Close the book.

That's it folks. The 2011 football season is officially over. Congratulations to my team-in-law on their 14th National Championship, @Olivethetweets was ecstatic last night and I was happy for her (regardless of how much gloating she did...and YES Sweetheart, calling the Dawgs "the Cubs of the SEC" is gloating no matter how kind-hearted your intent was).

But that brings me to my next point, one thing I REALLY was not looking forward to is our fanbase today. Almost as much as I dreaded reading about us after the Outback Bowl. Be it on Twitter or some of the blogs I read, I just know somebody is going to compare our current state to that of Alabama football. It's not that I can't handle reality, because I can. I can admit that Alabama and LSU are both programs much better than ours. What I can't stomach is our fanbase. Yes, our fanbase.

I love a good 90% of you guys. But the remaining 10% lack a fundamental understanding of...well...understanding.

Every fanbase has it, but lately I just get fed up with hearing the whining and bitching that we aren't Alabama, or we aren't LSU...can you not be happy just being Georgia?! College Football is cyclical and here is how I see it following our last 10 win season in 2008:

2009 - New QB leadership (Joe Cox). No Stafford. No Knowshon. Lots of NFL talent lost following previous season. Willie's last year as DC.

2010 - New Freshman QB. New defensive staff working with players they didn't recruit. OUR RUNNING BACKS WERE CALEB KING, RICHARD SAMUEL, AND WASHAUN EALEY.

I'm making a lot of excuses, but when your cogs and personnel turnover happen at the rate it happened for us over the past 3 years...then YEAH expect a dip in quality for your program.

2011 - Started out like crap. Lost to the 2 toughest opponents on our schedule right out of the gates, but we saw a few signs of hope. When was the last time you had an ounce of faith in your defense? Did you see the season Jarvis Jones had? We watched Malcolm Mitchell become our next big passing threat. And our fans who want to bitch about Isaiah Crowell not playing on an injured ankle which NONE OF YOU, NOT A SINGLE ONE OF YOU WITH A "source" IN THE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT OR A FRIEND WHO HEARD SOMETHING knows the extent of pain he felt trying to turn on a dime while carrying nearly half of our team's rushing yardage.

Getting suspended for smoking weed? "Yeah, what an idiot" says the guy in Law School who took a year off to follow Widespread Panic. Crowell has a ton of talent, and probably an attitude to match it, but we stuck a ton of pressure on an 18 year old kid and he performed well when able. Cut him some slack.

Remember the difficult time we had recruiting when these superstar high school athletes wanted playing time instead of earning reps behind AJ Green? Well, they went to other schools and some of these other schools are performing with them. But with a couple of down years, now it's UGA's turn to recruit high profile talent who can come in and make an instant impact. Last year's Dream Team did a helluva job for a bunch of young guys. I'm pretty pumped about the prospect of guys like John Theus, Jordan Jenkins (whom I just found out about this morning), and Keith Marshall (Isaiah Crowell is gonna grow up REAL FAST this off season).

We've got a defense that will return a lot of guys, really hoping Bacarri comes back for what could be an awesome year. The biggest names we lose offensively are Ben Jones (which will hurt) and with a little luck Orson Charles sticks around (which my insider source in the athletic department heard from a friend of a friend that he will).

This is Mackie being honest. Take a step back from the ledge. UGA football is not in a downward spiral following a 10 win season where we won the East with a bunch of young guys. In watching my wife's excitement last night searching out Bear Bryant quotes to post, it made me think. The Bear is without a doubt in my mind the absolute best coach in the history of the game. Mark Richt will probably never be Bear Bryant, but there was time in college football where patience paid off.

1967 - 8-2-1 (73%)
1968 - 8-3-0 (73%)
1969 - 6-5-0 (55%)
1970 - 6-5-1 (50%)

That's Alabama football, correction, that's Bear Bryant football in a 4 year stretch between some of their program's most storied seasons.

The game has changed, I'm well aware. Every fanbase expects a new coach to win immediately (see our jort-wearing neighbors to the south). But it's a cycle and as long as you aren't in the lower echelon of the SEC you'll have your time to shine in the national spotlight. Eventually Tennessee will be Tennessee again, eventually South Carolina will be South Carolina again. When my wife and I were still dating, I saw some pretty awful Alabama football games. Since my wife and I have been married, she's seen some pretty awful UGA football games. And now that we're expecting our first child there is a pretty good chance he or she will see some pretty good and pretty awful games in their lifetime.
(...still looking for one of these)

I've always been a patient person, sometimes too patient. It probably doesn't help that I'm turning into this worthless ball of emotion when I see a sonogram of my baby. I might be going soft when it comes to taking a stand against what is acceptable from UGA Football, but when I put it into perspective I like what I see, no matter how frustrating it can be sometimes. I'm happy we went for it on 4th and 1 in Michigan State territory last week. You know why? Because we didn't go for it on 4th and 1 in Central Florida territory last year. We wanted Mark Richt to take more chances this year and he did. On-side kicks against South Carolina and LSU were huge (yes even though the USC one was overturned on a crap call) but if you're willing to take the good when it happens, then suck it up and take the bad too.

Mark Richt is not Nick Saban, but Nick Saban isn't Mark Richt either.

2012 can be something special for the Dawgs. Stop bitching and get on the bus.

Go Dawgs.

Halloween Pumpkin

Sorry for the light posting...PPPTTpTtppttt. Sorry couldn't pull that off with a straight face. Been busting my tail with work, travel, and fine tuning my yet-to-be-picked-up television pilot where I dress up as an old white woman, say crotchety old things to young folks, and have a bunch of mis-pronounced catchphrases...OH LERRRD!

But every year I do a UGA themed pumpkin. This year I originally had a stencil for a Wrath of Todd Grantham pumpkin, but decided against it.
Too much detail, not enough motivation, so instead I decided to do a funny clown!

If you're familiar with Muschamp Stare...
...then you'll LOVE...


...MusCHUMP Stare Pumpkin!


Just a warning for the children who come to our door for candy this year, if you stand in front of Muschump Stare Pumpkin for too long the eyes will burn the phrase "BOOM MOTHERF%#KER" across your forehead. Not a good idea if you plan on having a professional career one day.

...and as always, I'll provide the official Halloween sign for Dawg Fans to be printed out and nailed to your front door.


Happy Halloween, kiddos! Hate a Gator today.

Les Miles > M. Night Shyamalan

Over Twitter this morning we were discussing Les Miles and his brand of football. I'm a fan of ALL college football, but lets face it...LSU football under Les Miles is extremely entertaining and enjoyable for those of us without an emotional attachment to the Bayou Bengals.

Whether it's eating grass, mismanaging the clock, or no-look-pass "Field Goals" (h/t @BernieDawg) even as a die-hard Georgia fan I find Les Miles to be wildly entertaining in a Faces of Death style football sort of way.

This reminded me of the ending to last year's LSU/Tennessee game. I watched this game at The Golfsmith in Kennesaw while putting around with my father-in-law. In case you don't remember how this ended...here's a refresher.


LSU football (since Les Miles took the reigns back in 2005) has done what M Night Shyamalan has failed to do in every movie since The Sixth Sense, he gives the game a final plot twist that you don't expect. In every one of Shyamalan's films you go into it thinking, this is not how the story goes...something odd will happen at the end. But since football is such a conservative sport, even with a "Mad Hatter" type character in charge one is bound to think "Perhaps this time he'll play it safe and attempt a field goal for the win." ...Nope.


Now don't get me wrong, this isn't meant to be a Les Miles schmooze-fest. I'm merely pointing out that he brings a lot to the table when discussing the entertainment value of college football. LSU fans have an affinity for deep fryers at their tailgates, so when that much cholesterol mixes with stressful, intense sports management I'm sure Coach Miles has thrown the occasional corndog aficionado into cardiac arrest.

I find LSU to be the most watchable college football team that I could care less about. I root for them against the SEC East as long as they aren't playing Georgia, and if they want to pound Auburn on occasion I'll gladly cheer them on. Deep down, I think most of us would enjoy small amounts of crazy in our head coach. If it prevents all future field goals from the UCF 2 yardline, I'd take Timothy Leary drinking a Big Gulp of Mercury (Hg) rather than suffer through that frustration again.

Less that 75 days 'til football starts, oh how I long for thee...
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
GO DAWGS!

UPDATE:

Just saw this at Get The Picture...talk about timing.

UGA/Bama '02

Since we are sub-80 days until college football starts, I get in the habit of searching out old YouTube videos of the Bulldogs. I came across the UGA/Bama game from 2002 and it reminded me of how special this game is to me, personally.

When @OliveTheTweets (OTT) and I first started dating, the first college football game we went to together was UGA at Alabama in 2002. Many of you know this as the "Man enough, Dawg enough" game because of Pat Dye's redonkulous claim that UGA wasn't "man enough" to beat the Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium.


Since OTT was still a student at Alabama during this season, she was sweet enough to get us tickets to the game...in the Alabama Student Section.

I wore my UGA gear and cheered when the Dawgs played well, and took my lumps when the Dawgs blew their lead later in the game. As Billy Bennett sent it through the uprights for the game-winner I WOOFed even as the cups came raining down.

OTT and I would eventually attend 3 future UGA/Bama contests where the Dawgs hold a 3-to-1 record (yes we were at the Blackout Game). But the '02 game is special to me because it was the first time we didn't cheer for the same team. The week leading in to these games is ALWAYS fun, and as I sit here reading Phil Steele predicting UGA and Bama in the 2011 SEC Championship Game I get all excited and tingly. I promised her anytime our 2 teams play I'd do my best to get our butts in the seats, so in this regular season when we don't faceoff a Championship on the line would be pretty sweet.

This isn't a great post, if you've been reading Blogging Pantsless for the last 4 years you understand mediocrity is the norm and greatness should be left to the awesome bloggers in my blog-roll (column right). But when I saw this game on YouTube I felt compelled to dedicate a post to my wife, who gave me Alabama as a team-in-law, and makes me laugh with her trash-talk on the rare occasions our 2 teams meet.

I long for the days when Alabama was just an okay team and Georgia found a way to win. I've got high-hopes Coach Richt will turn our team around, but I'm a self-professed Richt apologist so even if he doesn't I'll probably be the only Dawg fan left saying "give him one more shot".

Keeping the faith in 2011, happy Friday folks.

GO DAWGS!

Helmet Archive

I stumbled across this the other day and thought it was cool enough to share. It's a website of historical helmets encompassing college and pro ranks called, The Helmet Project.

Perhaps the coolest thing I found was regarding my most hated rival, the Florida Gators.

"In 1962, Florida put the Confederate Battle Flag on the side of their helmet for one game. That game was the Gator Bowl game with Penn State. Florida was 6-4 and Penn State was 9-1 and Penn State felt that playing Florida was a slap in the face since they were 9-1. Since Penn State felt that way Florida put Battle Flags on the side of the helmet to pump the team up. It worked when Florida won 17-7."

...as a fan of college football, history, and the South I'm neither appalled or offended (remember this was is 1962). In fact I find that to be pretty damn cool that an SEC team shoved it in Penn State's face. Perhaps the most shocking thing was discovering the Gators played football prior to the 1990's.

Another interesting bit of SEC history is what Tennessee did with their 1965 helmets...good luck to anyone attempting a design like that in 2011.

No real shockers in UGA's helmet history, but I take great pride in saying I saw in person how HIDEOUS the October 31, 2009 helmet was in person. Never forget, never use again.

Pantsless Predictions: Part II of IIIIIIIIIIII

September 9, 2011
University of South Carolina
Athens, GA

Raise your hand if you SERIOUSLY thought Stephen Garcia would never play another down for the Gamecocks after the Old Balls Coach suspended him for the 5th time in his college career?

Alright, those of you with your hands raised lower your hand onto the hot eye of a stove because that's your punishment for stupid thoughts.

...yeah, this guy takin' a whiz at Augusta looks like a real rules Nazi.

5th year senior Stephen Garcia will in fact return to drive the Chevy Cruze of college football we know as the South Carolina Gamecocks. Why is USC like a Chevy Cruze? Well, one minute you're enjoying a fun ride in what you think is a quality, low-budget automobile...then next thing you know, disaster strikes and the steering wheel falls off.

Not that I'm slinging mud, because Lord knows Georgia fans aren't really in a great position to trash talk, but the Gamecocks are notoriously streaky. They usually end up with a few baffling losses each year after knocking off a big boy here and there and it costs them serious contention in what used to be a relatively difficult SEC East.

Well that's no longer the case. As I sit here reading prediction after prediction of South Carolina as the preseason favorite in the East (sans Phil Steele WOOT WOOT) I can't help but realize that yes, this Gamecocks team has the stability, experience, and talent to indeed win the East.

...but that doesn't mean the Bulldogs, Gators, and (oh why not?) the Vols are gonna just roll over from 20 years of division dominance and hand it over to them.

The Gamecocks play us like we're their 2nd biggest rival, we play them like they're our 4th biggest rival. That probably has a lot to do with why Georgia appears to embrace the shootout culture surrounding this game and occasionally loses it.

Last year's game in Columbia was frustrating.
...given, ANYTIME we have to travel and play at Dead Cockroach Stadium tends to be incredibly frustrating.

The only good thing to come out of that game was that Washaun Ealey got to see an example of what a program's premier running back looks like. That introduction to Marcus Lattimore exposed our weak tackling, and our inability to score a touchdown only compounded problems when #3 coughed up the ball on a relatively solid 3rd quarter drive toward the end-zone. AAAARRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!1

But the game wasn't lost by Washaun, it was lost as a team.

So this year, our TEAM went out and got our own Marcus Lattimore, bulked up our D-Line, and spiced up our S&C program. We as fans get to enjoy the game in an environment where trees grow and you're not in the middle-of-nowhere's warehouse district. I don't think there's a Dawg out there that doesn't know the importance of this game. Since South Carolina is the team to beat, we sure as hell need to beat 'em.

The only problem is South Carolina is a good, balanced team. If SOMEHOW we shut down Marcus Lattimore, we have to focus on Alshon Jeffrey. If Stephen Garcia doesn't get suspended for a 6th time and starts this game he's got the experience and know-how to pick us apart if we show a weakness. I'd love to get Big John in there and get some grass stains on the back of Garcia's jersey, but for a team as fundamentally sound as South Carolina the opportunities may come few and far between.

MY CALL:

UGA 20, South Cackalacky 24

I hate picking the Dawgs to lose, but until I see them play September 3rd I have no idea how this team looks.

Too many question marks and a thin O-Line makes me question whether we can keep Ellis Johnson's defense out of Aaron Murray's face-mask. Plus it doesn't help that this year we have to worry about the nation's #1 high school recruit, Jadeveon Clowney (who made grades).

If Isaiah Crowell lives up to his billing, our defense melds into the juggernaut we're hoping for, and the crowd makes Sanford Stadium's atmosphere electric this prediction could go out the window. I think Aaron Murray is twice the baller Stephen Garcia is, and if Orson Charles and Tavarres King pick up 1/2 the slack free'd up by AJ Green's departure we'll be in good shape.

I love the Dawgs, and I want them to win, but since we all know there is no such thing as WILLING your team to victory (even against a Conference USA opponent), at this time I'm not quite ready to say we can beat South Carolina.

Please prove me wrong, I would be delighted.

GO DAWGS!

Pantsless Predictions: Part I of IIIIIIIIIIIII

September 3. 2011
Boise State
Georgia Dome

Let me preface this post with a little-known fact about yours truly.

I EFFING HATE HORSES.

I hate the way they smell, the way the prance around, and their stupid Sarah Jessica Parker faces.

On my honeymoon I was viciously attacked by one of these beasts on a nightmare experience I refer to as the 1st/last/only time I went horseback riding.

Long story short, after 2 hours of being bounced around uncontrollably by one of these monsters, my horse takes off galloping. Apparently the lead horse didn't like the way I was managing my horse...because we all know these horses listen to first time riders and not their owners who direct them with a series of whistles. But anyway, my horse gallops past the group and as we approach the lead horse, that MF-er reached out and BIT me on the leg like it was an ear of delicious, grilled silver queen corn.

I'm not over-reacting and saying he nipped at me, that horse LATCHED ON to my leg just above my right knee-cap. So I did what anyone in my position would do, I yelled "SON OF A BITCH!" and punched him in the nose.

...yes, I punched a horse in the face. IN THE FAAAAAAACE!


And then, the world went in slow motion, just like in Rocky 5 when Rocky punched a horse, the 1000 lb animal reared back on his 2 hind legs, whinnied, and then fell over like a little bitch.

I felt sorry for the woman riding the lead horse, I immediately hopped off my horse and went to make sure she was alright. I (and most of the civilized world) knew I was strong...but I didn't think I was knock-out a horse strong. So I apologized to the woman (but not the horse, he can rot in horse Hell because there is no way those soul-less, dead-eyed savages are welcome in Heaven) and I said SCREW THIS and hopped on an ATV to go back to the ranch while my wife finished the ride.

So now, with that background knowledge, you can understand why the Boise State Broncos are not quite in my circle of trust due to my history with their mascot's breed.

Aside from this, myself like most people in the SEC, don't take Boise State seriously. They've got a nice, shiny 0'fer going against Arkansas, South Cackalacky, and us in 4 attempts. Not the conference's worst trio, not our best, but I'd say that's a good middle-to-upper echelon of SEC opponentry.

My only problem with this match-up is that now most people in the SEC don't really take Georgia seriously either, and who can blame them?!? We've had two real stinkers of a season the past couple of years. But here's my call on this game (keep in mind, predictions 100 days out tend to be as accurate as government forecasting and incredibly bold).

UGA 26, Boise St. 17

I think our biggest problem going into this game is going to be our offense. If the line holds up, if the running game gets going, and if our receivers can hold onto passes we're golden.

I think Boise State has a great team that will win a lot of games this year, but the Chick-Fil-A College Kickoff ain't one of them.

I'm so pumped up about our defense this year with Big John Jenkins (6'4"-340 lbs) and Kwame Gathers (6'5"-350 lbs) at Nose. Watching either one or a combination of the two plowing over Boise States starting Center (Thomas Byrd, 5'11"-284 lbs) should be a lot of fun. If this puts pressure on *COUGH* Heisman *COUGH* candidate Kellen Moore to rush his passes and hopefully not give him the opportunity to pick apart our weakness at Safety, then the score difference might be greater than I predicted.

Can't wait to see Isaiah Crowell on the field to see what this kids got. I doubt he'll get the first round of carries, but you're smoking crack if you think homeboy is sitting out this dawg-fight. There's a lot of hopes/dreams riding on this young man's shoulders and if he's got the motor and the legs to give our running game new life, UGA could have a great season.

Go to the :21 mark, if you think Washaun Ealey wouldn't be downed BEHIND the 40-yd line, then go ahead and make him your school's Premier Running Back.

Go Dawgs!

Remember 2006

I know Georgia has had a tough season this year. But heading into the Auburn game this year, I'm reminded of 2006.

We were a 4-loss team wrapping up a rebuilding year. Our highly touted, freshman quarterback had looked shaky at times...but he was a freshman so we chalked it up to inexperience. There wasn't much else to play for that year but at least we were already bowl eligible.

My boss has been a season ticket holder since he graduated in the 80's and when I asked him if he was making the trip to Auburn that year he laughed and said "If the Dawgs can't show up for Vanderbilt or Kentucky, I wouldn't put much money on me showing up for #5 Auburn."

Cam Newton is good. Auburn is a well-coached team. All signs point to a loss for the Dawgs.

But when we hit the Plains this Saturday, remember 2006. It was the Matthew Stafford & Tra Battle Electric Boogaloo that kicked off a 3 game win-streak and had fans pumped up for the 2007 season. I'm not saying we'll beat them, but we haven't been blown out all year, and I think even the most pessimistic Dawg fan knows that. Our loss average this year has been by 7 points. Last year our loss average was 16+. We're a couple of tipped passes in the Cocktail Party from playing for the East (if's & but's, who cares).

We can't change the past, but we can be supportive and hold our heads high. You can hate Mike Bobo, you can hate Mark Richt, if you dare try to strangle Todd Grantham clearly you will have a fight on your hands...but you can even hate him too. But it won't change the fact that they're in charge of OUR team for the next 3 weeks, and I say, hopefully longer.

It wasn't over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor, and it sure as hell ain't over until WE SAY IT IS!

Aaron Murray, this is your time to shine. Put down the Shake Weight and uncork the magic we felt back in 2006. GO DAWGS!

UGA Husband, BAMA Wife

I am a Georgia fan. I bleed red & black. I married a girl who went to Alabama. I've already covered the concept of "team-in-law" but I'm a little unsure about the following:

I don't think the Razorbacks will beat the Crimson Tide this weekend, but who exactly should I cheer for? Do I love Georgia so much that I would actually root against my team-in-law so to not make our loss look that bad? Because obviously if the #1 team in the country couldn't beat Arkansas either then perhaps Georgia's loss wasn't really all that unexpected...right?

I was pondering the above and then I saw this little piece of magic.


Now everything seems so clear!

WOOOOOOOO PIG SOOIE!!1

Missy State

Dawgs win big. We lost to two unusually talented Arkansas and South Carolina teams. There is a talent gap between Mississippi State and Georgia that gives me confidence we take care of business this weekend. The players know we've given away all our freebies, it's time for the lines to gel, players to step-up, and errors to disappear.

Dawgs 34 - Dogs 10

I plan on sitting down and watching UGA football with the volume turned off. I just saw on The Senator's page that Bob Rathbun is calling this one. This clown used to call Braves games and if I'm not mistaken still does the Hawks play-by-play. He is by far my #1 most hated voice in sports, I'd rather listen to Pam Ward than Bob Rathbun if that puts this into perspective.
The voice matches the face...think about this picture when you watch the game tomorrow night.

Homeless Thursday 3

After a surprising turn of events, last week our homeless panel of experts went 1-2 on their picks. Unfortunately for the Bulldog Nation the bum who picked South Cackalacky was correct.

This week, we've got a whole new set of urban outdoorsmen to assist us in picking 3 of the SEC's biggest conference match-ups!

Looks like Sam Walton III picks the Razorbacks.

Nu'Keese Richardson likes Derek Dooley's chances this weekend!

Ol' Jackie Sherrill could use some work...ON HIS PICKS!

Oh Noes Teh Dawgs Iz Failxorz!!1

Yep, Georgia lost an ugly game Saturday. Somehow Carolina found a way to stop runs up the middle, and Georgia didn't. However, that is NOT intended to devalue the run-away pantie-magnet that is Marcus Lattimore. Seriously, I don't think any SEC team is looking forward to trying to stop that kid. Aside from our missed tackles (taking no less than 3 defender's touches to get the kid down) I would love to ask Stephen Hawking what kind of physics based, time-space continuum allows a human who is 2 yards tall to fall forward 7 yards.


But Lattimore or no Lattimore, if Orson Charles catches the TD pass and Washaun Ealey doesn't fumble in the red zone and we score, we've got a tie ball game. Also, if "IF's" and "BUT's" were candy and nuts...then we'd all have...candy and nuts...or whatever.

I would have liked to see Mike Bobo call some non-running plays when our backs were against the wall, but he didn't and I'm not the OC so really all I can do is bitch about how much losing sucks. I will say I was amazed how quickly it seems everyone has bought into Paul Finebaum's Fire Mark Richt campaign. The best retort to this I can find comes from Lucid Idiocy who argues,

"Misspell "lose" once, and it's not worth mentioning. Do it three times and it discounts your opinion considerably."

Claiming he doesn't "want it" enough doesn't really mean anything to me. I'm pretty sure if not "wanting it" equaled losses then Bobby Johnson was skipping practices to smoke weed and listen to Panic. The better team won Saturday, blame whomever you want...(like you needed my blessing).

If you're looking for a blog to support opinions like this: ...then you might want to take Blogging Pantsless off your RSS feed.

Perhaps I'm too patient (hell, I thought Jim Donnan should have gotten another year) but realistically I expected Georgia to go 9-3 regular season. Freshmeat QB and a new defensive package isn't going to give you an undefeated season in the SEC. That being said, if we don't OBLITERATE the next 6 opponents I'll be a little nervous about where we're headed. If I'm wrong and we screw the pooch over next few weeks I'll dim my outlook, but for now I think South Carolina will surprise some folks this year. Will they win the East? Well...not quite ready to fit them with that crown just yet because they've got Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Florida to get through.

Don't jump off the bandwagon just yet, Dawg fans. We've still got some good opportunities to get back in the race. Hopefully we've breaking down film, learning to wrap-up, and REMOVING THE SHOULDER TACKLE from our habits. GO DAWGS!

Making Green Lemonade

By now you've probably heard AJ is suspended 4 games for selling a jersey. I don't know anything about it you haven't heard already but I'm here to provide a little sunshine.

#1. Georgia Tech is lucky, they never have to worry about athlete/agent interaction.

#2. If we had to lose AJ for a sequence of 4 games, I would rather it be the first 4 (ULaFa,USC,Arky,Miss St) than the middle 4 (Col, Tenn, Vandy, KY), or GOD FORBID the last 4 (UF, Idaho St, Auburn, Nerds).

#3. When the best receiver in college football is eligible again, he will be 4 Saturdays fresher than any of his defenders (assuming they haven't also been suspended).

#4. The Senator reminded me, we beat a Top 10 opponent (Tech) last year without AJ Green.

#5. Should Georgia run the table on South Carolina, Arkansas, and Miss St without #8, by the time AJ returns we should be getting some serious love from the polls. What do you think a mid-season boost by adding a playmaker like AJ Green is going to do?


Stay limber, #8. We are going to expect the world out of you in October...it's kinda our thing.

The Arrival of Football

Just returning from a long weekend at Orange Beach, I've returned to the work force...yet something is different.

The work weeks will begin to fly by, the office talk will centralize around the happenings in Athens, and it is apparent that football has arrived.

The commute becomes a battle in-and-of itself. I drive the top end of the perimeter from I-75 to I-85 and back every day. My allegiance is to Georgia, should your vanity plate have anything other than a bulldog head on it...well...all I can say is hopefully someone else will let you merge from 400. The same goes for those of you with car magnets and window flags. Early on Tennessee fans will litter the roadways with their flags until they remember their spit-cups and stop rolling down the windows.

The mornings have a crispness to them. The evenings are made for eating ice-cream and watching the sunset through the trees. Thursday nights the Tech fan heads downtown for his hotdog and Coke dinner at Mark Richt Field.

Louisiana Community College, Arkansas Backwood U, Virginia Tech, and Tennessee College for the Blind have cashed their opening week paycheck to be another team's whipping boy. As long as you aren't Arkansas or ole miss (thank God) you are done with the cupcakes and ready to play some decent competition. Oh, and if the Mississippi fanbase can return their SEC membership cards to Mike Slive that'd be fantastic before Jacksonville State gets their version of this built on Hwy 78.


Football is upon us, and we've got a doozy of a game this weekend Dawg fans. I predicted a loss because it keeps the expectations of greatness slightly muted, but I will pick the Dawgs to win...you ALWAYS pick the Dawgs to win. It'll be a knock-down, drag-out because both teams looked really good. But if our defense can find a way to keep Lattimore and Garcia on their backsides we're going to win.

I wish cupcake blowouts didn't pump me up so much, but they do. Aaron Murray looked like a born leader out there and as long as we can keep him from scrambling this weekend he should remain in 1 piece. The defense shined 99% of the time, and the 1% they didn't Coach Grantham put the secondary in a human centipede with Bacarri Rambo at the #3 spot.

I love Georgia football, and it has arrived. Go Dawgs!

Pantsless Predictions: Part II of IIIIIIIIII (10)

Arkansas (9.18.2010)

The Deal: The Bulldogs under Mark Richt haven't lost to the Razorbacks in 5 meetings. In fact the Dawgs are 9-3 alltime against the Hawgs. But we are more than aware of the offensive firepower Petrino's Pigs will be bringing to Athens. An offense that AVERAGED 36 points per game last year(which is deceiving considering that includes 7 against Alabama and 63 against Eastern Michigan...whomp, whooooomp.)

But we are also aware of Willy Robinson's patented Country Crock Defense the Razorbacks field. A defense even Willie Martinez would scoff at, but that being said, he IS entering his 3rd year at UA and there is a slight chance some of the growing pains are in the past.

Here's what we were dealing with last year:

Richard Samuel might be mulling over a switch back over to RB after his performance in Fayetteville last year.

My call? Georgia wins...big.

This is our first home SEC game and the stadium crowd will be electric. I figured worst case scenario UGA splits their first two SEC opponents. Going on this logic, USC might not be the tougher opponent but Columbia is a hellish environment to play this early in the season at Noon. At least in Athens we have the benefit of burning up on our own turf with the crowd behind us and some SEC experience under our belt (Arky plays Tenn Tech and ULM before heading East to play us).

Aaron Murray will have a break-out game because if Joe Cox didn't have to thread the needle to put points on the board against their secondary, I doubt much has changed. HOWEVER, Coach Grantham better be showing OUR secondary the Ryan Mallet record breaking highlight reel from last year when they hosted us. He threw for over 400 yards and 5 TDs against our defense...no bueno. Raise your glass to Bean Anderson because if we're going to put Ryan Mallet on the ground he's going to have his hands full at Nose.

Hopefully we blitz him into making bad passes and we see immediate improvement from last years dreadful turnover-ratio. Dawgs D needs to come-up big, especially our secondary coverage against these guys if we want shot at the win. Should we not be prepared, September 18th could prove to be a LOOOOONG day for Dawg fans.

UGA/Arkansas: WIN

2/3 going into Week 4. GO DAWGS!

Pantsless Predictions: Part I of IIIIIIIIII (10)

South Cackalacky (9.11.2010)



The Deal:
Look, I'm not going to tell you this is how it's gonna be. In doing so it would do nothing but jinx the exact opposite into fruition. The best I can do is tell you what I think might possibly have a small chance of maybe happening...possibly.

What does everyone say at the beginning of every season? ALL TOGETHER:

"SOUTH CAROLINA WILL SET THE TONE OF OUR SEC SEASON."

What that means is Georgia will probably blow out Louisiana LaFa and head into Columbia, SC with little to no idea about how we'll play against SEC caliber opponents. South Carolina won't be the toughest opponent we'll play all year, at best they've been a mid-level SEC opponent since the beginning. But for some reason they give us fits.

All the big boys have lesser opponents that do this. My best friend, who happens to be a Gator, told me Ole Miss is Florida's non-division parade-raining equivalent to our South Carolina. But I've long said the biggest problem we have with the South Carolina game is we play them before they realize they aren't a good team.

Every year South Carolina fans tell themselves they're going to win the East...every year they don't. This is a big rivalry game to them, but we've got so many freakin' "rivals" out there (Florida, Tech, Auburn, etc...) South Carolina falls off the radar of importance to us.

But people are calling South Carolina a dark horse for the East this year. To be honest, this might be the first year I take the threat of South Carolina to heart, because I have ZERO idea what expect from Georgia. If Todd Grantham's rhetoric stopped the ball I wouldn't doubt we'd beat the Gamecocks this year. But Steve Spurrier finally has a decent experienced offense in addition to the same stingy defense South Carolina has been known to field.

Aaron Murray doesn't have to beat South Carolina, the Bulldogs need to beat South Carolina. I think our offense is better than their offense, but is our offense better than their defense...hell, is our DEFENSE better than either their offense OR defense?!? I have no idea if we'll be ready.

But my final call on this game is for a Loss. I don't think we should lose, I don't really think we will lose, but I'm playing this year safe and trying to keep my expectations realistic.

I think after a few serious opponents we'll know what we're dealing with, but G-Day didn't tell me anything. Nothing. I want to believe we're going to be blitzing the balls off Stephen Garcia and nailing him to the salted Earth of Columbia, SC. But that's all wishing and hoping.

Fingers crossed I REALLY hope I'm wrong on this one. I've been wrong before, and my wife will be the first to let me know. I used to think Aerosmith's "Dude Looks Like a Lady" was being sung as "Do the Lucky Lady"...as if "the lucky lady" were some dance to be done. When she found this out she nearly fell out of the car as it rolled down the interstate, I'm glad she had her seatbelt on.

You'll see a more reserved approach to my picks this year. I got burned pretty severely last year with some really crappy wishful thinking. The whipped dawg in me wants to play it a little safer, that way a loss will only ruin my Saturday and not my whole weekend. Perhaps I'm finally growing up...(fart joke).

UGA/USC: LOSS

1/1 going into week 3. Go Dawgs!

UPDATE: I also wanted to note, according to the poll posted last month, only 14% of you guys thought Aaron Murray needed more snaps if we're blowing out Louisiana LaFa in the 3rd. 53% said he should be pulled for Hutson Mason, and 31% thought he should be pulled for Logan Gray. I voted to get Hutson some snaps because if Logan Gray is going to put himself at risk of injury at WR then we gotta have a solid #2 Quarterback in reserve. Now if we stumble out of the gate (big IF), Aaron better get his act together REAL quick and play the entire game. But otherwise I'd say he's too valuable to leave out there in case some Linebacker thug from a whipping boy school wants to show how tough he is.

A Question Raised

What makes Get the Picture one of the best Georgia blogs out there, is the fact that it's still technically football off-season and the article I read 2 days ago is already bumped to Older Posts on the next page...dayyyuuuuuuum.

But I was reading through this post the other day and contemplated writing something and just now got to it (...way to show initiative, Mackie).

The Senator covers some of Mike Bobo's comments regarding our lack of depth at QB. And at the conclusion of his post Blutarsky states:

"Sure would be nice if ULaLa were a thirty-point blowout with the bench getting emptied in the third quarter."

So that got me thinking, Aaron Murray is our starting QB without any NCAA career starts. We are opening up against a cupcake, so here's your hypothetical...

If we are blowing out the Ragin' Cajuns in the 3rd quarter, should we use that time to get Hutson Mason some snaps? I'm not overly concerned about the back-up QB situation, but GOD FORBID anything happen to Logan Gray as a wide receiver AND Murray bites the dust, our hopes & dreams rest on the laurels of a true freshman.
...but let it be known, he was a state record-setting, Tire Swing All-American.

So you guys play coach. Vote in the poll, top right. Keep in mind South Carolina is the following week, that's when $#!% gets REAL!

Ole Miss Mascot Selection

Blogging Pantsless would like throw a hat into the Ole Miss Mascot Concept ring.



Say hello to Rebel, the Empty Sack! Because nothing says "Rebel" like caving into the demands of idiots.

Aside from this concept, my second favorite idea is Hotty & Toddy the "muppet-like" characters. Hopefully it'd turn out to be an odd-couple Sweetums & Pepe style muppet combo but really I just want their fightsong replaced with:

...because it really is like a kind of torture to have to watch Ole Miss football.

(Though still 100X more interesting than The World Cup.)

UgA futball iz teh dOOm3d!

Welcome back to the 10 o'clock hour of the Paul Finebaum Radio Network. Today we're talking about the future of Georgia Football and I gotta tell you, folks...it's not looking good.

When you look around the SEC, one thing is becoming more and more GLARINGLY OBVIOUS. Coach Nick Saban is building something at Alabama and the rest of the conference isn't keeping up. It couldn't be any more GLARINGLY OBVIOUS than when you look at the SEC East...which is in shambles. Tennessee is a wreck, Florida took a hit with the departure of Tim Tebow who has MADE that team for the last 3 years. South Carolina is looking to be the strongest of the pack, and aside from the other 2 whipping boys, you've got Georgia who couldn't be in more of a downward spiral if Russ went down with heartworms. And by the way let me throw this in, MARK MY WORDS, Russ WILL be named UGA VIII for the 2010 season.

So at Georgia, you've got 3 big issues. #1. The state of the defense is up in the air, #2. The poor recruiting class of 2010 isn't going to fare well, and #3. the fans are tired of Mark Richt's excuses.

Lets take a look at these one by one.

#1. State of the defense. So the heat behind Mark Richt finally got so hot he had to make a move and kick his long-time buddy Willie Martinez to the curb to save his own job. After getting turned down not once, not twice, not THRICE, but FOUR PLUS times by Defensive Coordinators who are now currently employed and pulling serious green...Mark Richt had to settle for some NFL defense lines coach whom nobody's ever heard of in Rod Graham.

Make no mistakes about it, the Dawg fans are trying to spin this as a huge win. "OH WE WANTED AN NFL GUY ALL ALONG" or "KIRBY SMART WASN'T EVEN ANYONE WE WERE LOOKING AT" these blind fans are beating their chest over this guy and in reality they're scared to death. Nobody knows a thing about him, and all their hopes and dreams are resting on this guy turning their team around. It's GLARING OBVIOUS the Georgia Bulldogs are in for a rude awakening when 2010 wraps up and they're sitting at 8-5 again...no, I tell you what, MARK MY WORDS they'll be LUCKY to get to 7-6.

#2. Lets take a look at how shoddy the state of recruiting has turned at Georgia. 2010 had kids JUMPING SHIP because they saw it was going down quick. DaRick Rogers was smart enough to see it coming and headed to Tennessee to a team that's starting to look pretty solid with that Quarterback kid who would have been second string, but we'll hit on the VOLs another day. The Dawg fans are HOWLING about who's going to even want to step foot in Athens much less sign up to play ball.

It's GLARINGLY OBVIOUS the fanbase is writing off the latest class as a fluke down year, but the storm is coming Dawg fans, MARK MY WORDS. You're about to hear them bragging about the 2011 class, they'll start throwing around "WE GOT A VERBAL FROM THE SPORTING NEWS' #1 QB PROSPECT" or "THE FASTEST KID IN THE STATE JUST COMMITTED"...but if you see either of Christian LeMay or Justin Scott-Wesley wearing a "G" on their helmet I'll eat my crow. And lets not forget about this Sterling Bailey character either, these 3 huge commitments, with a total of nearly 50 offers between them, will have the Dawg fans barking loudly...but its only May, it took them nearly THREE WHOLE WEEKS this month to get verbals outta these guys. Lets see if they decide to stick around.

That brings me to our last point. #3, and MARK MY WORDS, I'm going on record here...Mark Richt will be looking for work in January of 2011. Trust me, I know how fickle the Georgia fanbase is. They are tired of the down seasons. Yes, this was the first one they've had in a while but they aren't going to put up with another one over in Athens this year. And it's unfortunate, I've met Mark Richt many times, he's a great guy, a good person spiritually, but the fans don't want a good person, they want to beat Florida...like Alabama does.

It's gotten so poisonous over in Athens, I've read on many message boards they're starting to burn effigies of the guy. Rumor has it, if Les Miles turns down the Michigan job he'll be heading East because he can beat Florida and he's tired of losing to Alabama in the West. MARK MY WORDS, its GLARINGLY OBVIOUS, the fans are sick of him and don't even turn out for his excuse making news conferences anymore...


So best of luck Bulldogs, and you know I mean it with the most heartfelt sincerity. I want you to do well, and I want the ship to get turned around, but the Dawg Nation is headed for a world of hurt. There are many rumblings out there that if the SEC proves too tough for the Dawgs, they might petition to join the ACC in an effort to get some wins and not have to play Alabama because they wouldn't be able to beat the Crimson Tide EVER in a million years. But after the beating they took in 2008 at the hand of their instate ACC rivals I doubt that'd be the answer...but I don't make the news, I only report it like I see it.

We're gonna pause for a break on the Paul Finebaum Radio Network, stick around after a word from our sponsor...Golden Flake Potato Chips!

Hey Ole Miss...DON'T BLOW IT!

It was the Fall of 2005. I had just graduated from college and was working at Hartsfield. I met numerous Boise State fans flying into town the week before college football started. They were flying in to take on our Georgia Bulldogs and we were nervous as hell.

Like Southern Miss decades ago, Boise State had a Giant Killer reputation...and it didn't help UGA was starting a Senior QB who had only seen playing time when David Greene was resting.

But I will always remember the day we learned DJ Shockley was the real deal, and it came by making Boise State's defense look foolish.
(the defense wasn't too bad lookin' either)

All-time Boise State is 0-4 against the SEC, and perhaps it's that unique conference pride we have, but I hope Ole Miss has their act together when they open the season against the Broncos in 2011.

I harbor no ill-will against the Broncos, but I'm not a fan. I didn't buy into Hawaii 2007, and I don't buy into Boise State in 2010. Preseason #2? Give me a break.

Blatant homerism aside, I'm not sure this is UGA's year to win the East (South Carolina fans are telling me it's FINALLY their year...pptptpttttt). But I do think of all the SEC teams there are maybe 4-or-5 who could knock off the Broncos. Of course to counter myself, the SEC hasn't faced the Blue Turf Horsies without Dan Hawkins behind the wheel.

On that note Chris Petersen is a helluva coach, and he's done wonders to recruit kids to play in BOISE, IDAHO. But I stand behind my POV that if Boise State were in a solid conference (PAC-10, maybe? "solid conference" used loosely) they'd be middle of the pack with the occasional upset win over USC, Stanford, Oregon or whichever team is supposed to be good that year.

I can admit I don't know enough about Ole Miss, nor do I care enough to research and find out what year Jevan Snead is. But I hope Colonel Reb, Admiral Ackbar, or Captain Giggity fields a team competent enough to not lose their opener against these guys. Pride on the line, fellas...don't blow it.

UPDATE: Apparently Boise State's coach in 2000 was Dirk Koetter when they lost to Arkansas...Hawkins was still an assistant. My bad.