A gloomy answer in response to a Tony Barnhart question:
GN: Can either Georgia or Florida challenge Tennessee in the East?
Danielson: As for the rest of the teams in that division, I just don’t see it. Georgia has problems at running back. Greyson Lambert isn’t the guy to move that team forward. They are weak at linebacker, weak at wide receiver.
Weak at linebacker? Shit, I thought that was one of the team’s bright spots.
Get The Picture 
I don’t see any of the three being ready for prime time myself. Their records vs the better SecW teams will show it.
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This.
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Gary Danielson is the biggest bandwagon jumper in the analyst business. I HATE listening to him but have to because of Uncle Verne. He was practically cheering for Tennessee in the game on the cow pasture last year.
I really hope CBS can convince Todd Blackledge to come back and team up with Brad Nessler when Nessler takes over for Uncle Verne.
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I don’t know what planet you live on man, but all I remember from the TN game last year is about how much he talked about Chubb and how his heart went out for him and how Georgia looked like they were stunned (which they did) for the entire game because of Chubb going out.
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Did you watch the 2nd half of the game? He was practically shaking an orange and white pom-pom from the press box.
I don’t like him. I’ve never liked him. He’s a damn Yankee. Yes, Blackledge is a Yankee as well, but he’s unbiased and great to listen to.
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Well, everyone is biased. And I’m half-Yankee, so maybe that’s why I like Gary. But even though my mom is from New York, my dad was born and raised in Athens, so I don’t think my loyalty is in question! =P
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There’s a difference between being from the North and being a damn Yankee. 🙂
I just don’t think Danielson hides his bias very well.
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I’ve always thought Danielson was pretty even-handed in his analysis, and I think he is just a fan of whoever is playing better football at the time….. which in last years game was not Georgia. =(
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Bandwagon fan — fan of whoever is playing better football at the time
His job is to provide unbiased analysis, and I haven’t seen much of that recently since he’s been on CBS.
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His job is to keep people tuned in to the game. And he and Verne will tell you that: they’ll start talking up what they think will keep people watching.
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The Civil War is over — the north won. Nevermind the 21st century, try getting in the 20th century for once.
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I love Todd Blackledge who is also from the North because he seems to love Southern football. I don’t get that Danielson loves it beyond that he gets a big paycheck for it. He’s a Big 10 guy that I would like to go back to calling Big 10 games rather than as Uncle Verne’s press box mate.
If you can’t read into a little snark, sorry about that.
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Was it over when Germany bomb Pearl Harbor? 😉
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Only halftime…they are just winning so far
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Get the fuck out of here, you mother-fucking carpetbagger! If we had had a better corn crop that last year, you never would have gotten us to the Truce Table.
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“No war is over until the enemy says it’s over. We may think it over, we may declare it over, but in fact, the enemy gets a vote.” – Gen. James Mattis
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You don’t remember much, Jared. Danielsen showed a little compassion after the Chubb injury, as any human being would, but he sounded like a Tennessee homer for much of the remainder of the game. Maybe he was just pulling for a competitive game since UGA jumped out ahead 24-3 late in the first half. To that point, how is it that we were “stunned for the entire game” when Chubb was hurt on the first offensive play and we were up 3 TD’s near half? We let UT back in the game on two plays late in the first half. On 4th and 9 near midfield, they threw a 15 yard pass that went through two of our DB’s arms and was run in for a TD. Then, Michel fumbled the subsequent kickoff and that led to another UT TD. In a couple of minutes, we went from potentially being up 31-3 at half to being up only 24-17 at half. Even with Chubb’s injury, it’s another one of those “coulda, shoulda” games that were increasingly typical against teams with a pulse during Richt’s tenure.
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Thanks for the condescension. I remember enough:
1) I give you that the players weren’t stunned “the entire game.” But I certainly buy the argument that they were stunned once they realized the extent of Chubb’s injury later in the game.
2) Being up 24-3 isn’t necessarily evidence that we looked like we were playing a great game. What was their to congratulate us for? We had some great explosive scoring plays, but we weren’t looking like we deserved to be up by so much. Our offense (like so much of last year) looked pitiful. 14 of those 24 first-half points were on a fumble recovery and punt return for TDs.
3) Considering the fact that our defense allowed their QB to rack up 430 all-purpose yards and account for 5 TDs I don’t suppose we can say they did very well either.
The point is that the score was closer than it should have been. Tennessee probably should have won by 17, not by 7. Just like Bama should have won by 48 instead of 28.
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The 2013 team was stunned when their teammates continued to drop like flies on that piece of garbage field in Knoxville. The difference was the 2013 team had a leader who put the team on his shoulders and willed them to win … Aaron Murray.
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+1
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Yep. Danielson is pretty fair. He’s an SEC homer but he’s paid to be one.
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I mean, if I take my homer hat off, who would I put money on? UT is the strongest team in the East going into the season so I can’t fault him for thinking they’re the team to beat.. but I also don’t see them getting through their schedule… even still, it’d hard to put money on anybody else.
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That’s very true. I think UT is the favorite as well, but I’m not sold on them.
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If they had our schedule, picking them would be a no brainer. Not saying they’d win the East, because how often does the favorite win it? But It’d be a lot easier to pick them in that case.
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Agree 100%
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We have injuries at running back…but when they are healthy, which they should be in time for divisional play, then they’re the best RB tandem in the country. Not sure how much of a problem this will prove to be.
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Until Chubb proves he is good to go, I understand the doubt.
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That mental hurdle might be bigger than the physical. I understand the doubt too…it lurks in the back of my mind.
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The key to our season will be getting through September, and how quickly Eason settles into the job…. because I have no doubt he’ll be the starter by halfway through the season.
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If I were gambling man (as things look now), here’s how I think the SEC East will shake out:
1) Florida (even though we beat them)
2) Georgia
3) Tennessee (even though they beat us)
4) Kentucky
5) Missouri
6) Vanderbilt
7) South Carolina
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I would take that as a decent season…provided we beat the Barn and the NATS
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With the exception of RB, bc at the very least, Sony will be back, I’m not sure I disagree with him. This is the last season that the dumpster fire that was the 2013 recruiting class kills UGA. 2014 was better and 2015 and 2016 were a lot better and we actually have a coach now that understands and appreciates roster management, but they still have to survive this year.
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Cool, we still get to blame CMR for this year.
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I 100% promise you that if Kirby squid kicks a game away or gets pants on special teams that I will not blame Richt.
If he has no WRs, no ILBs, no OTs, a paper thin DL, and only 2 SEC quality DBs, then yeah, I might think his predecessor’s roster management was subpar.
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How do we not have WRs? Were we not all pleasantly surprised at their output during Gday? Also our tight end line-up might be one of the best in the SEC.
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Who gives a rat’s ass about what Gary Danielson says about anything ever? I try very hard not to listen to what he is saying. The more it’s just background noise the better.
We should know what we have here in 2016:
A major qb question
A decimated dl
Questions about the health of the only two guys on offense we know we can count on
Questions about whether Kirby will be installing his defense, damn the consequences for 2016, like CNS would or whether he’s going to adjust to what we have on campus today like CPJ did.
There are huge swings in expectations depending on how those issues play out. 6-6 and an early December game in Atlanta are both real possibilities. I do know one thing: it’ll be interesting.
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Did Danielson pick mizzou to win the division in ’13 and ’14? Or fu last year? Truth is, for a guy who is paid to know the sec better than just about anyone else, his projections aren’t much better than my guess.
I’d argue our LBs might be the best and deepest unit in the division.
Is anyone saying Chubb and Michel won’t be back when we play our first sec game?
I’d argue our QB situation is 2nd best in the division going into the season.
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“2nd best” to which team? By the time our speedy D backfield meets Tenn in Sanford with a couple of our speediest vying for interception supremacy in the SEC, we will be “1st best”.
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Add me to the list that loathe Danielson to begin with. His opinion is worth nothing to me because it usually shows he knows very little about each team he’s discussing aside from the major stars on each team. I for one would love to have Blackledge back as color commentator for CBS games.
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UT returns a QB, good skill players, and finished ’15 strong. Conventional wisdom, sure, but that’s what you get this time of year.
I think UGA can win it and win a lot of games in ’16, but honestly:
New coaches mean new schemes, terminology, and a period of transition
New HC has to adjust to the job – Kirby is doing things he’s never had to do before. He may be well-prepared, but doing is different.
Nick Chubb and Sony Michel are not 100%
We don’t have a quarterback: we have experience and we have talent, but each trait is in a different guy.
DL is thin and has suspensions
No proven go-to WR
There’s no Jarvis Jones on this team. There’s no Aaron Murray or David Pollack. Chubb is that guy, but he’s still got to get healthy. So, right now, there’s no super-star.
I mean, that’s just the 7 I can come up with off the top of my head. We could be anywhere between 6 to 10 wins. 5 weeks to go…
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“…and finished ’15 strong. ”
We’ll I should hope so. In conf play…
Kentucky 2-6
uSC 1-7
Mizzou 1-7
Vandy 2-6
Mean Texas 1-7 in their conf.
Damn! Bootch Please was getting after it with that level of competition.
uT won’t beat Georgia Between the Hedges in 2016. I don’t care if Peyton is strolling along their sidelines.
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Also, Gary Danielson sucks. Blackledge is really good.
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Blackledge is the best. And he knows Southern food, along with Southern Football is supreme!
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Exactly! Well said! Blackledge is awesome! I’ve almost forgiven him for that pass in the ’83 Sugar Bowl because of how good he is in the booth.
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Almost…
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Oh HELL no.
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I said almost …
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We lose our entire starting front seven on defense, and we have a rookie head coach. On paper, it’s kind of a toss-up between us and Florida for #2 in the SEC East.
Tennessee has a TON of experienced starters and ample depth returning. The main argument against them is “Butch Jones is stupid.” While there may be some validity to that argument, there’s just too much talent on that team to rationally pick against them winning our division.
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If Tennessee finally beats Florida, I may change my tune about the Vols.
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“Tennessee has a TON of experienced starters and ample depth returning”
Is it just unlucky for us the way things have fallen for this year? Or, does recruiting nullify the attrition woes?
DAWGS247 recruiting rankings since 2012 (we still have a couple of players from 2012)
2012 – UGA 8th, UT 20th
2013 – UGA 12th, UT 24th
2014 – UGA 8th, UT 7th
2015 – UGA 5th, UT 4th
2016 – UGA 8th, UT 14th
If our current coaching staff is as detailed-oriented in their technique and X/O coaching as they have been in other areas since arriving, we will be good. We match UT in talent, just not experience overall. We have talent between the starters and the new-comers that has been in the system…through a lot of practices and some game experience. I like our chances ‘tween the hedges.
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Your reality does not fit the narrative, cease and desist 😉
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You betcha! Our D-backs will control that QB after 1 int.. He tossed a few last year(the year of his Heisman-ascendency/Oh No! progression).
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I don’t see how you can say those positions are weaknesses. Are they unknown question marks? Absolutely. But that’s different than saying they are weaknesses.
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QB is a weakness if it IS Lambert.
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Agreed. We have talent, but we have questions. The Hillbillies have less questions, but it doesn’t mean their answers are the best answers.
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On offense we only have questions at QB, RB, WR, OL, and PK. We sure are set at TE though. Look out SEC!
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Maybe we should have one of the TE’s try out at QB ;).
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How is OL a question mark, we return 98 starts which I believe is most of any team in league. Who would you swap OL ‘s with?
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We lost both starting tackles and our center gets stonewalled at the line of scrimmage on a regular basis. Number of starts for that unit doesn’t say much about anything IMHO. I’ll take Bama’s because I know they recruited better than us and will be running people’s asses over again by the time it matters….thank you.
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Gary just says the stuff that gets people riled up, good and bad. I don’t like him because he relies on making fans angry to create his “color”. His criticisms are edgy, he likes to set himself up to guess play calls and crows about it. I respect folks who don’t go out of their way to reveal their competency. Sort of “wise men don’t want people to know that they’re wise”.
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I really don’t see that. Stephen A Smith is the kind of guy to stir the pot but I don’t see Gary as trying to set himself up or trying to stir the pot. He’s legitimately good at tactics and predicting plays but he does get caught up in the Narrative with Verne quite a bit. I think that’s why people get upset with CBS.
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Good. Gooood! Talk up the Vowels and ratchet up the pressure on Sgt Carter.
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The only thing that I do not like about Blackledge, is that he beat us once.
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I agree with Gary and all his concerns all are weaknesses that will keep us down.Thanks to CMR! I also think Gary is a find student of the game!
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People that have strong feelings about the game announcers and want to make sure you know they have strong opinions about the announcers are a special kind of people.
bless their hearts.
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Ain’t that the truth?
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