The last time friend of the blog Travis Fain asked me an innocent question about Georgia football, it led to this, so let’s just say I pay attention when he emails me with a question.
Like this one:
This got me thinking:What if you used your approval voting system to name an all time team, or a top 25, or maybe go by decade, etc?
That sounds like a brilliant idea. I’ve already spoken with Peyton, my partner in crime at the Mumme Poll, about it and it’s doable.
The tricky part isn’t the approval voting. It’s going to be setting up the parameters. How to decide who makes the ballot? How do we deal with recency bias? Do we look at this by position? By decade?
That’s where we need your help. Lay your suggestions on me in the comments. What I’d like to do after hearing from y’all is post a follow up discussing the framework. From there, it’s all about putting ballots and votes together to come up with what should be a very fun Dawg fan poll.
Let me know what you think.
Get The Picture 
My two cents. Everyone sends in their 3 deep by position. Regardless of era. From the results I’d think you’d have 1st, 2nd, 3rd teams and some honorable mentions.
LikeLiked by 5 people
I like that idea. For a few years now I’ve been keeping a running “depth chart” of my favorite Dawgs from every position, and I’d be interested in seeing who the other commenters on this site would pick.
My biggest question for something like that would be how strictly you define the various positions. Do you just have a category for WRs, or do you try to break them down into X/Y/Z? Do you classify a guy like David Pollack as a DE, or do you put him in an OLB spot since that’s the position he’d be more likely to play in a 3-4?
LikeLiked by 3 people
Maybe you get cute with 13 or 14 starters on each team. If you just do RB with no FB there’s some dudes who won’t make it. We’re running 3 receivers, 1 TE, 2 rBs, QB, FB, and 5 OL. 4 LBs, 4 DLs, 3 corners, 2 safeties?? Don’t forget those specialty teams. Deep snappers and what have you. Maybe a separate category for spring game QB?
LikeLiked by 1 person
We also have that “STAR” position on defense that’s tailor-made for a Thomas Davis/Alec Ogletree type. I agree that there should be some flexibility, and that it doesn’t need to be strictly 11 slots on either side of the ball.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not sure Davis could play Star. Star has to be able to cover and that was his Achilles heel at the safety spot.
LikeLike
Does Mett qualify for spring game QB?
LikeLiked by 4 people
Logan Gray and Dwan Mathis were sensational, too
LikeLike
Great. How the hell do you do that at running back?
LikeLike
#34 then everyone else. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
yeah – i was thinking one RB spot for voting and your top two are first team, next two second team, and so on
LikeLike
By YPC.
LikeLike
Maybe go for two teams: 1939-1982 (Butts to Herschel) and 1983 to 2022 (post Herschel to Championship). Forty years per team and splits it into two distinct eras.
LikeLiked by 10 people
This is a pretty solid approach.
LikeLiked by 1 person
+1- Brilliant
LikeLiked by 1 person
That definitely has merit. Post Heschel is still tough at RB, but better than all time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Leaves out some DGDs from the 20’s. Yeah I know we’re stretching but I think a few from that Era may deserve a mention at least.
LikeLike
I like the decade idea for after the 70’s Finish with an all time 3 deep position list including kickers and coaches.
LikeLike
I can’t believe 39-82 is the same as 83-22. That’s depressing AF that the people born in 1932 were the same age as me when UGA won the title. Damn, “what a drag it is getting old…” is true.
That said, I like NMCTB’s idea.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was doing the math in my head as soon as I saw that and my chest tightened a little. Thanks.
LikeLike
I would group teams into decades…
Since I attended UGA early 90’s my “adult/educated” memories lean toward the years of 90’s-00’s-10’s…so maybe a grouping of 1892-1939; 40-69; 70-89; 90-22.
then I think a top 25 list
LikeLiked by 2 people
Do an all-timer, only 11 on that list (offense/defense/special teams), do top 25, 11 offense, 11 defense, special teams (25-30 total), do one by decades, if a UGA football player is on the all- timer list, that’s it…shit, I’ll just vote #34 at every position…GO DAWGS!
LikeLike
This is a discussion that I assume all Dawgs fans have taken part in multiple times over the years. Yes, the parameters can be tricky, and every group/individual has their own ideas. My group has agreed to the following points when discussing the greatest to ever wear the Red and Black…
1). QB – total yards, TDs/INT ratio, titles won (East, SECCG, national title)
2). RB – dominance within college football, rushing yards, all purpose yards, awards
3). WR – total receiving yards, TDs, team impact
4). Defense – level of dominance within college football during their time, sacks, turnovers caused, total tackles
5). All players – legacy, impact upon the program.
It will be interesting to see the ideas of others. Hope you guys have a few great ideas that my group can use in the future.
Hope that the surgery went well Senator. Praying for a smooth receivers and full health moving forward.
LikeLike
Stats will favor the latest players due to 15 games seasons and rules changes. Holding in 1980 is very different than 2021. Targeting, horse collars, and unnecessary roughness were considered good plays in 1980. Also the 1 platoon football factors into the Butts era players.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Agreed. Players should be compared against their peers. Trippi and Sinkwich dominated their peers, yet their numbers don’t mean squat these days. Yet they are two all-time greats.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Replacement, you bring up a valid point. My group has debated the stats based upon era, but that’s where titles program legacy coming into play. There are several ways to skin this cat as we can clearly see in the comments above and below. I really like NotMyCrossToBear’s idea if the two eras, 1939-1982 and the 1982- present. It’s not completely apples to apples, but it’s in the ballpark.
LikeLike
All time players should be judged by how dominant they were during their era. Herschel is the outlier because he would be as dominant 40 years prior and in the current era.
I also like the idea of a 2-deep across all 22.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would add a survey question asking the decade the survey-taker was born in, did they attend UGA, etc.,. It would give some (albeit vague) context to the prevailing selections and possibly motivate (underrepresented) participation.
LikeLike
Offshoot of your idea…. March Madness 64-player bracket
LikeLiked by 1 person
The problem here is that the other 63 don’t have a chance.
The race for second may be entertaining. Anyone in Herschel’s side of the bracket is fucked tho.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t know about that – the tweet specifically mentions ‘most loved’ Dawg not necessarily greatest athlete. And even then I think a case can be made that Champ Bailey, Hines Ward, Jake Scott and a few others were at least as good an athlete as HW; they just played different positions.
I like the idea of two stages: 1) a Mumme style poll where everyone votes for, say their top ten (or more), and when that is done, 2) tabulate and take the top 64 votes and set up a March Madness bracket. This has been done a couple of times on a website I frequent picking the Charles Wesley hymns of all time.
It’s fun and has the added advantage of seeing what others are thinking and maybe making you re-evaluate your original top ten, and it can last several days – weeks even – like a football season.
LikeLike
You COULD make a case for voting for other players, but the reality is Herschel crushes everyone in a poll.
LikeLiked by 2 people
You can’t start before 1990.
LikeLiked by 5 people
Because that’s when Florida invented football?
LikeLiked by 5 people
Read it on a shit house wall, must be true…#FTMF
LikeLiked by 1 person
You say that, but I will admit that my personal experience with the Dawgs only started in 1988 when I enrolled as a Freshman. Also, my parents and extended family had zero interest in the Dawgs until I went there, so I don’t have all these memories like most everyone else here does.
All that is to say, my voting would skew ‘90-present unless I just go by Munson clips and following whatever all of you say which seems disingenuous. I know it’s just for fun but c’mon y’all, we’re talking Dawgs here!
LikeLike
This is a great idea no matter how it gets done.
I like Castleberry’s (the very top post) idea.
That would cover a lot of eras and players.
I would add that limited lists be accepted. For instance if someone lists their fav running back and mentions no other position or name, it should still be counted.
I have one question.
Is Reggie ball eligible for nomination?
LikeLiked by 8 people
It’s a great idea and will lead to lots of fun discussions. We do this all the time among my Dawgs texting group.
For example, rating Matt Stafford the first pick in the NFL draft!
LikeLike
Maybe make it a Red and Black game.
On both sides, you pick your three deep at the different skill positions, so:
QB
RB (no variance for TB, FB, SB, just ball carriers)
WR (again no variance)
OL (pick 5 here)
TE
DL
LB
SEC
K
P
KR
For the Red team, you pick your opinion of who is the BEST at those positions historically; for the Black team, you pick your favorites. Example, I don’t think Robert Edwards was a red team pick, but definitely a black team favorite for me because of 1997 and my time as a student on campus there, as well. I’d even consider Hines Ward as a Black team QB because he was damned fun to watch, but wouldn’t be one of our best by a long shot.
Just my thoughts.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I really like the favorites idea. Probably some crossover, but a guy like Knowshon comes to mind and a fave who isn’t in my top 3 at his position.
LikeLike
I’d have to separate out fullbacks. Too many good ones to choose from especially during the Richt era. Would be a shame to see them all get overshadowed because of all the exceptional tailbacks.
LikeLike
The more, the merrier. I like by position AND by decade if it’s at all possible. 1892 – 2022
LikeLiked by 2 people
There are tons of ways to skin this cat and some great ideas already. My suggestion is to group it by coaches. Pre-Dooley, Dooley, Goff/Donnan, Richt, and Kirby–maybe grouping Richt and Kirby together, although I think separating them out would prevent some of the recency bias there.
The thing to keep in mind is how old we are as commenters. Our earliest memories range against all eras, meaning that any love we have for players prior to that is fueled by legend and not what we saw in real time. Which is why I think there should be some sort of division by time period, no matter how it’s done. Having said that, I think a final, all-time favorites team is a must.
Lastly, we keep in mind how cumbersome this will be for the Senator to put together. He’s going to be weeding through a hell of a lot of comments here.
LikeLike
What do we pay him our subscription fee for?
Oh, wait …
LikeLiked by 5 people
I like the “eras” idea better than doing it strictly by decade. I participated in an interesting discussion a while back about when the various decades of American history really began—for example, the ’60s technically ended on 12/31/1969, but in terms of the vibe or the zeitgeist or whatever, people often say that the ’60s really ended with the Altamont Free Concert, or Nixon’s election in ’68, or Kent State, etc. In a similar way, Georgia football is more accurately defined by the different coaching eras than by strict decades.
The only problem with that method is that some eras end up being longer than others—like, 25 years for Dooley compared to 12 for Goff and Donnan combined—so you’ve got a much larger pool of players to choose from, which means some really deserving players are going to be left out. Maybe do a three-deep for the Dooley and Richt/Kirby eras and just a two-deep for the shorter ones?
LikeLike
To be honest with you, even though there were some all timers in the Goff era. It was pretty terrible.
LikeLike
This is a tough one. I would think you start with a post each week asking for names for a specific position. Read our comments and discussions. Put the player names we talk about on your list. Then, the following week, put the names up and let us vote in a system of rounds, and also open up a discussion for a different position. Example; this week we are discussing all time great DB’s, and voting on last week’s discussion of all time great LB’s, etc. This could be a fun exercise for months. I watched UGA vs. Auburn 2008 the other day on Pluto TV, and had forgotten about Renny Curren, and how much I loved watching him play, so recency bias is a real issue. Maybe a post in between name submissions and voting with links to videos and stats of the players on the ballot. Good luck. Sounds fun, but a lot of work for you.
LikeLike
I like this and breaking it down into at minimum 2 eras. Maybe the up to the end of Dooley and then Goff to now.
Eric Z, Stafford, Murray, and David Green would be a debate.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What! No Mike Bobo or Joe Cox!?!
LikeLike
I’d split it when football went from both ways to separate offense and defense. Early 50’s?
LikeLike
About 1965, actually. Dooley was UGAs coach in the limited substitution era and the unlimited substitution era.
LikeLike
If Stetson plays “Hide the ball with your back to the defense” then throws a TD ala David Greene? He’ll be my favorite. Until he pulls it off he’s #2.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would also just assume Herschel gets all time RB ad start the debate excluding him. Dooley had plenty of good RBs and Herschel is just a given.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Best/favorite 24 (22 + K and P) by decade.
LikeLike
My suggestion would be by decade, and then All Time. That way you can hit them all!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’d do it by decade for every decade we’ve played football. Then use brackets to whittle it down until we get 22 all time greats. We’d need to compare players against their peers and pick those who dominated their peers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My thoughts on the up to Dooley and post Dooley era are, offense changed in the 90s. Yes Dooley ran some option veer, pro set and I formation. Goff and Zeier did more shotgun and passing than was common before. Defense also changed to fewer defensive linemen to counter the offense.
I like decades or an earlier team but how many right guards from the 40s, 50s, 60s etc can many of us really name as being the best? I am a history nerd and love reading Patrick Garbin’s posts on this stuff but outside of knowing Pat Dye, or that a Joe T was playing Center on the ’76 team I am not well versed. I just watched the 77 Sugar Bowl off the DVR from the COVID year when TV aired classic games. Further to be very honest I know more about them because of they did after they played or of course if they were part of a Munson call.
Whatever is decided, I’ll enjoy reading the post and comments.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Like anyone here can name a 3 deep on guards from the 60’s…
LikeLiked by 1 person
So this is the cranky ol grump section of the thread? Not an exercise that holds my interest. Y’all have at it. I’ll sharpshoot the list when it’s published.
LikeLike
Hell RangerRuss. Just pick your favorite tough old Dawgs. I was fortunate enough to meet a few many moons after their playing days. They still have the look.
LikeLike
What part of doesn’t hold my interest didn’t you understand?
#crustyolbastards’Rus
Now pour me three fingers of JWB while I fry up these ribeyes.
😉
LikeLike
We have drop-down lists or something like it with the Mumme Poll, correct? I’d be hesitant to provide a list of players for this exercise because if someone is truly memorable then you should, well, remember them.
LikeLiked by 1 person