Oh, baby, meet the “jantie”.
Before you ask, “what’s the big deal with that?”, consider what the average Florida fan you run across looks like.
Monthly Archives: March 2019
C’mon, c’mon, c’mon, touch me now…
Unlike Mike Griffith, I don’t think Kirby Smart is going into this season with an objective to give D’Andre Swift an opportunity to win the Heisman, but do I think Smart plans on running more of Georgia’s offense through its best player? Sounds like it:
“I think the biggest thing, besides his health, is just the touches,” Smart said in an exclusive interview with WSB for the Bulldogs Game Day Show. “He’s been sharing touches, sharing touches, and he’s really a talented player.
“We’ve got to find a way to get him more touches and he’s got to be able to handle the volume, and a lot of that comes with a good offseason, which he has had so far.”
There’s little question that Swift looked like a different back late last season once he got over his injury problem. He was tenth nationally in yards per carry last November. He’s indicated that he’s turning pro after this season. There’s experience on the roster with Brian Herrien, but he’s not the same quality back. There’s tremendous potential with kids like Zamir White, but right now, potential is all there is. Add all that up and it’s a no-brainer that Smart wants more touches for Swift.
Early on, at least, it’s gonna be D’Andre’s world, and we Dawg fans are gonna be lucky enough to live in it.
Filed under Georgia Football
“We all know one another and we know what each other is going to do.”
I know coaches are generally reluctant to say they’ve changed jobs for the money, even when that’s apparent, so it’s no surprise to me that Jim Chaney doesn’t go there. Instead, he drops this:
Chaney grew philosophical when asked about learning about his offensive personnel at Tennessee, ultimately indicating he may have more control of his offense there, than he did at Georgia.
“You understand, wherever job you go, there is no perfect coach and there is no perfect team,” Chaney said. “You try to get wherever you are at and try to understand the personalities of the players and their talent level.
“Also, the philosophy of the head football coach and the way he wants to do things,” he said. “It has been interesting for me to watch the existing offense for these first eight practices and seeing who we are. In my mind, I am trying to sort out what kind of offense I think we should play ….”
Sounds like Jeremy Pruitt isn’t requiring him to Impose His Will. Wonder what Chaney will call the first time UT has a first-and-goal against Florida this year.
It’s a small world.
I think everyone has seen that iconic picture of Nick Chubb prepping for the 100-meter dash as a high school senior, but did you know who almost beat him in the race?
Hey, you beat Chubb in anything, you’re entitled to make a little smack talk.
Filed under Georgia Football
Makin’ havoc
So Kirby Smart said this:
Is that really a thing?
Recall Bill Connelly’s definition of havoc rate: Havoc rate is calculated by tallying the total number of tackles for loss, passes defensed (interceptions and breakups), and forced fumbles and dividing it by total plays.
Bill also separately tracks havoc rate for the front seven and for the defensive backfield. Here’s what all of that looked like for the top seventeen teams in defensive S&P+ last season.
That’s a pretty good snapshot of Georgia’s 2018 defensive identity — great on limiting big plays, not so much on the havoc front, especially in the defensive backfield. The Dawgs only intercepted eight passes last year, a number that was 95th nationally. Coincidentally, 95th is also where the team finished in tackles for loss.
Clearly, when it comes to havoc rate, this was not a dynamic defense in 2018. Kirby seems intent on changing that, so the question is, if there are schematic elements to increasing havoc, what are they and how much do they risk negatively impacting defending explosive plays?
I’m not sure how far this goes. Alabama was far better than Georgia was last year when it came to front seven havoc, but ‘Bama had Quinnen Williams and Georgia… didn’t. That’s why I think this may hint at a more significant development for enhancing havoc:
Coincidence that Smith and Johnson are getting early spring buzz? I think not.
Filed under Georgia Football, Strategery And Mechanics
A rock in Waco has just been turned over.
Who knows what’s going to crawl out?
A federal judge in Texas ruled Thursday that a law firm must turn over thousands of records that lawyers believe will give a fuller accounting of how Baylor University responded to sexual assault allegations made by students.
Judge Robert Pitman said in his order that Philadelphia-based Pepper Hamilton must produce all materials related to its internal review that resulted in a 2016 summary report finding an “institutional failure at every level.”
The firm “must produce all materials” in its control that Baylor either has not produced or doesn’t possess, Pitman determined. He swept aside several objections that Pepper Hamilton had lodged, including that the federal court in Waco, home to the university, did not have jurisdiction in the matter. He ordered that the materials be provided by April 11.
I have no idea myself, but hope it puts Ken Starr in the worst possible light.
Living in an over the table world
Andy Staples ponders a world where Mark Walker’s bill becomes a reality.
First, we have to figure out what players would move the meter enough to justify a national advertising campaign. That list is incredibly short. The highest Q score of any college athlete at the moment belongs to Duke basketball player Zion Williamson, and no one else is even in the same zip code. Williamson raised the profile of an entire sport. There hasn’t been a college basketball player like this in decades. (LeBron James would have been like this had he been forced to go to college.) The only football players of recent vintage who compare are Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton and Tim Tebow. They were more phenomena than people as college athletes, and companies would have fallen all over themselves to hire them as pitchmen.
But, as you can see by that short list of names, that’s rare. The only two college football players at the moment who have the name and face recognition to command a national ad campaign are Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Tagovailoa probably would be courted by a variety of companies, and his ideal match would be something like the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, which could use Tagovailoa to promote tourism for his home state. Lawrence, who didn’t become the starter at Clemson until late September, would be the subject of a bidding war between Pert Plus and Pantene.
Locally, you’d see a lot of players getting paid much smaller amounts. Stars on football teams in SEC and Big Ten markets would be signing the aforementioned autographs, and local stores and restaurants might slide players a few bucks to appear in local TV and radio spots. Car dealerships might work trades instead of paying cash. Let’s say this had been within NCAA rules when Tebow was playing. To get an awkward commercial that features him saying “I got my new Ridgeline at Honda of Gainesville,” the dealership might only need to offer a free lease for the remainder of the college career. When the player returns to the car at the end of the lease, the dealership could then sell the vehicle. It would be a very small cash outlay for the dealership that would support the local team and a key player.
The point I think Dan was trying to get me to make with this question is the dollar figures would not be nearly as big as most people think they would. Even very good players would still be in the five-figure range. Only a select few would command big money. In that way, the money would be similar to the amounts of cash that change hands under the table in college football, only the money would go to the player instead of some shady middleman who may or may not pass along the money to the player.
I’m struggling to understand why that would be an apocalyptic outcome for some of you. Enlighten me as to what I’m missing.
Filed under It's Just Bidness, The NCAA
“No one is safe. I don’t care about anybody.”
Clearly, no one has ever told Zach Smith about the Rule of Holes.
The Rule of Assholes, though… yeah, he’s pretty up to speed on that one.
Filed under Urban Meyer Points and Stares
TFW it just means less
Deandre Baker, on his ultimate decision not to play in the Sugar Bowl ($$):
Baker was then asked how the playoff has changed decision-making for prospects such as himself.
“If it’s not the playoff, the game — it means something — but you don’t want to get hurt in that last game that doesn’t really hold any value,” Baker said. “It’s just another game to say you finished with your dogs. But knowing you’ve got a bright future ahead of you, and that this game isn’t the national championship or the college playoff if you go out and get hurt, it doesn’t only hurt you, but it hurts your family if you have to take care of your family and be the breadwinner. It’s things like that.”
Y’all keep telling me more CFP games don’t devalue anything. Yeah, sure.
Of course, the obvious solution is to expand the postseason — excuse me, the meaningful postseason — enough so that players like Baker won’t sit out. Brackets, for the win!
Filed under BCS/Playoffs, It's Just Bidness
Get The Picture 
You must be logged in to post a comment.