Obviously, we’re about to learn more about what’s being set in stone over the next few days – after all, it’s now less than a week until the opener – but if you’re looking to handicap the depth chart, Gentry Estes has a good starting point for you.
If you’d have told me in the spring that the offensive line would be more locked in at right guard than at left tackle, I’m not sure I would have believed you. But, there it is.
And what in the wide, wide world of sports is going on with Ramik Wilson?
Get The Picture 
I may be alone, but I don’t think Ramik Wilson was ever as good as people give him credit for. I think he piled up some tackles in a bad defense that let a lot of carriers into the second level, but he never made many stops. Can’t recall how many “tackles” I saw him make where the ball carrier knocked him back a yard before going down, getting the first down. I always saw him playing on his heels.
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Wilson didn’t start out gangbusters last season, but improved dramatically as the year went on. He had a helluva second half.
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And to be fair, I tuned out a lot during the second half of the season, so maybe I didn’t see that. I do think there are more talented guys on the roster though so maybe it’s less about him than it is about the guys pushing for the start.
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He looked pretty strong to me.
Date Opponent Surface Result Solo Assisted Total
08/31/13 @ 8 Clemson Grass L 35-38 2 11 13
09/07/13 4 South Carolina Grass W 41-30 4 5 9
09/21/13 North Texas Grass W 45-21 6 3 9
09/28/13 14 LSU Grass W 44-41 3 3 6
10/05/13 @ Tennessee Grass W 34-31 8 7 15
10/12/13 5 Missouri Grass L 26-41 8 1 9
10/19/13 @ 24 Vanderbilt Grass L 27-31 3 5 8
11/02/13 + Florida Grass W 23-20 6 5 11
11/09/13 Appalachian St. Grass W 45-6 8 4 12
11/16/13 @ 2 Auburn Grass L 38-43 12 6 18
11/23/13 Kentucky Grass W 59-17 4 5 9
11/30/13 @ Georgia Tech Grass W 41-34 8 1 9
01/01/14 + Nebraska Grass L 19-24 4 1 5
Totals 76
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I think Ramik is a DGD … but I agree with your statement … “maybe it’s less about him than it is about the guys pushing for the start.“
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You’re not alone. Not to take anything away from Ramik, who is a DGD that gave everything he had last year. But no way is he an All-American, nor is he one of the 3 or 4 best LB’s in the SEC. He may not be the 3rd best LB on his own team.
Ramik is the victim of a “stat bomb”, the kind that goes off when writers and pundits use stats to determine who the best players are. I hate it for Ramik, because it’s totally unfair to him, putting him in a no-win position.
BTW, “stat bomb” is a term I got from Gentry Estes, and it’s a good term, IMO, as it describes in two words something that takes me two paragraphs to explain.
A prior, and very good, Georgia example of a stat bomb going off was when Bacarri Rambo made the AP All-America team, and the All-SEC teams. Rambo was never an All-American, nor was hew ever one of the 2-3 best safeties in the League. He wasn’t even the best safety on his own team.
But such is the power of a stat bomb. FWIW, I think this particular bomb also had a hand in the consensus national misconception that Georgia has the best LB corps in the country. Though we might end up very good as a group, we haven’t been anywhere close to that yet, regardless of what it looks like on paper.
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Yes, IL, you’re pretty much alone. Who the hell are you to say Ramik isn’t an SEC/AA. He straps it on every Saturday while you sit back with a cold one and gives “expert” analysis on his ability. Get in the arena and see how it shakes out with OL/TE/RBs trying to flatten your ass and still lead the SEdamnC in tackles. Damn, I get so tired of armchair experts!
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Just somebody who’s played the game, loved it all his life, and observed it closely for more than 50 years. Who are you? Obviously not someone who really knows the game, if anything I said offended you.
I’ve never called myself one or claimed to be an expert. I give my opinion, just like everybody else here. And with that you’ve pretty much described almost everybody here, and most Georgia fans everywhere. We all sit back with a cold one and give opinions. What’s wrong with that?
I’ve been there. And did very well. Have you?
Then maybe you shouldn’t be reading such things. I believe what I said is totally accurate. I didn’t bash Ramik, and called him a DGD. And contrary to what you think, my opinion is shared by others here, and other football people who are close to Georgia. Even some beat writers have seen through the hype:
[audio src="http://media.vsporto.s3.amazonaws.com/_shows/dawgsportsradio/2014-08-20-1766494854-TheSethandGentryShow8.20.14.mp3" /]
You want to challenge something I said? Fine. Be my guest. Because I don’t believe you know what you’re talking about. Otherwise, I’m sorry you were offended, but I don’t really care what you think.
~~~
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If you didn’t care what he thought, why write a 5 paragraph diatribe in response?
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You don’t know?
~~~
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lol! 😉
Asker: Sir, Why Do you wear a top hat?
Answerer: Why don’t you Sir?
Asker: I don’t know!!
Answerer: Neither do I then
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The coaches have called him out, he’s apparently lost his starting job, so CLEARLY there’s at least some truth to what we’re saying, because if he was a true All-American linebacker then there’s no way we’re having this conversation right now, is there?
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You do realize you’re on a college football blog’s comment section, right? It’s literally the one place you could expect to read “armchair” analysis.
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Jesus, what an idiotic response to a well-considered, explained, and perfectly reasonable opinion.
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Interesting seeing Sanders projected ahead of JJ at the Star. I know both have gotten a lot of reps but just kinda figured all along that JJ would win that one. Sounds like Sanders may have a little bit of that Baccari Rambo knack being in the right place for turnovers when the ball is in the air. Tannin often times didn’t make a great play on his turnovers, he just happened to be in the right place at the right time, but he did it a lot so you can’t just say it was luck.
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Me too. I’m downright fascinated. I’ve figured Sanders in since the second scrimmage, but I had him at Safety. The move to Star really surprised me, though I knew he was taking snaps there. He must be a ballplayer, and a really good tackler.
I really thought JJ might get the nod at Safety too, ahead of Corey Moore, with Davis at the other Safety. Maybe Moore has finally come into his own going into his fifth year. That would be nice. It’s gonna be interesting to see how many guys Pruitt plays back there, and in what combinations.
But I trust Pruitt to get his guys in the right spots. Which is a very nice feeling to have, once again. Real nice.
~~~
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I wasn’t surprised at all. The kid is a natural ball player. He played qb, wr, kick returner, and db in HS with a preference toward DB. He was flipped from UCF by Pruitt. Both Gurley and Ramik have had a lot of praise for him. I’m sure JJ will get his reps for sure but if the kid keeps his nose clean and stays healthy we will be seeing a lot of him.
Watch the tape.
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I remember how effusive Michael Carvell was in his praise when UGA finally offered and flipped Sanders. He had several tweets out there about how UGA was getting themselves a guy who just flat out is a football player. I know Carvell has a bad name around these parts sometimes, but he said a lot of nice things about landing Sanders. That definitely made me feel good even back then, knowing that a guy who doesn’t go out of his way to praise UGA was so upbeat about the situation.
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I can see I got autocorrected on that message. “Tannin” should say “Rambo”. Wow.
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Has anyone seen Tramel Terry’s name mentioned lately? I thought he was a promising WR who went to play DB because of a desperate need. If that’s true, I would have expected him to play, or at least do well enough to not be completely forgotten.
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I have made the comment a couple of times about TT since Spring and have seen very little information on him. I did read somewhere that Richt said his going back to offense was not an option. Seems there was a sentence in an article about not getting it done when it came to contending for a role on the two deep.
I would think his injury from last year is behind him by now, maybe something new on the injury front or he is just not getting the defensive assignments down. And there is always the possibility he could be one of those who was rated highly in HS but did not progress at the next level. Had a lot of hope for him when we signed him because he was a highly rated athlete that had a few ways to contribute; hope he is just a late bloomer and will make his mark later this year, or next.
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I think it’s his knee, Mac. The original injury. That’s the impression I keep getting from what coaches have said. He has lost a couple of steps, from what I hear. And he just doesn’t trust it yet. That thing really freaked him out, apparently.
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Terry had surgery on his L knee and his rehab was non eventful. Although he lost a step and did not have that burst off the line he was improving. Later he developed some tendonitis in the R knee the result of over compensating for the L knee injury. Every injury is different and each player handles that insult in their own way. That is a lot for a young athlete to deal with plus a position change. Hopefully he can respond and get back out on the field. I really looked forward to watching him play.
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Thanks for the update guys, hope it works for him. He still has time to get some solid years in.
As for Ramik, I didn’t mean for anyone to interpret that I think he is a slacker from my comments yesterday. I said you can interpret what the coaches are saying that way and many players do lose their edge once they start getting media attention. I felt earlier it was the staff being cautious with concussion symptoms but it seems the verbiage changed this week. I hope it is because the other LBs are stepping up and pushing him. Still think our front 7 could be lights out…..we will know more about that very soon.
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The coaches have publicly challenged Ramik. THAT MUCH, we know. IDK why, and doubt anyone outside Butts-Mehre does. So it’s only natural to speculate why they would do something like that and yours, as well as the others I’ve seen here, are certainly reasonable.
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He missed time starting on the 4th and ending on the 12th. Being off the field for 9 days has got to mess with the rhythm and conditioning? Upside is that he’s been back for at least that long and longer. I’m sure it’s tough to come back to the practice field in this heat after an injury. Sounds like hes on the mend and getting coached hard. Hope he makes it.
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Especially a concussion. The heat can be really tough. I kinda think that’s what it is. If I had to guess, that would be it.
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Tramel will play a lot. He’ll be very good down the line.
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The way CTG used our MLB’s was like baseball catchers. They sat back and caught anybody who got through the DL. It may have been 5 yards down the field but they and like baseball catchers they got a lot of catches. I know that they could not cover anybody in a pass route. They also were really not allowed to shoot the gaps much except on some running downs. If CJP is as aggressive as advertised I see a lot more attacking from the MLB’s this year and a lot less catching 5 yards deep.
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Exactly
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Don’t let anyone fool you. We got us some good linebackers and Pruitt is going to get the most out of them.
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+1. And I absolutely hated it. We gave runners 3 yards most of the time. Not only were they backed way up, they never fired, usually just sitting back there waiting for the play to come to them. Yuk.
A LOT less, if at all. I’d guess the only time we’ll see them that deep will be 3rd and very long.
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I was waiting for someone to bring up the misuse of Wilson and Herrera by CTG. they were both very effective on 1st and 2nd down (we got teams in a lot of third and long situations). Then CTG would inexplicably leave them both in the game in an obvious passing situation and they would get burned covering a crossing route (something neither is well suited to or should be asked to do on a regular basis). This coupled with CTG’s insistence on playing his guys on the heavy side, and the fan base gets a poor impression of our MLBs that is undeserved.
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http://nfldraftgeek.com/ramikwilson_2015nfldraft.html
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…and BOOM goes the dynamite! 😉
I bet that Vandy player thinks Ramik is pretty good.
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And that was not (NOT) targeting. GD, now I need a beer…
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Not only was is not targeting. It was textbook.
~~~
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And I may have missed it in a thread prior to this one, but there is little to (basically absolutely) zero talk about why Ray Drew is 3rd String/Scout team. More interesting than any of the other position battles/changes in my opinion, this one never even seemed to be a battle. Spring came along and Drew was relegated to the scout team. All we’ve heard is nothing but typical responses by Rocker and Co “Well, Ray’s working hard, coming along.”
Besides a laundry list of speculations (he was out of shape, isn’t buying in, still supporting Grantham…you know, typical arm-chair figuring), there has been absolutely nothing concrete from any of the beat writers. How does one go from 6 sacks to scout team?
Has any one READ (not heard) anything on his deep dive down the depth chart (pardon the alliteration) and the reason(s) why?
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Sterling’s steep shot skyward on the depth chart. 😉
I expect Bailey to start but count on Ray getting some snaps.
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The only thing I’ve heard is the notion that football is not that important to Ray. I can’t remember where I heard it, but I think it originated from a coach, because I carefully filter out hearsay. And it rhymes true with what we’ve heard from the coaches.
It’s a guess, but I’m wondering if the coaches are satisfied with the overall effort they see from Ray. If that’s not it, can’t imagine what it could be.
But we’ll see what they really think of him when we play Clemson and SC.
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I have heard the same thing from a coach as well. Drew apparently prefers being a preacher to playing football. I have also been told that Theus is the most fundamentally sound linemen ever to play for UGA, but he lacks the fire and drive to be a dominating O-linemen. I expect little to nothing from Theus this season.
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I’ve heard that too, but not from a coach. I hope it’s wrong, but knowing Theus a little bit, it does have a ring of truth to it.
Theus goes up against Vic Beasley this Saturday. We’ll see where he is as an OL and as a football player. If he looks anything like before, it could cause us real problems, as it did last year.
~~~
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Eating our own even before the season starts. Football can’t start soon enough!
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