Bad news, bad news. The Mars magic didn’t work.
I wonder if that means Georgia didn’t offer its enthusiastic support.
Daily Archives: August 17, 2020
Hello, old friend
Georgia is opening the 2020 season (fingers crossed!) at Arkansas.
Needless to say, it’s a huge advantage for a team breaking in a few new bodies on offense to have the chance to work some of the kinks out against the Hogs instead of the Tide.
How many of you guys are going to be rooting for Junior to pull off the upset against the Gators?
Filed under Georgia Football, SEC Football
Stay tuned for NEWS!
My friends, times are slow at the SEC Network. Product is needed!
The Southeastern Conference will announce its 2020 football schedule on Monday at 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT on a special show on the SEC Network.
SEC Now: Football Schedule Release Show Presented by Regions will air live on SEC Network at 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT on Monday. Hosted by Dari Nowkhah with analysis by Greg McElroy, Roman Harper, Laura Rutledge, Kirk Herbstreit, Rece Davis and more, the show will break down the 2020 SEC football schedule in its entirety. Week 1 of the 2020 SEC football schedule will be revealed at 3 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. CT on The Paul Finebaum Show.
Honestly, I’m surprised they’re not dragging this out over more than two measly episodes on the same day.
Filed under SEC Football
What is this “manball” you speak of?
Kirby Smart’s never heard of it ($$).
“I’ve never gotten on an offensive coordinator’s headphones and said, ‘Please run the ball right here. Please run the ball right here.’ That’s never been the case,” Smart said. “Unfortunately, I think some people might believe that but that’s not my goal. I’ve never said, ‘Please don’t score more points, please don’t score.’ I’ve never done that. We’re gonna do all we can to score points and I think the reason Monken was hired is he is a really good football coach and we’re going to use his experiences and his strengths and the players’ strengths, which is much more important, and we’ll put those at the forefront and hopefully have success.”
Seth said that answer came “largely unprompted”. Unlike this one:
A reporter asked Smart whether Monken was going to bring a radical change to the offense, away from the “Georgia way.”
“Define the Georgia way,” Smart replied, with a knowing smile.
Running the ball a lot, for one, the reporter replied, also with a knowing smile.
“Running the ball a lot,” Smart said, repeating the question. “Hmmm. I believe in doing what you have to do to win. So I’m going to let you define it how you feel comfortable defining it and then I’m going to define it with the best way that gives us success.”
James Coley, he hardly knew ye.
Filed under Georgia Football, Strategery And Mechanics
Five alive
For all the talk about quarterbacks having to learn a new offense and mesh with new teammates, along with the health issues we’ve heard about, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that Smart has a full quarterback room for the first time in ages.
The Georgia Bulldogs entered preseason camp last year with security at quarterback due to returning starter Jake Fromm but without much depth.
Former walk-on Stetson Bennett served as Fromm’s backup, while 2019 early enrollee D’Wan Mathis was never cleared to play last season after undergoing surgery to have a cyst removed from his brain. Fromm stayed healthy and guided the Bulldogs to a third consecutive Southeastern Conference Eastern Division title, but he elected to turn pro in January and was a fifth-round pick of the Buffalo Bills.
Bennett and Mathis return to the quarterback competition as Georgia begins Kirby Smart’s fifth preseason camp Monday, but there are also three new faces: early enrollee Carson Beck, Wake Forest graduate transfer Jamie Newman and Southern California transfer JT Daniels. Newman had a mild foot sprain and was limited for some of Georgia’s summer access period, but he is back at full strength, while Daniels has yet to be cleared completely from the torn ACL he sustained in last year’s USC-Fresno State opener.
“We’re excited about all five of those guys,” Smart said Sunday afternoon. “Those guys have done a really good job in their Zoom meetings of paying attention. We’ve only been able to walk through so far, and Jamie has done a good job of standing behind the huddle and standing behind the play, imaginary taking the snap and getting the mental reps.
“D’Wan has done a great job. Carson Beck has done a great job, and Stetson has done a great job. All those guys are really competing, as well as JT. They all have individual strengths. It’s a competitive room, and each one of them have been in a competitive room before.”
There will be some bumps along the way, but between the increased competition and the greater margin for error on the injury-risk front, I’ve got to think Smart likes where he’s at with this group.
Filed under Georgia Football
Moar injury report
Man, this team has been fairly banged up this summer. In addition to what I shared yesterday, there’s this:
Smart provided some positive injury news by stating that freshman offensive tackle Broderick Jones, a former five-star prospect out of Lithonia High School (Lithonia, Ga.), is back at full strength after an incident this offseason involving a motor bike. He sustained a lower leg injury but has recovered. Senior cornerback DJ Daniel has also been dealing with an ankle injury during the summer walkthrough period but Smart says he’ll be ready to go when practices begin on Monday. He’s one of three UGA cornerback with at least 11 games of starting experience under their belt.
Senior inside linebacker Monty Rice and freshman tight end Darnell Washington can be added to the recovered list as well. Rice has been battling a foot ailment but should be 100 percent when practices resume while Washington is fully back from arthroscopic surgery on his knee. Freshman wideout Arian Smith also had minor knee surgery and should be back some time during the 2020 season.
Redshirt freshman inside linebacker Rian Davis should be back “soon” per Smart after having surgery to repair a torn meniscus. He won’t be able to practice when practice begins on Monday.
As for the worst of the bad news, Dawgs247 has learned that there a good chance freshman cornerback Kelee Ringo misses the 2020 season after having surgery on his shoulder. The injury was sustained in high school and it was not improving once he arrived at UGA. Smart called it “a repair” and said that Ringo would be out for “awhile.” Sources close to the situation, however, have indicated the he’s likely out for the season.
The Ringo news sucks, but if there’s ever a time for him to miss a season, it’s 2020.
Filed under Georgia Football, The Body Is A Temple
“We can only control what we can control.”
And that’s what worries me ($$).
“I know for a fact, being here on campus is way more safe than being anywhere else,” junior cornerback Eric Stokes said. “Because I know for a fact that Mr. Ron (Courson, the head athletic trainer) and all of us are gonna make sure we’re completely safe. When you come in he’s checking your temperature. If you’ve got any symptoms, you’re going to let Mr. Ron know. And anything else after that, they make sure we stay six feet apart. In the team meeting room, we’re spaced out. Everywhere you look, everyone’s wearing masks. I know for a fact we’re much, much safer here than anywhere else.”
You haven’t really been “on campus” yet, Eric, especially with your fellow students en masse. Just ask Alabama’s AD how that’s going.
“The players, they take it very seriously,” LeCounte said. “It’s been (emphasized) throughout the whole locker room and through the coaching staff that in order for us to have a season we’ve got to go by the protocols and the safety measures that have been put in place in order to stay safe, so our team can stay safe. Guys have been doing a tremendous job of wearing their masks, staying away from things that really can’t help themselves or their team. Not having groups of people at their houses, things like that.”
I have no doubt the players and staff are doing what they can. Will that be enough?
Filed under Georgia Football, The Body Is A Temple
Manball, 2020 edition
I want to believe this. Like, I really, really want to believe this.
New offensive coordinator Todd Monken is known for his “Air Raid” attack, and Smart made it clear he’s still open to doing whatever it takes to put points on the scoreboard.
When NFL backs D’Andre Swift, Nick Chubb and Sony Michel were in the backfield the past few seasons, running the football made a lot of sense.
But there’s new offensive talent on the roster, an influx of talent at receiver and veteran Florida State tight end transfer Tre’ McKitty.
Smart wants the talent maximized and points lighting up the scoreboard.
“I believe in doing whatever you have to do to win, we want to get the best football players we can on the field,” Smart said. “We want to be able to score points.”
Hang 40 on ‘Bama, and I’m there with you, Kirby.
Filed under Georgia Football
“It’s really been all about the health and safety of the players, not about the economics.”
… While the SEC is still going full speed ahead with its season, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart assured that the decision to play is focused on the safety of those involved and not the finances.
“That would never be the case for me, because I’ve got an 8-year-old son who is playing tackle football every day. I wouldn’t want him out there if it wasn’t safe,” Smart said. “Economics has not come into the realm of decision making. For all the meeting that I’ve been in or the medical group has been in, that has not been part of the decision making process.”
Well, it’s not like we expect the medical group to weigh on on the economics, dude.
Filed under Georgia Football, The Body Is A Temple
Get The Picture 
You must be logged in to post a comment.