...no Georgia, I will not quit blogging and come play defense for you.

Per Paul Westerdawg's twitter account:

"Robey is ~5'7" and 160 lbs. Smaller than Mikey Henderson. The idea that he'd play defense for us was idiotic. Problem solved."

This is regarding the statement from Frostproof High School's AD that Nickell Robey probably ain't coming to Georgia.

Though the article puts Robey at 5'8" 175 lbs, I'm more inclined to believe these details are inflated a bit and Paul is closer to being right. Why do I feel the need to post about this? Well, if Mr. Westerdawg is correct UGA just lost a DEFENSIVE RECRUIT of Willie Martinez which weighs as much as I do AND is 9" shorter than me!

Care to visually put this into perspective?


A (presumably) faster, shorter, and less patriotic version of this character would have been running around in your secondary next year.

THANK YOU, COACH GRANTHAM...THANK YOU!

UPDATE...yes, that quickly.
Ally states Robey is saying his coach is wrong and might still honor his verbal to Georgia. That being said, I'm keeping the picture up because I like the way the running shorts accentuate my leg-definition (or lack there-of).

Inflatable Mascots

So I got a few comments on Twitter last night regarding my hatred of Spike, the inflatable Georgia mascot at the basketball games.

I'm sorry Dawgs, but if you can't accept that inflatable mascots are incredibly creepy you're fooling yourself. Their blank, cartoonish expressions make me feel like I'm trapped a strange 1950's sports-themed nightmare.

Plus, it was just a matter of time before Cornhusker photoshopped this so I figured I would beat them to the punch.
Good mascots? No. Good Christmas lawn deco? Yes.

The Hot Seat Issue

I apologize for not getting to this earlier yesterday, but I wanted to thank Sen. Blutarsky for raising an excellent point in his post An Innocent Question.

"...those of you who assert that Mark Richt is on some sort of a hot seat in 2010, what do you base that on exactly?"

I think we can all agree there was a massive sigh of relief when Willie Martinez was let go last year. We, as a fan-base, felt our defense wasn't up to par and this feeling extended back a few years. Coach Richt finally revamped our defensive coaching staff and now that all the pieces are in place (except 1 remaining coaching spot) we're all pretty pumped to see what 2010 holds with a fresh, young QB and a totally new 3-4 defense.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say this is "fake news" being pushed by sports writers who have no tap into the emotional vein of the Bulldog Nation. I'm critical of the AJC (All Junk Columns) and Paul Finebaum (who rivals Neal Boortz in pot-stirring) because they paint pictures with a broad, sweeping brush.

This is the reason my father-in-law (who is an Alabama resident) asks me "What do you think they'll do with Rich?" Once I figure out he's not talking about Coach Brooks, and has trouble pronouncing Mark's last name, I inform him Dawg fans are happy with the measure's he has taken to right the ship.

The majority of us are old enough to remember the 90's and how par-at-best they were. I like to believe Coach Richt will eventually be our own version of an old ass, brain-eating zombie like Joe Paterno. He's not perfect, but you'll be hard pressed to find a negative quality about the guy. In fact his worst quality has been his EXTREME LOYALTY, which I can think of a few inbred, mountain hillbillies who have that quality in their Help Wanted listing. ...not to point any big orange douches at anyone, but ...yeah.

But unless I'm out in left-field on this, let me know if there are any massive underlying issues we as Dawgs are in an uproar about regarding Coach Richt. I know we want to see the team get turned around but I'm thinking we'll have the patience this year to see a transformation. Hopefully, as the stars (and schedule) align in our favor in 2011 we'll have a legitimate shot at the MNC. Fingers crossed, Lane Kiffin finds a way to beat Stanford and Oregon State that year and we get to meet him for the big one...oh mercy, that could get ugly.

Super Bowl Betting

So I know this is a college blog, but like any other reasonable football fan, once the NCAA season is over we ride the NFL train until all football is gone.

If you are the type of person who lets your money do the talking when it comes to making your playoff predictions, I wanted to direct you to a place you can play responsibly AND check out their Super Bowl odds.

For a little assistance, feel free to look and see who the Sports Illustrated guys are picking (even though most of them have already blown it). Also ESPN obviously covers this stuff pretty well too.

Random post, I know. But for the small group of you out there who are into the gambling scene I hope this helps. As always I STRONGLY urge you to exercise a little self-control and set a budget as to how much you are willing to LOSE. That way if you win it's money in the bank. If you lose, you already budgeted it anyway. Have fun, kids.

A Sunday Dilemma

So today our next DC takes his boys onto the field to play the Vikings in a divisional playoff game.


What do I want? I want my defensive coordinator in Athens recruiting, and I wanted it yesterday. But my Sunday dilemma is:

Which is better? Having your DC there in person recruiting kids OR having coach Richt and Rodney Garner apologizing Coach Grantham can't be there because he's out winning Super Bowl rings? (lets not forget, Garner's a heck of a recruiter himself)

Don't get me wrong, I think it'd be great to have our staff in Athens rounding up assistants and recruits. But you gotta admit, showing up to a kid's house with a huge rock on your finger pretty much dispels any rumor that your not committed to getting the best out of them. Just something to think about.
Oh hello, 5 star recruit. Would you like to come to Athens? Yes? Good.

Random Link and Future Visions...

So I was doing a little maintenance around the blog and I saw in my site-tracker I was linked to an unusual site.

The Parliament is a message board for the Rice University Owls.

I was linked on a tread regarding Lane Kiffin's departure, and whatdaya know, apparently I looked into the future and foretold everyone what a huge douchebag Lane Kiffin was going to be.

THIS POST is from March 24th of last year, scroll down for the picture (it'll be worth it).

Blue Skys Ahead

Just got word it's all official. Our nightmare is over! No more DCRotD posts!
HALLELUJAH!!1
(film from me and Bernie's church choir last X-mas)

For a taste of our new DC, here is Grantham breaking down the Denver running game.


...yes, the Cowboys lost to Denver this year (17-10), but only because Tony Romo threw a game-tying TD pass into Champ Baileys wingspan with 1 second left (GO DAWGS!)

Also, unless I'm mistaken it's pronounced "GRAN-thum" instead of "Grant-ham"...right? Who cares, as long as he's ours!

Sorry ladies, no more questions. It's time for me to GATA!

Kiff my @$$ goodbye!

I caught a glimpse of something on Twitter last night as I sat gorging myself with dinner while watching The Biggest Loser.

It was an update from @SchadJoe which stated: "USC has hired Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin, sources say"

I almost fell all over myself immediately sexting friends and sources hoping and praying this was true.

It only took a tweet from the AJC to verify "Alabama Coach Lane Kiffin to replace Pete Carroll at USC" ...(chirp).......(chirp). Real bang-up job AJC Twitter feed. I'd love to link but it has mysteriously disappeared...imagine that.

But I want to verify WHY exactly I'm happy about Lane Kiffin's departure. Example: I was flying out of Hartsfield one morning with my wife. As we waited for the TSA numb-nuts to herd us through security, a lady and her son cut in front of my wife and I. It was apparent they were running late, (which isn't my problem) yet had they asked we would have let them through...but they didn't. Therefore we gleefully watched as the lady got pulled aside for a random search of her luggage, which I'm sure was done in a timely fashion.

Moral of this story? It's good to see people get what they deserve. Tennessee fans bought into all the garbage Lane Kiffin was spewing from the beginning. They loved a coach who was mouthing off to Urban Meyer and energizing their fanbase. So when Kiffin skips town for a job in L.A. they are essentially having the rug pulled out from underneath them. They supported their unproven coach when he was running his mouth and pissing off the conference. So if you want my sympathy, you will find it in the dictionary between "sh*t" and "syphilis".

Takin' his rap lyrics and headin' West like Kanye.

There are a few disappointing things about Kiffin's departure:

#1. He went undefeated against UGA...this I LOATHE!

#2. Chances are, whomever replaces him will be a better coach making UT a better team...except maybe... (PLEASE, OH PLEASE, OH PLEASE HIRE GRUDEN)

#3. The SEC just lost a lot of character with this douche's departure.

...that's all I got. God speed, Mr. Kiffin. I can't wait for the Trojan fans to eat you alive and NOT follow you blindly like the Vols did.

The Many Faces of Nick Saban

So I'm dicking around Yahoo! and there is a story about Nick Saban getting ready to take his place in history, blah blah blah...

Then I scroll down and see a picture of Nick Saban from his Michigan State days:
We'll call this the Stephen King phase...

Now he's at Alabama:
Clearly going through a Bill Lumbergh phase...

We don't know what the future holds for Nick, but I got my money on him eventually landing real estate on Nathan Davis.
...presumably to cover up the goalpost Bear Bryant is leaning against due to it's poor performance as "anything other than a winner".

But best of luck to the Bammers tonight. By law I'm required to wish you well due to my wife's alumni status, but I hope the Texas fans are able to be on the receiving end of "RammerJammer" like I was 2 years ago. It's a Texas-sized kick in the nuts, so it'd be only fitting for them to hear it after another SEC victory in the MNCG.

Oh Artie, How the Mighty Have Fallen

Completely unrelated to football, but I saw this story and couldn't help but feel disappointed.

Bob Saget's comic masterpiece, Dirty Work, came out when I was in high school.

That movie made me laugh for years after and was one of the often quoted jokes among friends even through college. Though I haven't been a fan of anything Artie Lang has done since then (especially his heroin addiction), I always remember him as Sam McKenna from Dirty Work.

That's why it's sad (for me) to hear he tried to kill himself recently. He's obviously got some demons he needs to work out in his life, but stabbing himself 9 times is an indication he needs some help.

Here's hoping Artie gets his life together and this whole event makes him appreciate the kind of talent he is capable of. In honor of the greatness of Mr. Lang, here's a clip from Dirty Work.

DCRotD: Logo Purge Edition

If you were unaware, yesterday the Buffalo Bills purged their coaching staff like Phi Mu's the morning after a Pink Penis bender.
...yep, thoughta that myself!

That's music to the ears of Bulldogs pining for Bob Sanders to return to college football and NOT be wearing jean shorts and gold chains.

Sanders worked under the OBC at Florida during that run in the 90's where we lost a game or two...(cough!)...moving on...

Since then he's bounced from the Dolphins, to the Packers (where we're hoping he gained an affinity for logos), and landed with the Bills last year as their defensive lines coach.


Now he's outta work, and we're in the market...

h/t to Allyugadawg

DCRotD

I'm gonna keep this short and sweet, but I could use a little help from anyone who knows a lot about the NFL.

Since we successfully got raises and contracts for every DC in college football, the rumor mill (running 24/7, open on Christmas) has turned it's eyes to the ranks of professional football.

Here is where I need some assistance.

Lotta folks throwing around the name, Travis Jones. If you are unaware Mr. Jones is the D-Line coach of the New Orleans Saints. (picture found on Leather Helmet Blog who is doing a fine job following this ordeal)

Now let me first say, I think the position of Defensive Coordinator at a top-tier program like Georgia, is a GREAT job any coach worth his weight would love to have. But what I don't get is why an NFL coach who's team went 13-3, finished 1st in their division, and has already worked his way up to NFL money through the SEC ranks (Jones was a GA at Georgia and Line Coach at LSU) would move back down to the collegiate ranks?

Unless I'm mistaken, usually the money is better in the pros, right?!? I understand loyalty (he's a Bulldog, ftr) but maybe I'm used to thinking the only people who go back to the NCAA level are the NFL stinkers...


And who could forget, failure's poster boy...


Let me know if there are any successful NFL guys who returned to college football, because I can't think of any. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have Travis Jones back at Georgia...but just like all rumors, without any legs they're just flopping around on the floor.

(also, I'd like to inform WLayton January 2nd has passed)