. I believe he can make it happen in the NFL.
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I love Lynch as much as the next guy, but he will not be able to have a TG type of Career and to even mention the two together puts some serious pressure on Lynch. Now could he have a good long career sure, but TG is hall of fame, first ballot. Not many TEs can claim that.
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I wonder who the “experts” compared Gonzalez to when he was coming out.
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The Falcons would be wise to draft this kid, if he’s around in a 2nd or 3rd round. He’s a great player, and Georgia fans would love to see him play.
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I’m sorry, but I really have never heard anyone even pretend that they care more about Georgia football than the players (or coaches even). These comments seem more to me like disney dawgs just saying to themselves “hey, you know what, I need to feel better than someone so I’m going to pretend like the people who disagree with me about UGA football, sunshine, rainbows, and unicorns actually claim that they care more about Georgia football than the players. YEAH! If I paint them in that light I’ll feel AWESOME about myself. Yee-haw!”
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Seconded. I don’t really remember anyone attacking the players outside of a few trolls that are always stirring it up. I think all of our players want to win. My concern is whether our coaches are preparing them to win.
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Lots of comments every loss about how the coaches are complacent and when a kid makes a mistake it’s obvious he doesn’t care.
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Every. Single. Loss.
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There’s clearly a disconnect between your perceptions and reality if that’s what you’ve been seeing, at least on this blog and the associated comments.
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Agreed. This is a straw man if there ever was one.
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If you say so.
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Point me to at least one comment that proves me wrong. Bonus points if it was made by a frequent commenter and not a troll.
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Some fan wrote Carl on his Facebook wall about how he let us down. This style of fans make the rest of us look bad. Artie will be missed. He was “wicked awesome” as they say where he comes from.
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Not Carl crap they blamed him for the loss.
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Caring = Effort = Desired Results
Actually, it’s pretty standard Internet “logic” across the board. People reverse engineer that “equation” to lay blame on the players. Lack of desired results must result lack of effort, which must reflect lack of caring – ergo, if the players cared as much as said fan, then the team would always experience desired results. The notion that a human brain trying to process an entire playing field’s worth of variables in real-time while moving at full speed might hiccup never crosses most commenters’ minds.
I learned a valuable lesson with my kids in their youth sports – seeing the game from the stands is a heck of a lot easier than being down in it. The kids always care more than anyone will ever know and feel the pain of failure worse than anyone can ever imagine. The ability to get up is courage, not complacency.
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“If only the players cared as much as the players on my PS3 NCAA Dynasty! Now THOSE guys care…and if they fail to care, I hit the reset button!” – Common Georgia Fan
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Well said, Senator.
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Senator, You are correct. It Is bullshit & I am so freaking tired of It.
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Artie Lynch reminds me of a crying Kris Durham walking off the field after the bowl loss to UCF……two DGDs who wanted to win more than anything.
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Let’s not praise Lynch and let us not get down on him for the dropped pass. But lets us praise him, Garrison Smith , Murray, Burnette,and other seniors. I’ll laud them more because of some of the situations they were put in by the AD and coaches. These guys deserved a better 2013. I will always have fond memories of them.
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But let us remember those who left early last year and could have been a big part of these guys commitment and loyalty. And I have not one damn clue how they are doing in the NFL and could care less about the NFL.
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teach the coin toss at Bama. Required class for fans and players. They do not know a coin has 2 sides. Player once asked in class what is heads and what is tails. Prof said, don’t worry the ref will tell you.
Tide right out of the gate in 2 TEs. Only on our dream team.
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Way off topic here, but apparently Vad Lee’s transferring:
http://georgiatech.rivals.com/barrier_noentry.asp?ReturnTo=&sid=&script=content.asp&cid=1593634&fid=&tid=&mid=&rid=
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Three quick things.
1) After our sixth drop ball in two minutes and a general malasie and body language that suggested “woe-is-us” in moments, how much do we need an Indoor Practice Facility? I realize it’s mostly about keeping up in the recruiting arms race. But still. We too often look like a soft football team.
2) Goes without saying–but let’s say it–that Arthur Lynch is a Mensch. Proud to have him represent the University of Georgia. It is clear that he is perhaps harder on himself (see his reaction after the fumble in the Florida game) than anyone else.
3) What stood out to me most in his comments was his repition of the words, “it’s the little things.” It was almost a mantra: “the little things, the little things, the little things.” I realize that Saban Philosophy of the Process has been mythologized to Biblical levels. I realize that we had a Biblical level of plauge of injuries. But I keep seeing the same mistakes (“little things”) again and again in the culture of our program.
When Coach Richt was hired, I remembered Steve Kelly from the 1980 National Championship team, making the comment that he didn’t care if Georgia went 0-12 as long as we played hard and smart. Hard and smart. Taking care of the little things. Embracing The Process. We used to do that. But there is a quality control issue in our football culture
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The purpose of the IPF is not to completely avoid elements. The purpose is to have more time to focus on the little things because less guys are fatigued because of the heat – and to get to practice on bad weather days.
Some days you need to work on playing in the conditions – heat, rain, wind, cold, etc. Other days you need to work on perfecting details. You can do both and it’s alot easier to perfect details when the weather is not a factor. If you have an IPF, you practice indoors some days and outdoors somedays.
I find it hard to argue that attention to detail is not a problem with the program.
Can someone explain to me why FSU, Alabama, South Carolina, and Auburn need an indoor facility but UGA does not?
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Insightful words, IMO. Stay tuned.
~~~
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I’d take an IPF, an underground bunker, a Bikram Yoga Studio, a 24-hour Smoothie Fountain in ECV & BM, if it meant we played smart and hard and paid attention to details.
Remember that time Damien Gary returned a punt for a touchdown in Knoxville? Remember that time Reggie Brown blocked a punt in the SECCG? Remember when we took care of fundamentals and might not win each game, but wouldn’t implode and self-destruct like the expansion era Tampa Bay Bucs in vital moments?
Man. I miss those times.
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Remember how many punts/FGs that were blocked by Boss Bailey?
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Not taking anything away from him, but Boss wouldn’t be nearly as effective under the new rules.
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That was my immediate thought, too. Penn Wagers wets himself thinking about calling the “leaping” penalty against Boss to negate a blocked kick.
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They actually instituted a ‘Boss Bailey Rule’ in 2003, I think it was, but it was the year after Boss blocked so many placekicks.
The ‘Boss Bailey Rule’ was a player could no longer approach the LOS, jump, and then land across the LOS. The “safety of the kicking team players who may be on the ground” was the official explanation, but everybody knew it was to prevent great athletes like Boss from impacting the game.
The rule is still in place and they’ve “enhanced” or added on to it since, so that it’s even more difficult for a player who can jump like Boss to have a chance.
~~~
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Who is to say he wouldn’t adjust his game?
Point is, we used to have people making insane plays like he made on ST. I miss it.
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I know what you mean. I’d settle for the merely dangerous in the punt return game. 😉
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Agreed.
For some reason that reminds me of Tyson Browning. I’m not saying he’s Devon Hester, but we used to have some dangerous guys back there.
I don’t know what the problem is. I’m definitely not “in the arena.”
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Fire Nick Saban. Clearly can’t coach or motivate.
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Or Mark Stools before tonight Boomer Sooner my husband graduated from OU in 77 but goes to our games and loves the DAWGS glad his alma mater got the win.
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Stoops not stools.
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No you had it right the first time. 🙂
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He looks tired and bloated from all his meds. Plus he does not care. Same old mistakes has Bama looking just like they did from 2002 – 2005. Suspensions show an overall lack of discipline. He should have had more depth at QB, and don’t get me started on that last ST blunder. Looks like he’s taken the Gumps as far as they can go. Auburn has passed them by. Without change at the top, it’s just accepting mediocrity and only 10 – 11 win seasons with no MNC’s anymore. Anybody who disagrees is just a Disney Tide.
And in Austin tonight, Mack Brown sits on his patio, lights a cigar with a $100 bill and smiles.
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Bingo!
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I agree with you 100% Senator. These players care. They give their all for very little in return. They suffer. They risk their health. They make enormous sacrifices. Some will go pro, but most will not.
That is one of the biggest reasons the complacency and lack of accountability at the top bothers me so much. These kids are only here for a few fleeting months or years. Their time is precious. As a fan, I can wait. I’ve already waited 30 years for another title. I am not that old, I can probably wait another 40 if I have to (though I darn well don’t want to wait that long).
But these kids only have 1-5 years, tops. They don’t have time to waste years giving underperforming coaches “another year” after year after year.
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There are over 21000 D-1 football players. 85 will be on teams that win a national championship in a given year. The world will keep spinning for the rest.
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Sometimes, things don’t go our way. Arty is a DGD. One of the best. It’s a shame this year about how two of our best seniors go out. I love our team and our team’s mindset right now. No more tears next season!!! G A T A !
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Artie lynch didn’t lose this game for us! The red zone woes lost this game. Having to settle for 4 FG’s did us in. The run blocking in the red zone must improve dramatically if we are going to compete for the sec crown next season.
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