He’s behind a paywall at The Athletic, so I’m not gonna ruin the party with a lengthy cut and paste, but one point in Seth Emerson’s piece today about the state of Georgia’s program bears repeating.
Biggest on-field question
The measure of how good things have become for Georgia is how hard it is to answer this question.
There’s no such thing as a perfect team, of course, so there are some answers — Seth mentions depth on the d-line and secondary and punter (!) as examples — but the reality is that none of them appear to be season-threatening at this point. (Especially given Georgia’s schedule, when you compare Georgia’s issues with those of every opponent it’ll face.)
When’s the last preseason time, if any, we could honestly feel that way about a Georgia roster? Maybe going into 2008, at least before we got a real flavor for the genius of Willie Martinez? The 2004 team? I think the 2002 season kind of snuck up on us, so I’m not sure I would count that one. There’s always Jim Donnan’s “I’ve waited fifty-five years” 2000 squad, I guess. (That’s a joke, son.)
Your thoughts?
Get The Picture 
But, but, but…who’s gonna be the 3rd string QB?!?!? Is it time to panic yet?!?
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I felt really good about that 2005 team. That would be the closest to my feelings about this upcoming season. Of course that’s somewhat effected by the fact that our schedule is easier because the east is not very good.
I wasn’t sold on the 2008 team. Too much preseason No. 1 hype. Too much reliance on Knowshon and Matt.
I felt good about the 2012 team. Not as good as I feel about 2018.
2013 woulda coulda been really good before everything went to shit..
Before around 2000 or so I thought we’d win every game despite all evidence to the contrary. Youthful exuberance I suppose.
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I’m an eternal optimist, but 2013 seemed to be set up to win big until injuries hit. I feel the same way this year. I think we’re set throughout, but given how lucky we were with injuries last year, I worry about it this year. Disaster at QB would be a killer, obviously.
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The 2013 team with the health record of the 2017 team would have been a contender. Alas, that damn cow pasture in Knoxville.
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Munson would be worried about DT depth. Seems this was often a concern under Richt. Hopefully, we can avoid injury and sign 2-3 4/5 star guys for 2019.
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Under Richt tackle depth period, offense or defense was almost always a concern.
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2006 was up and down but turnovers cost the team. I knew if they could clean that up the team had the players in place to be special. The Auburn game everything clicked, and I was feeling good about ’07. I suppose that is a reason why the ’07 South Carolina play action call bothers me as well as sticking with the run so long at UT. By the time 2012 rolled around, I around I knew Richt teams would lay an egg a year just as they did against South Carolina 7-35.
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South Carolina 7-35…. smh. That was my first and will be my only ever trip to Columbia east and that shithole they call a stadium.
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That 2K team was so talented. If Corey Phillips had started every game we probably would have been better off.
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If David Greene had been the starter on that team, who knows if Donnan gets fired.
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^^This. Q: What do Billy Graham and Quincy Carter have in common? A: They both can make 100,000 people in a stadium jump up and yell “Jesus.”
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The Dawgs have everything they need to win the East. Everybody agrees.
But I remember all too well the black eye at the black out. a miserable loss by rat poisoning.. I believe the coaches had even partook.
In “17, we all marveled at the determination of Nick Chubb to prevail over any and all circumstances that would have discouraged most men. 2017 was his team. While there was plenty of talent available for the backfield, Nick’s attitude, maturity, work ethic and leadership were not just nice..they were the single most significant intangible factor in the accomplishments or his team. He made everyone believe.
Who’s gonna fill those shoes? Baker? Swift? Fromm? a combination?
It sounds corny, but peer leadership is a big deal, esp. when the chips are down, as they will be sooner or later.
That’s my biggest concern, though I’m sure Kirby’s on that mother…
But you can’t just pick a kid that is big and popular and say, “You’re going to be a leader”…a leader chooses to be one. His peers will know the difference.
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Agree with this. You don’t have to be a leader to be a great player, but you need leadership to be a great team.
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I got $5 bucks says it’s Fromm.
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I’m betting it’s Fromm.
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I was disappointed to the point of being disgusted through the last few years of CMR’s regime; ’13, ’14, & ’15. Had players like TG3, AM, Jarvis, etc. yet mizzou ended up as division champs – twice!! It wasn’t the players, it was the coach.
Sure, there are holes in every roster. But Kirby isn’t sitting idly by letting problems fester. The overall coaching made huge leaps forward in 2017. With the adjustments and improvements Kirby continually makes, I expect that to continue in 2018. We may get injuries or some other type of adversity, but I feel we’ll keep winning big because this HC simply won’t accept the alternative.
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It’s the leadership and accountability that happens right now through fall camp, that lead up to what happens between the ears in the 4th Quarter at Williams Brice Stadium. When the D-line is sucking wind with hands on hips, who’s not gonna quit? Who will concentrate on Fromm when the chickens are clucking to Sandstorm and not jump off sides? Who doesn’t get lazy and face mask someone or get a frustration penalty? These are the little things that will cost us and CKS knows it and it starts now. Need the leaders to show the new young guys with the talent that the mental mistakes need to be left off the field.
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1981.
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We’ve got great talent but how does the d make up for losing Roquan?
Is not a “hole” in the roster, but it is significant.
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definitely is a hink in the fabric
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Biggest question mark for me is whether we can enjoy anything close to last-year’s dearth of severe injuries. One of the many reasons last year was magical was the fact that we ended the season without injuries plaguing marquee players.
That is raaaaaaaare.
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Don’t disagree, but we DID manage to lose our 5 star returning QB on the very first series. That would have been devestating, season-ending injury to just about any other team out there.
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