A Bulldawg in Exile

I cant believe you asked me that damn question.

noreply@blogger.com (Displaced Dawg) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:46:00 +0000

Who among us can forget those words spoken by accused ponzi schemer and bankrupt former coach Jim Donnan. Back when Inside Georgia Football was hosted by Loran Smith the questions came fast and furious.

After several players suffered cramps before and after half time ol' Loran wanted to know... "Coach, can you tell us why the players were cramping up on the sidelines.." A clearly perturbed Jim Donnan paused and responded, " I cant believe you asked me that damn question..." and we all knew that instant that we weren't dealing with a Ray Goff type anymore.

I recall at the time people took sides on this one, you had your Loran supporters claiming Donnan was a bully, and you had your Donnan supporters claiming Loran asked another stupid question and it was high time someone called him out on it. Some even suggest that it was these exchanges which contributed to Donnans release and not his subpar performance as a coach:

"However, the main reason Donnan was canned at that point in time, all had to do with his dislike and unwillingness to get along with Loran Smith Anybody who listened to the post game radio shows heard the short, curt answers that he gave Smith, with the attitude that Smith’s questions were dumb and he was above having to put up with them. And of course there was at least one time that he was so upset with Loran’s questions that he refused to talk to him and stormed off."

Well those siding with Loren on this one are probably better judges of character. We all saw the news about Donnans Ponzi scheme last year, but more info is coming out that sheds a little more light on JD's character.
and his role in the scheme which ultimately led him to file bankruptcy.

Damn Jim, leukemia patients and former players who saw you as a father? Sounds pretty heartless. I bet he cant believe the questions he gets asked these days.

not the best of years for our beloved Dawgs
but Quincy is a whole other story

If I don't remember it, it didn't happen

noreply@blogger.com (Displaced Dawg) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:17:00 +0000

I've finally come to terms with the 2nd half of the SECCG... well... let me be more truthful here. I've finally created a coping mechanisim that will allow me to move on and participate in my daily life without the obsession and depression that accompanies such losses. You may call it denial, but I believe the technical term for it is lacunar amnesia. Yes, I have willed an eternal sunshine to my spotless mind, if you will.

I've decided to beleive that the second half did not happen. More than that, its not just that I've decided it didn't happen, in my mind it did not happen. I have no memory of that 2nd half..at all. This occurred to me as I was listening to 680 the fan the other day on pocket tunes (PLUG). They were talking about things I realized I didn't see, didn't remember and didn't care to. I can quote you no stats from that second half. I couldn't for the life of me tell you anything other than the score. Did we have turnovers? I don't know. Did we let Honey Badger make his mark? I don't know. Did Crowell ever come back? I don't know. Yes, I am blocking, or rather have blocked; completely blocked those last 30 minutes from my memory. I can tell you this with complete honesty, and my wife and friends can attest to this fact. You see I walk around these parts like we won that game. I'm unabashed in my display of my fandom even in the midst of smurf village. I walk among the throngs of a fanbase whose team obliterated us in that same dome with a swagger not commiserate with what happened on the turf that day or from what people tell me happened in the 2nd half on Dec 3rd. In my mind (and lots of drinking helped me get here the day of and ever since) the SECCG was won at halftime by our dawgs at about the same time the Boise UGA alumni club and I decided to get completely blotto. (ah the Boise UGA alumni club... brethren in exile....finally, but more on them later)

@TodddamnGrantham 's D was playing lights out. ZERO first downs, 12 yards total offense for the Tigers and only 19 offensive plays? You've got to be kidding me! Sure we made some mistakes offensively in that first half, left some points on the board, but we looked like the better team and there was every reason to expect that we were going to have our SEC championship by the end of the night. I heard more than a few times and I drunk dialed more than a few folks going into the half about how the score should have been 21-0. And you know it should have shouldn't it? That feeling was something I haven't experienced in years, and I guess a part of me just decided right then and there that no matter what happened after halftime I got what I needed and would be happy. I made a decision. I was not going to let anything spoil this for me. From that moment forward, and as our very own former redcoat Sarah played the battle hymn, the Boise UGA alumni club proceeded to get our drank on. Oh yeah, that's right, we partied like it was 2005. There was Denver from Athens who we just met that very day buying everyone shots. Round after round of shots; too many shots but this was no ordinary day in our minds. This was Championship Saturday, so why hold back? I think we drank a shot for every 3 and out we had that first half. There might have been an attempt to play the CBS drinking game too, I just can't be sure. The bourbon flowed, and halftime was a blur. I remember there were Georgia fans in all directions, all wearing the red and black. Then a spontaneous eruption of "whats that coming down the tracks" that I'm pretty sure I lead, and that I'm positive must have impressed upon the other patrons first hand that there is in fact nothing finer in the land than a drunk obnoxious Georgia fan. Hell we even had a few LSU fans, a bama fan and a Flordia fan chiming in, it was a bubble of SEC love in exile. These folks who were strangers to me and to each other just a few weeks prior who were now hugging and drinking like were were long lost friends hanging out at a tailgate on northcampus. Instant connection in exile. Drunkenness in exile. Victory in exile.

Thats right, we won...that half, bulldawgs in exile

But something funny happened when the second half started. I know we got our asses kicked because I've seen the score and I may have read a gamecap that night, but for the life of me I can not remember a single damned thing about the second half......... and you know what...it feels pretty damn good. Denial in exile. By the pictures I found on my phone the next day, none of us allowed those last 30 minutes to get in the way of our 1st half celebration. I can not bring myself to watch the replay, I can not bring myself to listen to a dissection of what happend. By god, we went 10.5 and 2 this year and we get to beat up on another B1G team in a decent bowl game. That is just about as far from what I expected as possible when I took Marta home smelly drunk at 1am on Sept 3rd. If you would have told me that night we would be back in Atlanta to cap off the season, I would have pegged you for a Boise State fan or delusional optimist, or both.

On this Dec 3rd, exactly 3 months later none of us cared about the final score. And even though the stink of the loss to BSU will never fully wash off, in the course of twelve months, Richt and company took us from the smoldering ruins of a loss to UCF in a bowl game no one wants to remember but we should NEVER forget and an 0-2 start to reel off 10 wins in a row. Who could have predicted in that lifeless effort against UCF that one year later we would win the east? This finish might be the best thing that could have happened to us. I mean ANY cockiness that might have crept into our guys on that 10-0 stretch surely was beaten out of them by the end of that SECCG. We saw how champions play, we got some extra experience on the big stage and by god, our young team smacked around those Tigers for 30 minutes to boot. All invaluable for next years campaign. So we got bludgeoned you tell me? I don't remember it and you shouldn't either. Why don't you try some lacunar amnesia and a few dozen shots yourself.

And now, I give you Sarah, former redcoat, current bulldawg in exile

I could almost hear Munson........"glory glory to Ole Georgia,.....heroes have graced the field before you. Men with hearts bodies and minds of which the entire bulldog nation can be justifiably proud...The tradition of unbridled excellence demonstrated by these individuals and many others spans more than full century. And now a new breed of Bulldog stands ready to take the field of battle to resume the reigns of their Georgia forebearers and continue the tradition...understanding that there is no tradition more worthy of envy, no institution worthy of such loyalty than the University of Georgia. As we prepare for another meeting between the hedges let all the bulldog faithful rally behind the men who now wear the red and black with two words....two simple words which express the sentiments of the entire bulldog nation............Go Dawgs! "

Porch Pickin: SEC fatigue

noreply@blogger.com (Displaced Dawg) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:31:00 +0000

Have PAC 12 or B1G or BIG 12 friends? Are they tired of the SEC always winning BCS championships? Offer them this little reassurance; I guarantee an SEC team will lose the bcs championship this year.

If that is of no comfort then
have them read todays contribution from Toothpick:

Seems in recent years around this time, the words 'SEC Fatigue' get thrown out there. For those that are new to this term, the diagnosis reads something like: Someone that's tired and angry that their favorite teams keep getting bitch-slapped year end/year out by members of the Kingdom. Recognizable symptoms include:

- Grasping for reasons to contradict the obvious - like but Bama didn't beat anybody or Oklahoma State's a conference champ* and only has 1 loss or what about Houston?
- Thinking aloud that the SEC's success is "media driven".....well, there's a few reasons Tom Brady is in TV and magazines and not Jeff George. I believe it's called success and marketability.
- A nervous/anxious feeling late Friday night that subsides on Sunday's around 1pm....or in more severe cases, the 2nd week in January.
- Often complains that the bowl system sucks - not realizing that this 'fatigue' would be worse in a playoff system. Shoot - they'd have to open a Clinic if a playoff comes about.

If this sounds like you, the way I see it you've got two choices:

1) Keep those blinders on, grab another cheese steak or brat, buy stock in Tums and go kiss your ugly girlfriend on her neck tattoo.

or

2) Feel the SEC Pride, grab a handle of Kentucky's finest, throw on an affiliated members Polo Shirt and go date the Homecoming Queen.

Best Wishes
'Pick

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Farewell Larry

noreply@blogger.com (Displaced Dawg) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 01:56:00 +0000

What can be said that hasn't already? A man who colored so much of our past is gone. He will be missed.
Thank you Larry for all you gave BullDawg nation.
http://www.larrymunson.com/audio/30years.mp3
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Feeling a little homesick today

noreply@blogger.com (Displaced Dawg) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:10:00 +0000

Awoke this morning to an abnormally warm and humid 56 degrees out in the territories. The smell of dead leaves fills the air and it feels like so many Georgia fall mornings I remember.

Forgive the indulgence:

First word, last word: 'Pick on Penn State

noreply@blogger.com (Displaced Dawg) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:21:00 +0000

Toothpick is making his way up from Savannah today for the Auburn game tomorrow. Before he left he sent me a quickone.

From 'Pick:

'"I typically like to keep these ramblings on subjects related to the Dawgs and those bastards up North. But, with the recent news out of State College...

I think the best comment on this subject was this, ironically from someone in Boise..."For those wondering how this will affect Joe Pa's legacy...this IS his legacy."

For a man who has always preached integrity, morals and doing it the 'right' way....Mr. Paterno (and anyone searching to defend him) hear this - you failed the ultimate test!

And for those that criticize Coach Richt and have the win at all cost mentality, may I suggest you think twice on how fortunate Georgia is to have a man of strong character.

moving on........

Here's hoping Saturday's game in Athens equals the excitement of the real Blackout game in '07. Crank dat!"

'Pick

Gone too Long & Almost There

noreply@blogger.com (Displaced Dawg) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:47:00 +0000

As I was doing some blog maintainence today I discovered I had some messages in my spam folder.
As expected it was the usual cadre of religious postings; sexual stamina enhancements and pharmaceutical solutions. But also lost in the shuffle was a comment that was not spam, that should have been posted to my
"getting way too ahead of ourselves department" post back in October.
At the end of the post I speculated that I believed we would lose 2 more games this year and NOT appear in the SEC championship. In part I thought that this would be ok if only so that the smurfs out here couldn't claim to be the best team in the SEC east. Thankfully I appeared to be wrong in this miscalculation (it surely isnt the first time nor will it be the last!) However this post that went to spam was left by a reader who thought I should keep such thoughts to myself:

I think if you want to be a non-believer and present this blog as some sort of objective, reality check then you need to keep your thoughts to yourself. You are a UGA blogger, dude. You are supposed to be biased. Supportive and optimistic, too. The fact that you predict two more losses this season makes me want to vomit. You have no intention of giving these guys the benefit of the doubt, do you? You are convinced the offensive line or offense in general will not improve and that a steadily improving defense won't be strong enough to stop the teams we have yet to face...is that about right? You should stay in Idaho. Better yet, why don't you look for work in the Gainesville, Florida area when you return. We wouldn't want anyone to call you a HOMER, now would we?By DawgZilla on From the "Getting Way Too Ahead of Ourselves" Depa... on 10/11/11

Listen, I've never proclaimed to be anything other than a fan who was moved away from home with a chip on his shoulder. I certainly do not pretend to be a trained professional or unbiased sports expert nor do I aspire to be one. Yes, the last few years of mediocrity have tempered my expectations. In the confines of my friends and family I often I expect the worst verbally, but hope for the best quietly. One moment I'm blindly optimistic about our team, and the sky could be falling the next. This is not a luxury I have around these parts with a fanbase of delusional johnny come latelys. To the outsider I am the puffer fish. Confident, sure, more certain of victory than the setting of the sun. I take to this blog to join in with fellow fans with whom I can admit my oft buried uncertainty. As a fanbase I'd say we all have had a little Larry Munson rub off on our outlook; our expectations colored by his pessimism. High one moment, down the next. (Just as our play at times this season and in seasons past.) My wife is a graduate of Notre Dame and she told me she'd never seen a bunch of fans so hell bent on self flagellation. Isn't this dual personality part of who we are as fans? I mean one of my favorite ongoing pieces is written by Doug Gillette, whose Manic Doug and Depressive Doug so perfectly capture the inner turmoil that so many of us feel at any particular moment. His Manic and Depressive pregame analysis of each game pits his two sides against one another. An internal dialogue played out for our enjoyment that I relate to so much. Most of us can list every reason we might lose a game just as we are finishing giving you every reason why we will win a game, and it has nothing to do being ashamed of who we are. Today Bernie offers his reasons why we will win this weekend agaisnt Auburn, but immediately mentions that today's post will .."of course will be balanced by a post tomorrow outlining reasons why I'm nervous as hell".
As a fan I agree with everything Bernie writes, just as I'm sure I'll agree with all the reasons why he's nervous tomorrow. Such is life as a dawgfan.

So, Dawgzilla to issue a long overdue response to your comment, I did some soul searching. I asked myself some questions.. Have I lost myself to this place? Have I forgotten what it means to be a true fan? Should I consider looking at real estate in Gainesville? Finally, have I been out here too long?... Hell yes I've been out here too long. I was here too long the day I crossed the state line into Alabama on the drive out here. But I don't think being cautious and predicting two losses for the rest of the season means I'm ashamed of what I am. I'm a guy who on a DAILY basis defends the Dawgs. I am a fan who finds himself getting berated by students, grandparents, and hippes at a bar for wearing my Georgia gear. A guy who for 5 freaking miserable years has had to represent my team, conference and way of life to a bunch of people who still insist that Kellen Moore totally deserves the Heisman and that a Seagram's 7&7 is superior to my Jack Daniels with a splash of water. I've had to watch as my daughter and son grow up around kids who know NOTHING but blue and orange. I own an embarrassing amount of UGA merchandise, even had my boat wrapped in a 15foot Georgia G. I'm a guy who has held on to a passion for the Dawgs despite there being virtually zero fellow fans to commiserate with out here. I've flown over 100,000 miles coming back to Athens for games in the last 5 years. I'm a guy who, despite it being a 2100 mile trip to Sanford stadium from my front door still shows up on campus at 7am to tailgate as I did when I lived only 60 miles away. So why would someone like me whose been fortunate enough to inherit a fantastic HOMER BLOG be ashamed of being a homer?
Dawgzilla to answer you respectfully; To me, predicting losses and being a true fan are not mutually exclusive. I can support and critique. I can be illogically blind to the facts and I yet I'll quote the ones that support my mood. I'm a fan, nothing more, certainly nothing less.
If I'm wrong on this, then I truly have been gone too long. As for your relocation suggestion, sadly from my perspective Gainesville would be a step up.

Now having said all that, damn I am excited about what these young dawgs have become. We are almost there. A 63-16 beatdown will cure what ails you. A definite improvement over our last overmatched opponent . Aggressive play calling by Bobo and Richt; ( going for 6 in the closing seconds of the 2nd quarter was the most Un-Richt like thing I can remember seeing in quite some time) Clearing the bench again; scoring 42 points in ONE QUARTER and doing it all without Mitchell and Crowell...well damn, that's a success anyway you look at it even if it was just NMSU.

Nothing to complain about there (SEE DAWGZILLA I LOVE MY DAWGS, NOT ONE BAD WORD!).
And while I've not been thrilled with how close we've kept the previous 5 SEC games, the score at the end of each one got us the W and so here we are actually talking about....(gawd, I hope I don't jinx it...gulp...) the SEC championship. 4 games to go, perhaps 5 and we sit here at 7-2 on the cusp of taking another step back to relevance. It's been a business like approach all year. One game at a time. Get on the Bus. Some will point to the soft schedule with a "yeah but" , but why would we feel bad about benefiting from that when we've certainly been hurt by the strength of that schedule in seasons past. The soft schedule be damned, The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Each of our SEC victories may have an asterisk, something we could have done better or a team we should have beaten more soundly, but Richt doubters can not be disappointed with the cumulative record or this TEAM. You don't think there were astrisks on LSU's 2 loss national championship season? Our Defense has become a who's who of play-makers with real depth. UGA is ranked #3 in the nation in 3rd down D and yet our projected starters have not yet played an entire game together meaning there is actually room for improvement. Offensively we are topping our 2010 efforts in PPG and YPG with No AJ Green and a true freshman at RB. That no huddle thingy that I poked fun at in the opener, is actually, you know... sort of working... Young guys are making a real difference who were playing high school ball just last year. We're young, we've been challenged, and despite suspensions, injuries and special teams, this team is 7-2. It's beginning to feel a lot like the good ole days with Greene and Pollack where we found ways to win the games we were not supposed to, and torched those teams we should have.

Now our destiny is in our own hands. We don't need to pull for the stinking Gators this Saturday. We just need to win. This team will beat Auburn this weekend. 13 points seems high to me, but the outcome seems destined. We've been gone from the spotlight for too long folks. This will be the game that will announce our return. We're almost there. Just win baby!

See you in Athens..

Mizzou? Blahzou

noreply@blogger.com (Displaced Dawg) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 20:10:00 +0000

So. We took the ugly chick home anyway. Dag gum. Not excited about this dilution of the brand. Though we all know the financial reasons behind this, There is nothing SEC about this move.
Just look at her....

Welcome mizzou. Hope you're in a good skymiles program.

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From ToothPick: Richard Samuel Damn Good Dawg

noreply@blogger.com (Displaced Dawg) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 21:10:00 +0000

Toothpick made it back from Jax and has recovered from his victory fueled celebration. Toothpick for those of you who don't know is a lifelong friend of mine who I met during my days at UGA. Pick moved to Savannah a few years after he got married and most weekend nights he sits on his back porch sippin bourbon and making recordings of the crickets that he sends to me so that I can fall asleep at night out here in the territories. Pick has thoughts about football, he writes 'em down and I serve 'em up...Today the subject is one Richard Samuel IV, apparently our only back who didn't fail a drug test last week...

From Pick:

It goes without saying that it's always great to walk out of Jax with the W. Georgia-Florida. If you've been there, you know that just those two words say it all. You just can't top that scene anywhere in college football. You folks in the Big 12 can have your big JV game crossing the Red River. Go grab a giant turkey leg why don't ya. We'll take the Cocktail Party.

The biggest thing from this game came to me while reading the Sunday paper. It's a quote from Samuel IV and I'm hoping that Crowell can pick up on his quote and how he ran the ball in those final drives. He demonstrated the essence of the saying: TEAM-me . We all know that IC has loads of talent and he's played very well for the Dawgs. But to be a legend, you gotta dig deep when it's on the line. On that final first down run that sealed the deal (and busted his ankle), Samuel added his name to future tailgate stories and became a Legend.

Thankyou Mr. Samuel. Your Legacy is now cemented.

This taken from Chris White's article in the Banner-Herald talking about toting the rock for the final TD:

“I can’t remember much about it,” Samuel said. “I was just thinking, ‘Get the ball and run hard.’

“Then I thought, ‘Richard, you finally did something to where the team can really benefit from it.’ That was all I was thinking the whole time.”

TEAM-me

Hey Will Muschump how does 0-5 feel?

noreply@blogger.com (Displaced Dawg) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 20:58:00 +0000

Muschump

I love to hate me some Will Muschump. William guaranteeing a win was the best thing he could have done to start this new era off right. William's Gators didn't come through. William threw his usual hissy fits and now William is on the wrong side of this rivalry at 0-5. Here's to the start of seeing him winless as long as possible. Hey Will Muschump, How'd you like to bite my ass??

Moving on.....Someone in my twitter feed made a great point this past Saturday... Why do we all have to look at this GA-FLA rivalry in terms of the last 20 years? Lets change the story on this rivalry starting today. From henceforth we will look at this rivalry going forward. No more looking back.. No more letting a meaningless set of numbers dictate our demeanor. As Aaron Murry so eloquently put it, this team is 1-0 against Florida. Period. You wanna look back? Then look back 5 years, the amount of time most kids stay in college, know what? We're 2-3 against the jorted ones. Not great, but not the nightmare of head scratching, mess with your mind type of record of the last 20. A time frame so absurd most of the current players weren't even a glint in their daddys eyes. A time frame so absurd YOURS TRULY was just a wide eyed freshmen who only knew this rivalry from the 14-4 W/L record of the dawgs in his time on this earth. Folks, our young dawgs gave us a victory, it wasn't pretty (again) but it's one that I feel will mark the beginning of a new streak for our dream team for their time in Athens. Did I mention that what I love most about Saturday is the great Traitor, Will Muschump, is now 0-5 in this game? Well then let me say it again...Will Muschump is 0-5...god I love it...Now what about the game? I know by now you've read your fair share about all aspects of this game and who really gives a rats ass about one more, so I'll keep it short.

Muschump

Our Defense is LEGIT. I mean let's keep the opponents in perspective, but we are getting some respect nationally on this front. They are just about THE biggest reason why we are 6-2 and not 4-4 right now. Our offense gives the ball up inside our own 20? No biggie lets take 'em backwards 3 straight plays. Thank Kiffins for Jarvis Jones. And to hear him say he's gonna stick around UGA next year is a refreshing break for us considering the talent we've lost early the last several years. 1 first down in the second half and -19 yards rushing for Florida in the entire game? 226 total offense allowed? Bottom line, this defense is special folks, and they've saved our bacon this year on many occasions. Crowell got some yards but got hurt early again (not liking that trend one bit) and Richard Samuel is a team player (more on that from 'pick') his heart and determination should be admired. Turns out he's out for at least 4 weeks to due an ankle injury sustained in the last play of the game. And that is truly a shame in light of this afternoons developments.

Muschump

But lets get real for second shall we? Now that the back slapping is out of the way, now that the monkey is off our back, let's be real. Many people will continue to point out that we've beaten 6 teams that are a combined 4-22 in the SEC and one was an FCS school. As negative as that may sound, its the truth. Lets keep our heads down and appreciate the victory, but lets demand that we get better.

Seems like every weekend its a game of wack-a-mole when it comes to our deficiencies. Blair Walsh continues to struggle, Murray is sporadic, eyeing down receivers or plain missing them in space. He seems to have regressed since last year; I used to think of him as special, now I feel he is adequate, but no longer confidence inspiring. I hope he turns the trend around soon. Special teams have shown zero improvement since becoming an issue for us, and now the decline has spread to Butler. Our man among boys TE turned FB Bruce Figgins has not carried a ball this year (BREAKING: THIS COULD CHANGE AGAINST NMST) and I don't think we've utilized the I formation as much as we should have. Yes I feel we're heading in the right direction but I just still don't know what to make of this team as of yet.

Muschump

Adding to the uncertainty of who this team is, our stable of RB's are now suspended for the next game. My mind immediately starts to worry that Crowell may be going down the Ricky Williams road. I pray I am wrong. Lets let the facts play out, certainly doesn't look good right now.

Picks Take

noreply@blogger.com (Displaced Dawg) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 18:06:00 +0000

In my continued slackerness my good friend toothpick is stepping in again to fill the void. Pick pipes in this week with some thoughts on this weeks games against those gaturds.

Well it's time for the pilgrimage to Jax and our annual whooping at the hands of the Gators. I always love the trip to St Simons and the pregame energy....but it's usually over after kickoff and that road trip back up I-95N makes me sick. I'm about 50/50 on our chances this weekend and will be until the clock strikes 0:00 and we've got a 1 point lead. Can the Dawgs win, absolutely. Will they?.....

I've got a Gator buddy trying to sell me on his Gators suck and we should kill them. I ain't buying it. As Coach Richt has said, flip the schedules and it's probably the same the other way. I've got another buddy (from above the Mason-Dixon line) that is already saying if favored Georgia loses - it's Coaching. As I told him, Coach's coach, Players play..........

W
elcome back 'Tree! Though the inside backers have played solid in his absence, they are not the "playmakers" that we've seen and heard Alec Ogletree can be. With the loss of playing time, yet fresh legs and energy to get back on the field, I see 'Tree having a big impact in this game containing the quick Gator RB's, a sack or two and maybe a big pick to seal the deal. A big game from 'Tree just might equal a W for the Dawgs.

Lastly - alright Aaron Murray....we understand you've got High School buddies that went to Florida State and you went down to check out a game. No problem, off weekend, go see some football, hang out with da boys and check out the 'talent' in Tallahassee. But dude - you're the QB at Georgia. You don't wear another teams colors. Sure Peyton Manning was cheering for Eli in the Super Bowl.....but he wasn't wearing a damn Giant's hat was he? Com'on Man! If you play big Saturday in Jax and the Dawgs get the win - all may be forgotten. But despite your comments to the contrary....wearing a FSU shirt while posing with a shirtless, juiced up dude is "Stupid". Let's hope you left those mental mistakes in Tallahassee...

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From the "Getting Way Too Ahead of Ourselves" Department

noreply@blogger.com (Displaced Dawg) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 18:44:00 +0000

Listen, despite this entry, believe me, the only thing I think we need to be worried about as a fanbase is the next game. Vandy. Period. Any other talk is bad karma. Usually I'm the first one to shut that kind of looking ahead down when I hear it. Don't get me wrong, while I'm not going to offer up another game recap (I've read about a million of them since Satruday night) I will say I'm still encouraged with what we're getting out of our dawgs. The D is absolutely playing lights out, and the "dream team" is playing an enormous role in our offense already. Two true freshmen playmakers are better than most of us could have hoped for this summer out of even that bunch. To have the kind of talent like that to come in and immediately make a contribution is huge. A legitimate running threat and 3 time freshman of the week whose very presence helps opens up our play action and a wideout that has already drawn comparisons to one AJ Green? The future does indeed look bright or at least brighter.

So its hard not to look ahead and think of the scenarios and potential matchups and I get it. I'm guilty of it too. But those around me drag me into it as the single SEC/ Georgia fan they have to bounce their thoughts off of. Every time I get out of it, they pull me back in. You'd think that living out here it would be easier to just put your head down and take it game by game and not get into such ridiculous discussion. I don't have a group of likeminded GA fans to hang with and debate these scenarios. But there is a certain fan base out this a way, that really really needs us to boost their very suspect SOS. I'm talking of course about the bronco village. So instead of looking ahead with friends, I have to play look ahead and "what ifs" with Smurfs. From my recent experience every BSU fan is a true GA fan the rest of the way let me tell you. And there is nothing they would like more than to have Georgia not only go to the SEC championship game but win it all so they can claim at least one quality victory on that mushy schedule of theirs. To this end they have impressively learned and memorized the teams from east / west divisions. They can recite the tie scenarios and the criteria to break any said tie at the end. Since their games are never close and result in nothing to talk about, their conversations are instead about who's beating whom in the top 25 and beyond. Who had quality wins; bad wins;bad loses and quality loses; how they can climb the polls and what needs to happen to make the guys ahead of them fall. They know the mathematical equations behind the BCS and they all seem to be invested in SEC football. I even overheard some of them saying just how "tough it is to play in the SEC". The very argument they all love to hate when it comes from me has become a battle cry for their strength of schedule. This is all to serve their ego and their own SOS of course, and it puts me in the strange position of continually downplaying the significance of their victory over my beloved dawgs, but maybe some of this knowledge will stick with them after this season has been written to history.

Because of this vested interest in how Georgia does every weekend, I get approached by the normal cadre of Boise State fans who really really wants us to run the table. This is all hard to stomach by the way...To have what you've always looked at as your little brother offering words of encouragement is a flip of the table that I've still not gotten comfortable with. Especially during games with tweets or texts like:

"Georgia can do it, tell them to hunker down"

"They r looking better each week"

"keep your chin up, a win is a win"

"Your D looks awesome, that really helps Kellens Heisman chances...thankyou"

"I know how u feel about getting conservative, we only won 50 to 10 this week"

Coming from a BSU fan this is patronizing and insulting, but such is my life out here. Last week even the freakin GARBAGE MAN decided to offer his words of encouragement on a BFI service notice that he taped to my trashcan..it read..." GO BSU! please keep winning your games bullpuppies"
(I will offer my response to him this Friday, suggestions are welcome)
So, where am I going with this?
BSU wants us to win the east, and they want us to upset ALA or LSU in the SECCG. They can then claim to be better than every team in the SEC and I know I'll undoubtedly hear that a million times. They will have a quality win to hang their hats on. Some of these BSU fans say its their only hope for getting to the the BCS title game. They are right, it is their only hope, But that's all it is: hope. There is no way having one strong win would catapult them into 2nd and earn them a spot ahead of a one loss ALA, LSU, OK, or Wisconsin. To their credit, most admit this. BSU to the BCSCG is not happening and its not what I'm worried about in this ridiculous scenario. What does get me thinking, and what does get me worried about this hypothetical turn of events you ask? Well, you know what else a Georgia upset in the Dome in Dec would potentially do? Georgia winning the SEC means SEC probably doesn't get to play for another National Title this year. Then we become "that guy".... The guy that stopped the streak.

Ok, so you might be thinking.."well even if Oklahoma and the Badgers go undefeated the rest of the way a one loss Ala/LSU might remain in the top 2 thus saving your precious streak." And that's certainly a possibility. So then, the utterly ridiculous look ahead scenario 2: the SEC champ ranked lower than SEC runner-up who then goes to and wins BCS national Title. Is this even possible? Wouldn't an SEC championship be kind of empty? Wouldn't that weaken the catapulting power of the SECCG? Either way, it wouldn't carry the same glory for me. Isn't it all so ugly?
Have I been breathing the desert air for too long? What say you? Would you want to be the guy who ends this unprecedented streak of National Championships for our conference? Would you want to win the SEC as one of the lowest ranked SEC teams to do so? Upsetting the natural balance of the College football universe by NOT having the SEC champion in the BCS title game? NO I don't....so there I said it. I don't want a asterisk by anything when we win it. (whenever that is) Not a loss to BSU on the schedule, not a "yeah but LSU/ALA really should have won it", nothing. I want to run the table from start to finish and bask in the glory of an undefeated season and championship like we deserve. Our conference brothers would point to this as the year Georgia hurt the SEC. The year that the dawgs interrupted/broke the streak or made a mess of the game. The asterisk to the SECCG winner playing for the BCS title. No sir, I do not want that. And its easy to say when you know in your heart this is not something you have to worry about. So lets get back to reality and its a better place to be, my head suddenly stops hurting; my stomach now settled...... Georgia is not good enough this year to pull off that upset even if we got there. I still think that despite the strong improvement since game one, there is probably a loss or two left on our schedule. No need to worry about any SECCG this year and breaking the streak.
Nope; better that Alabama make it 6 for the SEC this year, then we make it 7 next year.. How's that for looking ahead?

You want to be in the SEC? Here's your checklist bub...

noreply@blogger.com (Displaced Dawg) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:12:00 +0000

I've been swamped lately with other obligations and work travel, as a result have really have neglected this space. I'll try to be more consistent when things settle down. I got an email from my buddy in Savannah this morning who goes by the name Toothpick. Toothpick sits on his back porch most Friday nights sippin bourbon and making recordings of the crickets that he sends to me so that I can fall asleep at night out here in the territories. Toothpick and I both attended UGA together and were roommates for 3 out of the 5 years we were in Athens. After college we lived in Buckhead with some of our tailgating crew until marriage split the whole party up. Long before we both had jobs, wives and kids, Toothpick and I enjoyed our fall Saturdays to the fullest. From wide eyed freshmen to old alumni we did imbibe saturdays to the fullest. First in, Last out was our tailgate motto. Now days with all of us spread to the wind, we tailgate virtually for those games we aren't lucky enough to attend in person. Anyway, Toothpick sends me rants from time to time and this one I thought was worth sharing...
Ladies and Gentlemen, Toothpicks thoughts on what qualifies others for SEC consideration:

"I was thinking about all this expansion talk last night while watching A-Roid strikeout again with the bases jacked (what a chump). Anyway, I figured to put these thoughts to paper...or at least to electronic print. Please enjoy below:
A few brief requirements; a check list if you will, for your school to even be considered for invitation to the greatest football conference in the land. Feel free to let me know any I may have left off....which I apologize, it's Friday before the game in Knoxville and we started with Bloody Mary's this morning on the boat trip up the Tennessee River.

1) Sweet Tea, not Unsweet or even Half/Half. Water is available if you don't like sugar. In the SEC, Sugar is what we play for.

2) A tremendous 'Co-Ed' following. Girls that can not only explain a defensive Stunt, but why and when to call it. Girls that are happy to sneak in your flask...along with hers. Hot girls in their Sunday best (exception here for Florida and LSU's lumber-yard hot) screaming for the RB to pick up that blitz. No sweat shirts, no baggy pants. This is the SEC - we dominate on and off the field.

3) Has an appreciation for drinking bourbon at 9am on Fall Saturdays. This goes for both guys and girls. With Coke (never Pepsi), Ginger Ale, Water or just ice. It's all good. And NO! - Crown Royal doesn't count. That's Blended Canadian Whiskey. Yes, I know you love the cute purple sack it comes in. But save that for Boxers Day - this is where Championship football is played.

4) 365. As in the number of days you focus on your team and how they'll look next week, next recruiting class, next season. It's breakfast conversation in February and supper conversation in April. Of course in September, it covers all the family sit downs.

5) Tailgatin. It starts early AM on gameday...if not one, two or sometimes three days before (ask Oklahoma fans about the Crimson Tide RV invasion in Norman on Wednesday a few years back). It's not hanging at the apartment drinking leftover keg beer until and hour before kickoff. It's the Bloody Bar at 7am for the ESPN 7 o' clock kickoff. We smoke hogs on trailer cookers, have Pimento Cheese sandwiches, Momma's home-made fried chicken, boiled peanuts and fresh lemon bars and cookies for desert. No brats! Save that for your trip to Green Bay.

6) Geat college towns. This aint' Los Angeles or Columbus, OH or Miami, FL. We play the best college football in the land in small little towns like Athens and Oxford with lively music scenes, BBQ joints, local dive bars and Cathedrals that seat 90,000 folks.

Meet these requirements and we might, just might consider you for membership. If not, or maybe you just got scared off a little bit...well, go back to the BIG 10 (or wherever you came from) and we'll stomp your tail again in the Sugar Bowl and celebrate with another Mint Julep on the veranda."

According to my friend Nick, Mizzou is automatically disqualified on these grounds. In addition to the fact that they fail every single requirement above, he adds that the last time he was there everyone was watching HOCKEY!' Good Lord, please Mike Slive, I hope you're paying attention!

Thanks Pick!
GATA

Closing Time

noreply@blogger.com (Displaced Dawg) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:41:00 +0000

Sooooo, conference expansion craziness may indeed be coming to a rather anticlimactic end (for now).
With the PAC-12 announcement that they are happy with 12 members (read UT and her baggage just weren't worth the hassle) the music has stopped and the lights are on bright. A sobering moment for all of us caught up in the discussion of "what-ifs" and "who's next". Personally I feel like the guy who was desperately trying to score at the end of a long night of drinking. The gal I really wanted was a $20m cab ride home. I never was fond of Missouri, but I would have agreed to take her home especially if all my buddies were gonna take somebody home too. I mean look at em, not too shabby right?

In the sober light of the morning, it's bad enough that we have to wake up and look at this:

Do we have to keep him?

But Larry Scott's moment of sobriety may have very well saved us from this:

Good Lord... thankyou Pac-12

Larry was kinda like the one guy at the bar who figured he'd just assume go to waffle house and get some damn hash browns scattered smothered and covered instead of entertain a hook up with someone he would probably regret later on. Even though he had the hot one on the hook and all her friends, he knew that that high maintenance princess and her entourage would be trouble for him down the road. Kudos, PAC-12 and thank you for your sanity.
Do me a favor, the next time we go out drinking together, remind me how much I love hash-browns and lets call it a night. Punch me in the stomach if you have to.

Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush

noreply@blogger.com (Displaced Dawg) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 20:01:00 +0000

Wow, Twittah is alive with conjecture about conference expansion, and I have to admit it is fun to consider the possibilities. Most of which I abhor but fun to hypothesize nonetheless. Today many reports have Missouri coming to join our sacred league. Well I do not like that one bit. Not completely sold on A&M, but having some A&M cousins in my family I at least understand they fanaticism of that fan base and can see them adding to the middle tier quite nicely. Mizzou however? I am assuming Mr. Slive has all this figured out without my help. I mean no one has called me yet for advice but I still woudl rather see VT come in than Missouri. $20M is chump change right? I mean..Missouri?
Didn't these guys fight on both sides of the war? What in the hell are we doing?
So we add Mizzou and A&M to the West, and most everyone agrees that Aubbie slides right over to the east.
Who then becomes our permanent Western match up?
Who would you like it to be?

An interesting article in the times today on the numbers behind these "strategic" expansions.
Besides all the telling numbers (some of which seem suspect) I noticed that my own little (temporary) neck of the woods is home to the highest concentration of google searches for "college football" west of the Rockies....Guess that makes sense with those smurfs enjoying their recent decade of dominance over the WAC. Might be time I begrudgingly pay them some respect. Folks around here are starting to believe they will be in some new look Big 12 along with TCU before this thing stops spinning. Well, good for them then.

Anyway, great info if you have the time.

http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/19/the-geography-of-college-football-fans-and-realignment-chaos/

Moving Day

noreply@blogger.com (Bulldog in Exile) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:58:00 +0000

Since I don't do anything the easy way, here is what I've been up to.

Yes, that is a house being moved. My house. Hopefully, it won't rain the rest of the day.

BIE

Room for Improvement

noreply@blogger.com (Displaced Dawg) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 20:53:00 +0000

Man there are a lot of happy dawg fans out there this week. Yes a 59-0 whuppin of ANY opponent will help with what ills you but it's easy to pick on the skinny kid in class. While I'm happy we got to essentially have a gloried scrimmage game, there's no reason we should go patting ourselves on the back just yet. Lets all put down the kool aide and try to get a little perspective people. This was a FCS school after all. I've heard folks saying, "Well at least we didn't play down to our opponent" True, and good teams don't, so while I see this as a step in the right direction, we've got a long way to go before we're playing ball with the elite of our conference. Quite frankly the score should have been 80-0 if it weren't for some of those old mistakes we keep making at all the wrong times.

Why am I being so damn negative today?? read on......

Let me keep this Nick Saban hat on for just a little while here...humor me. I don't think for a second a coach like Saban would have been too happy with some of the things we saw on Saturday. "DUDE!" you may exclaim, "How are you not happy with a 59-0 score where we played 14 true freshmen, and essentially cleared our bench down to 3rd stringers while pitching a shut out and keeping an offense under a buck fifty in total yards?" How can you not be excited about establishing a solid run offense while getting so many freshmen some real game time experience? "
Well sir I saw and I felt some of the same things happening to us that have cursed us over the last 3 years against better opponents. Things that don't matter much when you play the Chanticleers, but things that could crush you in a conference game. I saw:
Mental errors, boneheaded penalties and a lack of pressure on the QB.
I saw 14 points come off the board due to penalties. Moores block in the back on Boykins TD return, and a holding on our O-line which negated a fantastic run and TD by Brandon Harton. (Who had another long run brought back again due to holding.)
I saw once again big play followed up by a let down. I'm talking Rambo's INT which he later fumbled right back to Coastal Carolina. A move that could have let a better opponent in a different situation right back in the game. How many times do these things happen to us? Its a script we probably are all too familiar with. If you're like me these plays seem to happen in slow motion. As you watch them your mind buzzes with cautious optimism, but with a dark cloud hanging low and near. I watched the play like so many other similar seemingly gamechanging plays; unfolding slowly before me as one cold thought overwhelmed my head. "we're gonna screw this up" The passing euphoria is accompanied by a equally sudden sense of dread and negativity. This negative thought that's born of so many disappointments from the last 3 years. Conceived by inception by Willie Martinez perhaps. Slowly I watch the interception take place while non fans rejoice, also in slow motion, and look to me and congratulate. I'm reserved however, my reaction dismissive and quiet. I watch their slowmotion faces, "how naive" I think to myself, (reluctantly I might add) "I know we'll find a way to screw this up, but I would really love to be wrong..." And just when you've decided its ok to have hope, ok to cheer; BOOM, you're suckerpunched by reality and lady luck reaches into your heart and makes you feel foolish for having those few seconds of hope.
Well on Saturday all that meant was we got the ball back 3 plays later, but you and I both know that against Florida that would have been a major momentum swing that could have cost us the game.

And finally for all the praise of our Defense, and YES people I know they played a helluva game... Why in the name of Erk Russell did we not have ANY sacks against an FCS team?? This is a very big concern of mine as we head back into our SEC schedule. And why not more INT's? Forced fumbles? Am I being nitpicky?
I really don't think so. I really do believe that, despite the stellar defensive stats, we have to make some opportunities for ourselves by getting that damn ball back.
So, wearing my Saban hat, I'm not smiling here. Yes we did what we were supposed to do despite not operating at 100%. but we've got to cut out the mental mistakes and we've got to get some PRESSURE.
I'll chalk this game up to a fantastic full pad scrimmage and not much else. Great improvements are still being made, but I sure hope that Bobo isn't thinking that Carlton Thomas up the middle is suddenly going to work against the likes of UT and UF et all.

Other thoughts and observations:
Watts Danztler is a big boy, jeesus.
I love Figgins and Crowell catching passes out of the backfield. That's something I hope we see more of.
Did I ever mention I heart Bruce Figgins as a fullback? Well I do.
What will Jordan Love look like against FBS competition?
Good to see Richt giving Walsh a vote of confidence and having it actually pay off, hope that 56 yarder cures whats been ailing him.

Now we travel to Oxford where suddenly the Reb's are desperate lot. For the sake of our continued improvement I'd like to see a good old fashioned butt whoopin. Anything less will be regression.
I'll be flying into Memphis Friday night for ribs at the Rendezvous, then me and my old man will be bringing it to the Grove Saturday early. Looking forward to the scene and our first SEC victory of 2011!
See you all at the Grove.

Where Do We Go From Here?

noreply@blogger.com (Displaced Dawg) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 19:18:00 +0000

Damn. Just Damn. A game where we came out and looked like the better team almost the entire time.
A game where Crowell runs for over 100 with another 40 in receiving yards. A game where we had over 400 yards of offense and had 23 first downs. A game where Bobo adjusted (mostly), our defense got pressure and two playmakers developed right before our eyes..6 plays lost the game for us. 6 crucial mistakes. Take away any one of them and we win. But combined they were too much to overcome.

Each mistake cost us exponentially it seemed. To have a fumble is one thing, to have it run back the other way for 60 plus yards is another. Each mistake we made seemed to be at the exact wrong time and produced the worst possible outcome for our team. What the hell has Bulldawg Nation done to deserve such a curse?

You can say what you want about the botched hand-off that resulted in the runback for the cocks, was it Murray or Crowells fault? Does it matter? Mistakes happen right? But did it have to happen where it happened as we were driving in for a score? To add insult to injury, did the recovery run back have to be so damn long? Just one tackle could have saved our bacon.

I wonder how many other teams get the flag for that very close off sides on the onside kick. We all know Penn Wager is a big ole jerk and he has it out for us but what was done was done. Execution was off by just inches but I was very impressed that we made a the call. Incredibly we were actually doing something proactively to try and win, to try and get the upper hand instead of being so passive. I liked it. A hint at a change of philosophy or a guy coaching for his life? So no biggie, we just kick it again right? I mean our D has been solid so lets just hold em now, and we're no worse off. But the Old Visor decided that he was going to make Richt pay for his sins and just a few plays later with his evil trickeration they take it in for a score and swing the points. Spurriers 4th & 7 call for a fake punt had better than expected results even for him. A fake punt did us in AGAIN? How many times since West Virginia has this happened to us? To anyone else? When will we learn?

And dammit the Murray pick 6 was devastating and dammit again on Murray with the fumble that should have just been a sack. If dude would have just tucked the ball in and taken the loss instead of giving them another easy 6 points we may have overcome. Murray, the guy the media proclaimed is perhaps the leagues best QB gift-wraps them 14 points? When will he learn instinctively when the play is dead? When its time to fight another down instead of turning something bad into something worse? I know its hard when guys come in untouched like that and his O line hasn't yet gelled ( to be kind) but you HAVE to learn to take those sacks.

Then there was the chip shot field goal. An easy 3 points and a wide miss by our money man Walsh? To quote Ed Helms in the Hangover II "What the F&*CK IS GOING ON?"

So despite all these mistakes we are in the game at the very end only to come up short. All this AND I had to watch the game sober? Total heartbreaker.

How much can one fanbase take? How can so many bad things happen to one team? Ok, you say, we showed some spark and some fight despite all that, at least we didn't lose any starters this week.... Not so fast Batman...to make matters worse Christian Robinson joins Ogletree with an injury that will keep him sidelined for "a few weeks". Ouch.

On the bright side, we found our new Kris Durham in Michael Bennett and Murray has 6 LEGIT receivers at any given time. Bobo found the I formation and we moved the damn ball. We discovered Crowell is the real deal, (I freaking love watching Figgins run block) and our D was swarming the field most of the night.
Our team did not lack heart and they clawed their way back into this game after every miscue. Something that was admirable and has been missing for quite some time now. There is some fight to these Dawgs people but we dropped yet another game.

So yeah...damn, just damn. I've been very conflicted on this game folks. Half of me gets straight up angry that we lost. This half of me says we needed to come out blow their doors off. This is uSC for crying out loud. last years SEC east champ or not, its just the lamecocks! But see, this half of me is still living off of the success that was the 2002-2007 seasons. In those years, with a few notable exceptions, we competed in every game. As a fan I came to expect victory against anyone we played. I have to accept that those days are over. Where did the slide begin? What does it say about the state of my denial that after 4 disappointing years that I still debate this with myself. Our record against top 10 teams is an embarrassment and there are no excuses for the mental errors that resulted in these 6 mistakes against uSC. The other half of me tells me I need to accept that such is the state of the program that moral victories are a part of who we ARE right now. This half of me remembers well the Goff and Donnan years and is deathly afraid of going back there. I suffered through the Goff years as a student. I lived through the Donnan years as a young alumni. In those 12 years I sat in half empty stadiums; young and blurry eyed while the Dawgs slept walked though over a decade of mediocrity. Talent was wasted and bowl games were rare. I remember a time when the Dawgs just didnt get it done against big teams in big settings. When push came to shove, we expected to lose. Goff and Donnan were a combined 49-43 in conference play over that time period and 86-53 overall. In my reoccurring nightmare Ray Goff and Loren Smith are discussing last weeks loss to Vanderbilt over a plate of Zaxby's chicken fingers on Inside Georgia Football. Loren asks Goff about Terrell Davis's talent being wasted while Jim Donnan refills their ice tea. I wake up in cold sweats every time. Richt changed all that and took us up to a new level. We began to believe we could win and we started winning. We came to expect victory, we came to expect our Dawgs to be in any fight. Under Richt the program is 53-28 in conference play since the Goff and Donnan days, but with 12 of those loses coming after the 2007 Sugar Bowl, the downhill slide back to mediocre-town is becoming something we can't ignore. Talent is being wasted, sleepwalking cant be far off. Seemingly we've become those mediocre teams again. So adjusting to this reality, ignoring the successes of our recent past, then yes our future could be bright. We had some fire last Saturday that's been missing. We have better talent and better coaching then we did in those dark ages. I like our coach, although I question some of his tactics and decisions. Despite the sour taste a moral victory could be the first step to building something special in Athens again. Am I lowering the bar for this team? Yes I am, but I'd prefer to think its just a temporary reset.

This is the year. This is the last year to stop the slide. This year defines who we are and how we are perceived. We either take our place with the South Carolinas of the world and settle for 8-4 type seasons singing the ole "we'll get em next year" song, or we wake up and continue the rise that Richt brought us, taking our spot among the elite teams again. This year will tell the tale. I believe we have the talent to make this season special still. There isn't one game on the schedule that this team can't win. For the players this means eliminating the costly mistakes. Focus every minute of every game and with everything you do. Tie your freaking shoe like you mean it, buckle that goddamned chin strap, and hold on to that damn ball. For the coaches this means REAL TIME adjustments, and not just from game to game. Give our kids a chance to win. Can Richt do whats needed with Bobo if he continues to inexplicably turn away from what works? Can he teach this guy to not outsmart himself? If he can not, can he make the tough decision?

So where do we go from here Richt? Can we point to this game as the turning point? Does it signal a return to glory? Or will this be another footnote on our slide back to mediocrity?

GATA

The No Huddle Huddle and Watery Margaritas

noreply@blogger.com (Displaced Dawg) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 20:53:00 +0000

The No huddle. We all know how its supposed to work. We all saw it in action at Georgia before. If you recall it was way back in 2001 when one Mark Richt brought his offensive genius to Athens. We gave it a shot. It was the real deal, but we didn't have the right personnel to make it work. Do you remember how long the no huddle lasted in Athens? Not very long, infact Im willing to bet there are those among us who do not remember it at all. That's not to say Mark Richt can't run a no huddle. His Florida St no huddle was a thing of beauty. Well boys and girls the No huddle is back, only slower and more laborious than before. The no huddle, when run correctly, keeps your opponent on its toes. It doesn't give them time to adjust to what you're doing; hell you may even catch a guy out of position a time or two. When run correctly the No huddle can exhaust and demoralize the Defense. When its executed as we did Saturday night in the Dome it tends to look like a bunch of people watching a Tennis tournament, heads swiveling on a stick; back and forth, back and forth..and it makes you wonder why we bothered running it at all.
If the point of a No huddle is to keep things moving and keep the D on its toes, what good comes from pausing just as long as it would for you to huddle up?

Back in the Day Florida State "brought it" with the no huddle. They had a Offensive coordinator that knew a thing or two about running the no huddle the way we saw the Bronco's bring it at us last Saturday.

Lets go back in time to 1994 one of many examples of the power of the No huddle under Mark Richt

--Florida State dusted off its no-huddle offense again Saturday and found yet another opponent unable to cope with its tiring, rag-tag results.

The key, the Seminoles said, was getting UF's defensive linemen to gasp for air.
"If you can get them tired," offensive coordinator Mark Richt said, "that's half the battle. They can't come at you if they're tired."
Although the Gators played several combinations of zone defense in the second half, they continually gave FSU underneath passing routes.
Kanell, stepping up into the pocket, continually took them. Only two of his fourth-quarter completions were longer than 20 yards.
In addition, receiver Kez McCorvey caught nine passes for 127 yards, Warrick Dunn 10 for 96.
"The more we clicked, the better our confidence became. I think they got tired and our team just reached deep within itself," Kanell said. "This comeback took a lot of great plays, a lot of great catches, determination and blocking."
"When we got them tired, we felt we could do anything."

Man that sounds awfully familiar, only it was BSU's no huddle giving GA fits. Georgia's D was gasping for air, while Georgia's No Huddle provided the BSU players time to rest and get caught up. This Bobo No huddle isn't the real thing. It doesn't wear anyone out, it doesn't play to our strengths. As a good friend once told me, "don't pour wine in a lime juice and tell me its a margarita" If we insist on using the No huddle against uSC, then Bobo please tell me you're running Mark Richts version of the NO huddle and not your own watered down margarita we saw last week!

Shot Through the Heart but Who's to Blame? We Gave Football a Bad Name.

noreply@blogger.com (Displaced Dawg) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 18:09:00 +0000

I know most of you have moved on. I know by Tuesday it's generally the time at which we decide to look forward instead of looking back, but not here, not yet and not today. It was a LONG ride back to the territories my friends. The debacle in the dome Saturday night has also contributed to a severe lack of sleep for yours truly. Couple that with several days or drinking and eating and I feel about as slow as our offense looked for most of the night.

Yes our Dawgs went down to a ~~WAC~~ MWC team, AND we made them look like true BCS championship contenders in the process. Congrats to the Broncos on the victory, you won't hear any excuses from me. This game was not in question from very early on. We were out coached in every aspect of the game. You've a fine one in Coach Pete. Hold on to him as long as you can. I for one would love to see what he would do with our team as HC.
But now, for what its worth, my thoughts on the state of affairs.

Offense: Georgia came out into what was essentially a home field and proceeded to pick up EXACTLY where it left off with Central Florida in last years bowl game. The placed was jacked, I was coming off a 12 hour tailgate and was ready to finally put this whole narrative to sleep. We won the toss, we called for the ball, we promptly went nowhere. Cold realization crept in... I knew the game was over before it started. Two false starts, a run for nothing and a delay of game. Two false starts, a run for nothing, and a delay of game. Let that sink in.
Two false starts, a run for nothing , and a delay of game. A whole off season to prepare, a new S&C coach, a new nutrition regiment, some bad apples run off, a stud recruiting class, and a new attitude from our Head Coach. All these things we'd been hanging hope on; all these improvements and we come out with two false starts, a run for nothing, and a delay of game. Simply embarrassing. As the game wore on, I felt like WE were the FCS school simply playing for a pay out. We were the guys everyone knew was going to lose the game. We looked unprepared and refused to adjust to the game on the ground while the team in white showed us how to play ball. It was all so familiar, so very 2010 and we'd all hoped that 2010 was ancient history. Well let's get real, some names have changed but not much else. The program showed no indication that it's not still in decline, #5 ranking opponent or not.

Our offense managed 3 scores on 3 different plays. No sustained drive resulted in points. No gameplan was apparent. Bobo continues to be maddeningly non-creative and stubborn with his play calling and Richt continues to ignore it. When 80% of the people sitting around you including an 8 year old girl correctly called the run up the middle on 3rd and 16, you have a problem. I've written ( and many others too) about the tandem of Figgins and Samuel bringing 500lbs down hill at the Boise D, and what that could do to wear those smurfs down, yet most of the time when the two were in the game together they were lined up, not in the I, but in a split back field?
It's as if Bobo decides to play AGAINST his own strengths to trick the defense somehow. I mean kudos for the Boykin call and all but on a night when Samuel had only 12 yards, why not give Boykin the ball a few more tries? How 'bout getting Mitchell in the game earlier? But what the hell do I know?
What was up with the "hurry up, but don't hurry up too much offense"? Boise put on a hurry up offense clinic and I hope Richt and company were taking notes because our guys "hurried" up only to have to look back at the sidelines for 12-18 seconds for the play to come in. We seemed confused and out of rhythm because of it. What did that hurry up do to their D? They shrugged it off, probably even giggled a little: They got 6 sacks and lots of pressure and oh, the run D wasn't too bad either. Take away Boykins run and UGA managed about 60 yards of total rushing.

On the Defense? It felt like we'd improved....for a little while. We lost 'Tree pretty early and were doing OK when he was in the game. Things opened up for them a when he left but we didn't bring any pressure the entire time. Was this because of 'Trees absence? Granthams lack of aggressiveness? Boise's adjustments? They had a slow start too. It took some time for the smurfs to find some rhythm as well, but as with most good teams, they made some adjustments, settled down and figured it out. Georgia just kept doing the same ole crap we've been doing since Bobo took over play calling. But back to the D: I didn't see either of our Nose Tackles making an impact the way I expected. We looked gassed most of the night with our hands on our hips trying to catch our breath. Kellen Moore took advantage of some HUGE gaps while they moved steadily down the field on us. We could not respond. No sacks; not one. It appeared we really never tried to get pressure on Moore or make any adjustments in our coverage to address the short dunks and dinks all night.

Overall the stats are so misleading. Offensive production totals were not as lopsided as the score,(BSU 390 to UGA 373) but the score didn't indicate just how badly were were beaten.. You look at the stats: rushing BSU: 124, UGA 137-- passing: BSU: 261, UGA 236 and you would think the game was a tight one. It was not. Of Georgia's 373 yard of total offense, 167 of them came on 3 plays that also happened to be our ONLY scoring plays. 1 of those 3 plays by a guy who usually plays Defense. Outside of those 3 plays, Georgia manged only 206 yards and 13 first downs. While BSU was moving steadily down field adjusting their gameplan and scoring touchdowns, we were sticking to the same ole same ole and looking to the sideline each snap like a bunch of guys who needed a Powerade.

Lets be clear here folks, Georgia is not a good football team right now. It's ironic that among the really really classy things I've been hearing from the bronco fans out here (that's sarcasm btw") the one theme that has recently begun to take over the conversation is how good a team Georgia is. The same folks who just a week ago said we were undisciplined, slow and not worthy of a top 25 ranking (they were right ironically) Now want to believe that they just took down an SEC power house. One "gentleman" told me that he was so happy they beat Georgia because it would shut up all the "SEC juice drinkin shit talkers" (I sensed some anger in that comment) That no one could deny them a shot at the BCS title now. So now that they have beaten an SEC team (1-4 alltime) they deserve a NC? Wow that's a huge amount of respect for a Georgia team that is going to have to reach down deep to pull out a winning record this year.

So where do we go from here Mark Richt? I love you man, but Saturday night had me thinking something has to change. I respect you Mark Richt, but its maddening to see us make no progress since last year. Its maddening see a program like BSU recruit people who no one else gives a chance, a program that plays on a blue field in a small stadium in a little town far away from the big world put on a football clinic for us. We have top talent, we have 1st class facilities, we were in the national picture just a few short years ago, but have fallen so far so fast. Meanwhile our conference has won the last 5 national championships by coaches who've been with their teams a fraction of the time you've had with Georgia. The rest of the league has stepped up their play and we lose to a MWC team on national TV just 9 months after losing to UCF in the same miserable fashion. Some people will tell you there's no shame in losing to a top 5 team. I'm not one of those people. Boise beat us with good old fashioned (excuse the rugby kick) football. No trick plays because you don't need them when you play a team like ours. They looked like a team on a mission, with no pressure to prove anything because they know it themselves. They are a disciplined group of players and coaches who deserve more than the crappy MW Conference that they play in. Don't get me wrong, I'm not on the BSU bandwagon, I think a #5 ranking is still too high and I don't think they navigate a BCS conference schedule like ours without a a few losses. There's just no way to compare a MWC schedule to the grind of the SEC. Beating a bad Georgia does not end that argument. Sorry.

This one is especially tough for me as you all probably know. Coming back here last night was no fun. If you saw this place now you would think they'd already won the BCS national title. For all the talk that this was an easy win for them and was expected, they sure all are acting like they just beat a high caliber SEC team. Some of these folks are still seeking respect and acknowledgement. It's apparent in their responses when I tell them this loss was embarrassing to our program. "Why? because you lost to a MWC Team?" they ask,
Well, yes and no. For all the talk of the top 5 ranking, yes, losing to a MWC team is embarrassing, even one as good as they are, but as a Georgia fan losing to ANY top 5 team regardless has become the way of things, and that is what's more embarrassing. Georgia doesn't get it done in the big games like it used to. Hell Georgia cant get it done in the small games either. That's a fact we cant hide. This was embarrassing, and we did not play well.
We know who we are now and we are not a good football team. It's damn ironic that these guys want to put so much respect into our team right after that game. Cars still fly their bronco flags, and I'm catching crap from all the usual suspects, except now some of them try to console me by telling me Georgia's not as bad as I think. This is among the most patronizing things I've yet to hear. Like your little brother beats you ONE time in arm wrestling and now is telling you things are going to be OK.

We got another tough one this weekend folks. Winning would take the sting off this loss, but not the smell.
That's going to be with us for a long time.
What are we made of? Are we going to let BSU beat us twice by coming out uninspired and sloppy?
Will Bobo or Richt finally decide that enough is enough with the vanilla playcalling. Are we still starting Samuel ahead of Crowell (12 yards to 60 yards rushing) because of a missed blocks? Does this mean we'll sit our entire O-line too? I mean they missed a few blocks themselves you know. What the hell are we gonna do without "Tree for 4-6 weeks? Can we get the damn ball to the playmakers more? Will we please abandon that non hurry up hurry up offense?

Finally, I have decided to abstain from alcohol until Georgia wins another game. Kinda like my own personal take on a hunger strike. We all have to make sacrifices; how this helps Georgia I do no know but when I drink it feels like celebrating, and there is nothing to celebrate here. Ill see if I can get through the uSC game without my Knob Creek. Wish me luck.

The Allstate Tailgate Tour

noreply@blogger.com (Displaced Dawg) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 16:08:00 +0000

If you're lookin for some pre-game fun tomorrow you might be interested in taking in the Allstate Tailgate Tour, which will make a stop in Atlanta before our Dawgs take on those smug smurfs tomorrow night. The tailgate will be in the Georgia World Congress Center (Building C).
From the nice folks at Allstate:

"...fans will have the opportunity to enter the Allstate 60 Seconds of Mayhem Sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to the 2012 Allstate BCS National Championship in New Orleans. The Allstate Tailgate Tour features a variety of activities, including the College Football Legacy Museum, a hands-on, retrospective look at the history of college football and the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Fans can also take pictures of themselves with the legendary Allstate Field Goal Net and kick field goals or create special signs in support of the Bulldogs. The Allstate Tailgate Tour will be open from 1:30 – 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. Fans can also visit http://www.allstatecfb.com/ to enter the “Allstate 60 Seconds of Mayhem” sweepstakes"

The Dawginexile Tailgate starts at 8am tomorrow across the street from the Dome on Northside drive and since the weather calls for highs in the mid 90's this sounds like a nice way to get out of the heat for a bit and possibly score some tickets to the BCS championship game to boot. Hope they don't mind the smell of bourbon.

31 hours to kickoff folks!
GATA

Blue Like Me

noreply@blogger.com (Displaced Dawg) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 23:29:00 +0000

It would be an understatement to say the last post got some folks attention and to my surprise, not in entirely in a good way. My wife said I dirtied up the place. That I stooped to the level of the very BSU fans I was bashing to increase my hits...Well there just might be some truth to that one. Fact is, she's just a little too young to connect to the SNL referenced title but I agree her with assessment. I allowed myself to be pulled in to the gutter.

In my defense, when you're constantly hit from all directions with inaccurate and often woefully misinformed opinion on the subjects ranging from Ian Johnsons NFL future (not one) to Kellen Moores Heisman chances (a thought that still makes me chuckle), to just how tradition rich the Bronco program is; it can all slowly eat at you until you finally snap. Imagine a day with interactions with only Bronco fans; from the teachers at your kids school, to the Fedex guy delivering your new Nike sideline shirt, to the policeman who pulls you over because you refuse to remove your G licence plate from the front of your car for that "famous potato" plate they want you to put on there. With so few other Georgia fans here to take some of the heat, It all falls on me.

Now imagine if these were people whose opinions about their program were based only in a era in which they were winning literally almost every time they took the field. This same fan who has no idea what it means to be from the south where football is a religion; where we grow up loving one team, win or lose, with so much emotional investment in that team that it becomes a part of who we are. A fan who has never seen the Georgia arch or even know what it is. A fan who has only a handful of times in the last decade had to fret about the outcome of a game, never had to rock in their chair agonizing over precious seconds on the clock running out, or a flag that should have been thrown. A fan who never had to face Spurriers insults, never walked into Death Valley to the shouts of "Tiger Bait" or scaled the lofty heights of Neyland Stadium. A fan who has not had a trial by fire, whose team has simply waltzed over their WAC counterparts for the better part of 10 years.
On top of that let me ask you this: if your childs Kindergarten Teacher was a Gator fan, and she KNEW you were a Georgia fan, do you think that even she would paint your daughters finger nails orange and blue? Wouldn't even a Gator fan have the decency and respect to not cross that line? There is absolutely nothing funny about seeing my little girl come home with orange and blue fingernails, but its something that was done without thought or hesitation. So couple all this with my twitter feed blowing up with bluturfs shenanigans and it was all just too much to take . So you'll just have to excuse me for going negative. Perhaps I could have done so a little more politically, but the past is the past. Also people, it was tongue in cheek, I don't really think BSU fandom is like Nazism, but that was lost on lots of angry e mailers.

This week was a new week, and despite what became a costly drive through the mountains to clear my head, my head was indeed cleared and I decided to take a different approach with the natives for the next few days. "Kill em with kindness my mom always said", "You catch more flys with honey than vinegar" I could hear my Grandma telling me.
So with that I set out with a simple sociology experiment. When approached by a native, no matter his level of aggression, no matter the level of the misinformed, I would not respond in kind, but rather be kind with my response:

Native one: " Bulldog fan uh? you got a lot of nerve wearing that shirt here"
My Old response "Like the nerve it takes to play your FCS schedule each year?"
My New response: "Yep, gotta stay faithful, I love my team, but you guys are gonna give us one heck of game, sure hope we can keep it close"
Native One (utterly stunned and quietly thinking..actually smiled at me, then something really, really strange happened. Native one actually said) "well, should be a good game, good luck but not too much I guess right?"

Had I suddenly found a (shutter) nice BSU fan? or had my humility defused him? Confused him? I had to continue the experiment to make sure this wasn't just a regular nice guy. Or a once in a half a million encounter

Native Two: (upon finding out that I was going the game but before he found out I was a Georgia fan)"Man I wish I was going to the game too, I just don't know what is going to happen, I mean for the first time in a long time I think we could really lose this game!"
My Old response, "Dude I'm a Georgia fan and I'm here to tell you you better get used to the idea that you're going to lose this game, because you are going to lose this game"
My New response, "Yes, I hope its going to be close, I hope its a fun game and no one gets hurt. Should be a really fun time down in Atlanta too, oh by the way I'm actually a Georgia fan"
Native Two: (Blankly thinking for a moment about if he should take back his initial statement. He momentarily assumed I was a BSU fan, thus the admission of a hint of doubt.. he finally continued )" Cool, Georgia fan huh, how do you like it up here?..."

Now I was on to something! But I had to take it a step further. To borrow another SNL skit idea, I decided to conduct my own "white like me " undercover study of the natives and set out to continue with the experiment that I like to call "blue like me"
This interaction was inside a car dealership ordering a new damn lugbolt key (don't ask).
Upon finding out that the key would take 7 days to arrive I calmly said...

"ah, no worries I'm leaving for the Georgia game tomorrow and I wont be back until next week"
Native 3 " You're leaving already? Man we don't leave until Friday. Can't wait for this game"
Me "Yeah well I thought I'd go down and see what Atlanta is all about and hang out with some alumni at the galleria (btw, in my background work I discovered that the bronco alumni event is being held at Jocks and Jills at Galleria if you want to crash it)
Native 3, (now really opening up to me) "So what do you think? I keep getting flashbacks of Zabransky in 05, I think Moores obviously more talented, but he hasn't faced an SEC defense before. I keep reading that Georgia players are starting to get that 3-4 and that could give him some fits Last year against Nevada he was on the run more than he was used to and you noticed it. Plus those guys are BIG too, did you see that Juco Josh Jenkins"

Incredibly they were not only admitting weaknesses but openly doubting the outcome of the game. I saw genuine concern coupled with a look of joyful anticipation of being able to play against an SEC team. I saw in them the recognition of what this game means to their program, and to their season. I was on the inside and seeing something real finally.

ME (not correcting him on the name) Well yeah he is big, but he's not just gonna step on the field from day one and be a superstar right? Besides that Jumpy Geathers guy is starting and Coach Pete will account for him (see how I used that "coach Pete" stuff and used a wrong name.. Now I was IN.)

Native 4: (walking up) I'll tell you what I'm worried about, without Pettis and Young, what do we have in Moore? Somebody has to step up.
Me: "Coach Pete will get them to step up, he always does. I think you guys are worried over nothing, this is going to be easier than last year, I mean they had a LOSING record last season for gods sake!" (now trying to bate them in even.....where was the cockiness, the attitude??)

Native 3: "Man this is different, this probably the hardest game we'll have all year (noticed he still used the word "probably") and we have to beat an SEC team to get respect. Even the mediocre (ouch that hurt) SEC guys are damn fast and talented. If our guys think they can just walk in and win this one they could be in trouble. But if we win this one I bet Moore is Heisman front runner (had to look away at this one)

And so it went. I was one of them and they opened up to me. I found out that these guys have their doubts and their fears. They visions of grandeur ( don't we all) They may not know the names of our players and may not be able to name all the members of their own conference, but they are fans and they are caught up in something that, no matter the level of competition it was accomplished, is pretty special.

SO, have I forgiven the kindergarten teacher? No not entirely but I'll give her a pass for not knowing any better. You shouldn't expect freshman to contribute right away on the field, and you shouldn't expect a relatively new fan base to know everything about what's out there in that great big world of college football right away either. Perspective in everything takes time. So I'll stop being so hard on Bronco fans; well... damn-it, I'll sure try. Understand there are a few of them that no matter how hard I try to be patient with, are like little puppies that just need a good spankin with a rolled up newspaper from time to time. But I think this way is better for my blood pressure and maybe, just maybe I'll be seeing less of this:

Finally the time is here. I am on the first plane out of Smurfville tomorrow. This is my last pregame post (unless the mood hits me) so I will see you all again on the other side. Ill be tailgating by Gate A (Northside drive) at 7am, so come have a drink with me. Bronco fans (if you're still here) this means you too!

I'm thinking we'll see a close game into the 3rd quarter when a mistake by a "tired and never before used to being hurried" K Moore makes a costly error by throwing a pick 6. It'll be back and forth for a while until we pick up 3 on a long field goal. Final score Dawgs 34-Broncs 21.

And if this doesn't happen, then god help me when I get back here....IF i even get on that plane!

Boise You Ignorant Slut

noreply@blogger.com (Displaced Dawg) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 19:30:00 +0000

I warned you all back in June, I told you again just a week later, I repeated my warning here, and here. Bronco village has some seriously overinflated self worth issues that all stem from their general ignorance of the football world outside of the WAC/MWC bubble they inhabit. I hope you all were paying attention. I hope you all get it now, I gather you've seen it for yourself in the twitterverse (@bluturf anyone?) These fans live in a fantasy world.

Take the latest evidence for example. From the OBNUG blog, a preseason top 25 poll conducted by a esteemed panel of Boise State fans shows that the Broncs either have a wicked sense of humor, are incredibly stupid, or just plain ignorant. More plausibly they are influenced by all three traits, but just take a look at that BSU preason top 25 will you.

Ok, did you have a good look..Now ignoring the obvious homerism of ranking themselves #1 (showing they have a sense of humor)
I noticed some other rankings that prove my points above. Ladies and Gentlemen, according to this poll the average BSU fan believes:
a) Georgia Tech (21) should be ranked above Georgia (ignorance)
b) NEVADA is a top 15 team, ranked at 14, 10 spots above Georgia (stupidity)
c) Akron is a top 20 team ranked 18, 6 spots ahead of Georgia (humor)
d)NC State is a top 25 team at 23, (ignorance or stupidity? Can most bsu fans even locate NC on a map?)
e)Georgia, Hawaii, Mich St, Kentucky Arizona, Northwestern and Kansas State are all equally mediocre in a 7 WAY TIE FOR 24th (ignorance, stupidity and humor)
f) others receiving votes:Texas, Florida, TULSA, Miami (OH) (take your pick)

Now Ludakit over at Dawgnation makes a great point today with regard to the smurfs ranking Tech above GA and their overall dismissal of Georgia as a quality opponent in general. Kit if you remember was the first to make the brilliant STD metaphor of what losing to the Broncos would mean to us.

Now, I can handle a lot of things, but one thing I can't fathom is how in the world you ranked Georgia Tech ahead of Georgia in your OBNUG poll. Now, I know there's some bias in there, but with the incredibly weak schedule you normally play......wouldn't you want to bring the Dawgs up some, just for argument's sake? Come on guys, you can't even fight the good fight for yourself. Looks like you're going to have to really hang 85 on Toledo if you're going to get ANY respect this year.

Is this type of cutting off your nose to spite your face stupidity or ignorance, I think that's a grey area. I've had BSU fans ask me with sincerity if my Georgia G was for Georgia Tech which on the surface would point to stupidity, but the seemingly self-destructive behavior evident in this ranking would seem to indicate ignorance of the poll system and how it works.

Folks..read this slowly and let it sink in:....Nevada ahead of Georgia....now that would be funny if it weren't so stupid...but Akron ahead of Georgia? See that's where those silly bastards get us to take a breath and laugh. The rest of the poll goes so far off the tracks I honestly don't know what personality trait to attribute to attach to the rankings. I mean Tulsa also receiving votes along with Texas and Miami of Ohio? I feel as confused as 80 yr old republican watching the Colbert Report for the first time. Is this real? Is this ironic? Is this self mockery?

The conversations up here center not on IF Boise beats Georgia but on how many touchdowns will Boise beat Georgia by. The victory is a foregone conclusion. What type of environment do these people grow up in? What shapes their opinions and beliefs about the world of college football? Let me try to explain.

These are folks who are used to seeing their team win football games; lots of them and by lots of points usually. There are 6 year old brainwashed kids who think the Broncos belong in the NFL and who don't even know what the SEC is (I'm looking at you Jerry). Playing a WAC schedule the Broncos have amassed an incredible number of victories the last ten years against inferior opponents. Most of the fans leave the games at halftime because the games are usually over by then. I had a BSU fan tell me that because most starters are pulled in the 3rd and 4th quarters it unfairly limits their gaudy stats; that had Kellon played more 4th quarters he would have won the Heisman last year (see the crazy sneaking in?) So imagine for a second that our schedule year in and year out was filled with the likes of Hawaii, Idaho, LA Tech, NM State. Now remember the feeling of invincibility that follows a dismantling of a competitor. How did you feel after clobbering Wyoming, Boise State, Louisiana Lafayette and all the other no-names? Everything is better after a victory like that. It doesn't matter how bad the other team is, suddenly your defense is awesome; your quarterback is a Heisman candidate and your O-Line is NFL caliber. Now hold on to that feeling you get and magnify it by 10-11games a year. Now imagine that feeling every game for every season for the last 6-8 years. Next throw in some geographical and cultural isolation into that mix and you have yourself a lethal cocktail of perceived self importance and unawareness with few external checks and balances. Would you have a inflated sense of self worth as a fan and about your team? Yeah probably you would.
To paraphrase Afton Nelson:

What happens when people think so highly of themselves that they feel others are not giving them the respect or attention they deserve? If they've been told that they are wonderful and great and not to let anyone tell them differently, they may chose denial or act out when someone clues them in to their imperfections.

So here is a self congratulating fan base so used to winning they cant fathom a loss to our Dawgs. A fan base with so few points of external reference they place conference mate Nevada in the top 15 to justify their one loss of last year. What happens when that fan base interacts with others from the outside world? They deny and act out of course (hello again blutuf!) I've come to the professional conclusion that the Bronco Village suffers from:

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Just consider the symptoms:

Has grandiose sense of self-importance
Is preoccupied with fantasies of success, power, brilliance
Believes self to be “special”
Requires excessive admiration
Has a sense of entitlement
Is inter personally exploitative
Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors

Folks I'm not a pshycologist but damn if that doesn't really nail every single trait I've seen from these fans since I've lived here and especially over the last few frenzied days on twitter. But its not all fun and games, these types of folks usually spell trouble in the end. The narrative often ends badly for the affected. Afton goes further with her studies:

Studies of violent behavior show that high self-esteem is more associated with violence than is low self-esteem. Look back at one of the most horribly violent people in history. Do you think Hitler suffered from low self-esteem, or from an over-inflated view of himself and all those like him? Nazism was based on the idea that certain people were superior to others.....Yikes!

So there you have it Dawgfans. I have now just compared Boise State fans to Hitler and Nazism .. Fox News would be so proud of me.

On a different note, I leave for Atlanta on a 6am flight next Wednesday with my BSU homer brother in law and his BSU homer friend. My bro in law has a good head on his shoulders; he lived with me in Atlanta for 3 years so he got himself a football edumacation, but his friend is beyond hope. He drinks the blue and orange bronco kool aide and has told me on several occasions with a straight face that he believes the Broncs could have won the last 4 national championship games. They both will be tailgating with us across the street from the dome on Northside Drive. (just down the road from twittergate) I invite you over for good drink and conversation with one, and you are free to sucker punch the other.

Two Months Ago

noreply@blogger.com (Bulldog in Exile) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 20:55:00 +0000

I wanted to catch everyone up on the transition to Athens. As you can tell from my posting (or lack thereof), it has been a busy time. First, I am completely divested of my property holdings in Illinois. Our house went under contract, and after holding my breath for a month, it closed yesterday.

Also, I've had the opportunity to get to do some cool stuff, like the Suits and Sneakers thing benefiting the American Cancer Society, a couple of Braves games, and several trips to South Georgia. The Mrs. is enjoying her work and I'm still seeking something, but being selective (if you know of anyone looking for someone with broad higher education administration experience, let me know). I'm also looking forward to not having a 10 hour drive for football.

Living in Athens is everything we had hoped it would be and everything we missed. Our time away was fantastic, but I have to admit, I missed living here far more than I remembered.

I am a blessed Dawg and get to live the dream everyday.

Go Dawgs! See you in Atlanta in a couple of weeks.

What's That Coming Down the Tracks?

noreply@blogger.com (Displaced Dawg) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 18:21:00 +0000

Its 514 lbs of red and black !

From Bill King yesterday:

".... I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to seeing more of the good old toss sweep this season with big Bruce Figgins (6-foot-4, 274 pounds) leading the way at fullback. Put 240-pound Samuel behind him and, like Figgins said, “I think people will be a little intimidated by it. That’s 500 pounds moving right there. And Richard’s not slow at all. I have to speed up just to get going ahead of him because he’ll run up your back if you don’t. I think we’ll be able to move some people out of the way.”

As much as Crowell has been crowned the savior of our running game (and from the tweets coming from today's practice hes progressing quite nicely) its a very good feeling to think of the freight train that could be the tandem of Figgins at FB blocking for Richard Samuel 2.0

You might remember that Samuel's running style is straight downhill, hes a big bruiser at 6'2 240lbs who likes contact. Put a big FB and proven blocker infront of him like Figgins at 6'4" 270lbs, and sheeee-it...If the two of 'em get any space, that could be one hell of a Train comin down the tracks.

This also bodes quite well for taking some of the pressure off of Isaiah as he learns the playbook and gets introduced to SEC speed. Couldn't hurt having big Figgins clearing a path for him either. Never one to love the running back by committee, I gotta say I'm really loving the one two punch that Samuel and Crowell could bring us. Keep both fresh, keep pressure off of Isaiah and give both a FB like Figgins who is 'loving every second' of his new role. This is say nothing of the potential (however farfetched) of Jenkins getting the rock or throwing a block in special short yard situations

On a different note, many of you probably saw the humor piece that ran over at OBNUG (For those of you don't already know, thats One Bronco Nation Under God, kinda like a one man wolfpack of BS U blogging) Well, even funnier (and on purpose) TylerDawgden over at Georgia Sports Blog has a nice complementary article that Im sure you'll appreciate called: Da Broncos

So if you're keeping track at home, we've got a Bears-like delusional Bronco fan base and a Bronco team who is the girl with an STD that you shouldn't sleep with.

Impressive results on Joe T's S&C program courtesy of Cordy Glen. Hows this for a before and after picture? I am really looking forward to how this improves our 2nd qtr and 4th quarter lapses.

Finally, Im happy to say I've booked my arrangements for Atlanta. I'll be tailgating at 7am sharp across the street from the Dome. Hope to see some of you there.

We are coming down the homestretch!