Taking the good with the bad, SEC Network-style

ESPN adds Gene Chizik and David Greene to the roster.

I’m happy about Greene’s gig, because he’s hosting the one SEC Network studio show that sounds promising.  I’m betting on a lot more substance from him than we’ll get from Tebow.

I’ve got you under my skin.

Tyler catches this “ah, he wasn’t that bad” piece about Grantham that almost reads like something a troll would post in a comment thread here and has some fun with it.  But there’s something bigger I’m curious about.  It’s obvious we’ve got a few Georgia bloggers following Louisville’s season with interest, but is there more general interest than just us?  How many of you are going to add Louisville watching as a hobby this season?

Maybe I should add a recurring defensive comparison post to the blog this year.

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Is it time to fret yet?

Put it this way:  I’m not exactly nestled in my comfort zone with comments like this one from Richt.

“It’s just not a lot settled at a lot of positions, especially on the defensive side of the ball,” Richt said after Wednesday’s mini-scrimmage at Sanford Stadium. “I’m concerned about it. But the dust is gonna settle, and guys are gonna go out there and play ball, and we’ll see what they’re made of.”

I dunno; maybe he’s bs-ing.  Georgia didn’t run a full scrimmage yesterday, electing instead to hit without tackling to the ground.  So if the staff is still up in the air about a number of personnel decisions, it’s hard to see how they’re going about their evaluations.  But this doesn’t sound like smoke blowing to me:

The issue, he said, was “settling a lot of questions” on personnel, starting jobs and rotations.

Richt said there were a couple reasons for that:

– Injuries. The most notable one was Ramik Wilson, the All-SEC inside linebacker who was out about 10 days with a concussion. Richt also pointed to cornerback Devin Bowman, who was making a good move but then suffered a hamstring injury and is out right now.

– The youth and experience, especially in the secondary. Richt granted that was similar to last year, when there were a similar amount of inexperience heading into the season.

“There are so many young guys, so many inexperienced guys, that it will be a trial by fire for a lot of these guys,” Richt said. “And we’ll see how they handle the pressure of it.”

Maybe they’re dedicating this preseason to the memory of Larry Munson.  If so, all I can say is that it’s working.

Seriously, what I do wonder from that last observation is whether Richt felt really burnt by how unprepared last year’s secondary was and is trying to avoid another situation like that at all costs.  If that means waiting until the very last minute to set a rotation in the secondary, I guess that means we’ll wait.

Thursday morning buffet

Dig in, dig in.

• Here’s a lede you don’t see every day.
• Clemson has lost its top returning rusher for the season.
• If it’s the year of the running back in the SEC, here’s why.
• Tony Barnhart ranks this year’s SEC road schedules in order of toughness.
• SEC schools step up fan engagement!  (One guess on what’s missing from the list.)
• I read this and can’t help but wonder why, if it’s true, schools keep moving up to D-1.
• Really cool piece on the read option pass, but, looking at the replay of Nick Marshall’s pass to tie the Iron Bowl late, I’m amazed at how Auburn barely dodged being penalized for either Marshall crossing the line of scrimmage or linemen being too far downfield.

Let the po’ mouthing begin.

Richt expresses concern for Ramik Wilson’s game readiness as Wilson returns from a concussion.

Spurrier sees Richt’s Wilson concern and raises him Mike Davis worries.