Just Some Dawg Numbers

I'm a firm believer that some coaches are coaches and some coaches are recruiters. So you may have talented players (Goff Era) that just don't show the results. Other times we have lesser talent that gets coached up into great players (Early Richt Era). You hear it all the time that he won with the other guys players. And this is inevitable these days. I'm not saying RIcht is a good or bad coach or a good or bad talent evaluator, you can make your own judgement. So I went through the wins and losses and decided to add my opinions on this. So lets look at the Richt Era.

Now this is not, I repeat NOT a fire Richt post. 

The Wins and Losses over the Richt Era.

Year	Win	Loss	SEC Win	SEC Loss
2001	8	4	5	3
2002	13	1	8	1
2003	11	3	6	2
2004	10	2	6	2
2005	10	3	6	2
2006	9	4	4	4
2007	11	2	6	2
2008	10	3	6	2
2009	8	5	4	4
2010*	1	3	0	3

 *in Progress

So what do you see, any patterns. Well try this. Break it down by Eras. You can't compare 2004's 10-2 to 2008's 10-3. Why, Coaches change, players change, times change. You have to look at it from this perspective. Look at the teams that have the same story. Like the 2001-2004 (maybe 2005) teams. Why Because that is really the time when Georgia had the last of the Donnan players. It was also the time of Brian VanGorder, David Greene and David Pollack. So here's the break down

2001-2004 Keys

• David Greene


• David Pollack


• Billy Bennett


• Brian VanGorder as the DC


• Donnan's last recruits and signees


• 1 SEC Championships (should have been more)

2005

• DJ Shockley


• 1 SEC Championship

2006-2008

• Matthew Stafford


• Mohamed Massaquoi


• Brandon Coutu


• Willie Martinez as DC


• Mike Bobo as OC


• All Richt PLayers

2009

• Joe Cox


• AJ Green


• Blair Walsh


• Willie Martinez as DC


• Mike Bobo as OC

2010

• To Be Determined

So now that's it's broken down, do you see a pattern. I see a 4 year run, a one year question, a 3 year run, then last year. So what does this mean. Well the way I see it, this could be like the 8-4 year in 2001. I know we aren't playing as well as 2001. But we could still turn it around and end with a decent year. Much like the 8-4 year. 

So 2011 will be the key. Do we perform like 2009 and 2001 or do we perform like our 10 win years. IF we rebound and start another run, then everyone will settle down. If not, well you know what happens. 

I don't believe college football allows coaches to stay in place for to ride out the bad years. Every coach has a bad year and if he has some history of winning, he will usually get a mulligan or two. For Richt, he got 2 rings, so two mulligans. 

So what years are his mulligans. I see it like this : 2002 covered for the 2006 year and the 2005 ring covers the 2009 year. You can stretch this to have the 2002 year cover this year. But anyway you look at it, Richt is about to run out of mulligans. 

So you can see how the 2011 year is going to be the make or break year for Richt and his staff. Now I think we should let him stay. I do believe he has been good for the players and the school. BUT and this is a big BUT, things have been amiss lately both on and off the field. And if Richt is shown the door, it will be because of the off the field troubles. Because ultimately those impact the on field performance. 

No Words for the Dawgs

Now that the Dawgs have started 0-3 in the SEC after falling to MSU in Starkville, 24-12, with our lone overall win against the ULL, I have no words to describe what is happening.

But here are just a few.

• Penalties 


• Big Plays against 


• Red Zone Meltdowns 


• Confusion 


• Run Stopping Failures 


• Off-Season stupidity 

 I don't want to write what I'm thinking, so I'll just say this.

I'm a Dawg, will always be a Dawg, and will always pull for the Dawgs.

But I have not felt like this since some of the Goff years. And now it's time to do some soul searching.

Things could get rough for the Dawgs Coaches

We are approaching the 4th game of the season and you can hear the rumbles. Before we look at the rumbles, lets look at what we have and are seeing. This is just on the field observations. Any talk of the off the field issues and the Fulmer Cup is to be left to others to post.  

• New DC and Defensive Staff except Rodney Garner


• New Defensive Scheme


• Redshirt Freshman QB


• Ineligible wideout in AJ Green (4 Games)


• Questionable play calling by Mike Bobo


• Where is this great O-Line we heard about


• Conditioning issues

So where do we go from here. Lets take a look on defense first

• New DC staff - After years of having to deal with the terrible defenses under good ole Willie, CMR mad the change to bring in Todd Grantham and a new staff. And I always feel that a coach or a coordinator needs 2 years at a minimum. So I'm not going to harp to much on the coaches on this side of the ball. But they better start earning those checks by fixing some of the issues that were left over from last year. Such as the fundamentals of coverage and tackling. So lets check with this staff after the season. Remember, they are learning the players, just as the players are learning the coaches.


• The 3-4 Scheme - This will take some time. I'm not totally on the 3-4 band wagon as we have built and recruited for a 4-3 defense. Until we get some mass in the middle. Do I think we can run the 3-4 without the bulk, yes. But we would need some outstanding LB play to counter the size issue. Currently our OLBs are playing pretty good, but the middle guys need to step up to cover this lack of size in the middle. 


• Redshirt Freshman QB - Aaron Murray has play great. He has an arm and he is getting better at reading the coverage. My one gripe is he holds the ball to long and for his health he needs to speed up that clock on when to dump the ball. This is especially important since the line and RBs are having issues protecting him. Also impacting his growth is the play calling by CMB (Mike Bobo). I have said over and over that I think the talent we have had in the years past overcame the piss poor play calling by Bobo. I have never been a fan of his, dating back to when he played at Georgia. Nothing personal, but he just bugs me. 


• Life without AJ  - This has been discussed to no end, and I will not say anymore on this. If you want my thoughts, here is my post on it. 


• Play calling by Coach Bobo - As I said earlier, I'm not a fan and never have been. But what is going on now is just mind numbing. Why run a 20 yard route when you need 3 yards at the end of a game. His plays leave no outs for this young QB. Aaron is trying, but Bobo isn't helping matters. Also, we heard about the use of the TEs and how great they would be in the offense. So far, they are a forgotten breed. I remember in past games, Bobo saying he forgot about players. So someone please go slap Bobo with a TE so that he knows we have them. So if you run 20 yard routes, have the TE come across the middle about 5 yards out. At least then you have an out for Aaron. Remember, we have some blocking issues and no way we can wait for the wideouts to get open.


• O-Line issues - This year we heard about how great the O-Line will be. How it would be a great asset in helping Aaron grow and develop. Well so far, I see some massive issues. We can't block, we are not opening holes for our RBs, and basically all we are getting is a QB on the run for his life on a good number of plays. If I'm MSU this week, I send the house on nearly every play. 


• Conditioning Issues - I heard it after the South Carolina game, but not so much after the Arkansas game, but it's still out there. Our guys looked beat. I know these noon games are brutal, I know it's hot, but there are a good number of the 120 schools out there that play noon games and we just look tired and slow at the end of games. What fundamentals we have on defense fall apart as we get tired. Now I never played college ball or HS ball, but eyes don't lie. 

So where do we go from here. First step away from the ledge. We don't need to carve up the staff after 3 games. We loved CMR for years. But I do believe that he has used up his 2 mulligans (2 SEC rings). If the ship is not righted this year, you can kiss the offensive side of the ball good bye and that will be the last straw. Next step is a new coach. 

I'm not calling for heads at this point, but CMR needs to do something now. The first and foremost is teaching his coaches not to toss the kids under the bus. If Aaron is holding the ball to long, then that is a coaches problem. Maybe the reason he is holding it too long is the plays take too long to develop behind a O-line that looks more like a strainer than a dam. Same goes for the defensive side. If a kid blows the coverage, address it to the player not the media. It's okay to say some assignments were missed, but there is a way to do this. If the kid continues to miss reads, then either the kid needs less playing time or better coaching.

I'm not at practice, so I'm not sure how things are handled. But I can tell you this, if the coaches continue to call out players in the media, the fan support for those coaches will dry up quickly. We are talking about 18-22 year old kids, they need to learn how to handle them. I know fans, and I have been guilty of this, call out players for bone headed moves, but we are not being heard by thousands. 

This was not intended to be an "Off with their heads" post, although it started to sound like it. Maybe we need a change and maybe not. You can read some of my thoughts on this here via the Dawg Gone Blog. 

I will continue to pull for the dawgs and the kids who play, forgive me if I cuss you from time to time. But I may lose the support I have given the coaches. 

GOOOOOOO DAWGS

AJ is but One Man and He Doesn't Play Defense

So the ruling came down. The NCAA upheld their ruling of having AJ Green sit for four games. Does this surprise me, no. But it does make me think that there may have been more to this than selling a jersey. Could it be that the NCAA is holding Georgia accountable because UGA is the reason for this rule. Remember the eBay SEC ring issues a few years back.

Now the good thing is, the NCAA didn't stick around to see what else there may have been.

For the Dawg Nation. It's time to move on. We may not like the NCAA, but a written rule, is a rule, good or bad. And in this case AJ knew the rules and he broke them. I'm not even going to get into the whole "UGA made how much from #8 Jersey sales." That is a post in and of itself.

Also for the Dawg Nation, AJ may be the best wideout in the country, but he doesn't play defense. But you say our offense didn't look so hot without him. Well I blame the coaches for that.

As for the defense, nothing about AJ not playing caused the dawgs to miss tackle after tackle. It wasn't because of bad field position, but rather the lack of fundamentals that I'm hoping is just a carry over from the former DC.

Now what do the dawgs look like over the next two games. Well I see a spilt. Mainly because StarkVegas is a bitch of a place to play and the Hawgs may actually be good. My heart wants us to win both, but the brain says otherwise.

So sit back and have a brew or 8 and get out there and call the Dawgs on Saturday.

Dawgs vs Hawgs - What's it going to take

The Dawgs enter the game at home versus the Hawgs with some unknowns still to answer. This is a game that i feel is going to be the difference between the Independence Bowl and a Citrus bowl. Yes, I know it's early, but win or lose, this game will set the table. 

If the Dawgs don't show some improvement in stopping the run and the screen pass, we will be in for a long season. It could be that we just don't have the players to fill the needs of our new 3-4 defense. As I heard earlier today, Bama had issues in the 3-4 until it got Mount Cody in the middle. Now I don't think we need a Mount Cody to make the 3-4 work, but we do need the fundamentals to win.

The Defense left too many tackles on the field against South Carolina and if we see the same thing happen Saturday against the Hawgs, we will be in for a world of hurt. Worse is the fact that the Hawgs will be without their primary RB. So the Dawgs MUST tackle and stop the run on Saturday. 

So lets say the Dawgs step up and stop and tackle. Will the secondary be able to stop Mallett. I'm hoping that when the Dawgs stop the run, that it means our D-Line and LBs are in the backfield. This alone should slow Mallett down. If he does get the ball out, it falls to our secondary. The game against South Carolina didn't really expose anything as we were too missing missing tackles that they didn't have to throw the ball that often. 

So you noticed that I didn't get into any offensive issues. Those I'm hoping have been worked out. It's up to Bobo to open things up. We have great TEs and WRs that can make the catch and get some yards. I know we have been without AJ Green, but one player does not make a team. So here's hoping we can get some points. Because I fear a shootout with Arkansas this year will not end well. So it comes back to the defense. 

What I need to see Saturday

 

• Tackles, Tackles and more Tackles


• The Dawgs need 150 yds from our running backs


• No Turnovers


• Limit to 2-3 penalties for the game. (So far this year, not too bad in this area)


• Keep Mallett off the field. See bullet number 1


• Spread the ball around. I have faith in Murray to handle this pressure.

 

I feel if we can do those bullets and finish the drill, the dawgs can come out with a win. If not, I would not want to be on the other side of the ton of posts about a hot seat. 

NOTE : No word on AJ Green's status as of this post, other than the NCAA has heard the appeal.

The Twins Fundraising Adventure

If you feel like helping Lanier and Harlan out with their school fundraising for their elementary school, then feel free to check the links below. One link for each of them.

Lanier's link http://shopschoolservices.com/index.asp?PID=1595462

Harlan's link http://shopschoolservices.com/index.asp?PID=1595454

These are due by September 21st

I thank you and they thank you.

Game Day at South Carolina

Short and simple today. 

GATA. Period. 

To expand just a little, Aaron needs to maintain control of the ball. This is not the game to have turnovers. As for the Defense, we must swallow up the QB and stuff the run. I'm not as concerned with the deep ball, as I feel our front 3 can get enough pressure and thus open things up for the LBs to get in there. 

Remember, today is not only gameday, it is also a day to remember. 

GOOOOOOOO DAWGS

Never Forget

It's been nine years. In some eyes that's a life time, in others, it was just yesterday. Many of us were at work or in school, we were just going about our day. It was just another Tuesday. Nothing special. I can remember getting ready for a meeting at 9am. And by getting ready, I mean I was doing the water cooler talk around the coffee machine. Just a typical Tuesday. This was just north of Downtown Atlanta, just to give some perspective.

Then the phones started to ring. First it was a co-workers wife calling from home. She was saying something about a fire and a plane crash in NYC. So the first thing we do is turn to the internet, which by 2010 terms, crap. Everything was slow, CNN, ABC, NBC. You name it, we had a hard time getting to any site that may have information. Then others started calling. It was unreal.

Just as we were leaving for our meeting, yes we were late, my co-worker yelled out, another plane just crashed into the Twin Towers. At this point, we knew something was wrong. We just didn't know what. So we went off to find the radios and TVs that were in the building. We finally found someone that had a live feed from a news channel. What we saw was something that we could not have imagined.

For me, I was on the phone. A friend of mine was in NYC on business. I had just spoken with her over the weekend and she talked about taking the train from DC to NYC. Problem was I didn't know where in the city she was going to be. I called and called only to get a busy signal or the circuits are full message. After repeatedly trying, I moved on to call her sister in Dallas, TX. Maybe word had gotten out and she was okay. When I reached her sister, she had not heard from her yet. I kept trying and trying.

The problem was not only was she in NYC where everyone was calling, she had a DC phone number. And as we learned, those bastards crashed a plane into the Pentagon as well. Later that evening I was finally able to reach her and she was on the other side of the city, safe.

As the news came in, we learned of a plane that was down outside Pittsburg, PA. We had a co-worker in class there and we couldn't reach him. He ended up having to rent a car to drive back to Atlanta, since there were no flights coming or going.

So back in Atlanta, while all this was going on, we started watching our skyline. We had a perfect view of Downtown Atlanta. We didn't know what was going on. Soon, word got out that air travel had been suspended. That the President was flying to an unknown location. The ranking members of Congress, White House and the Courts had been moved to unknown locations.

What the hell was going on. Later we learned it was a Terrorist attack, later found out it was an Attack carried out by Islamic cowards. Plan and simple, it was an attack on the US people and our way of life. There is no other way to put it.

I can remember watching on the one feed we had as the Heroes ran into the buildings. There were thousands of souls in those buildings and they needed someone to save them. So the brave men and women of the NYC Fire Department , NYC Police and the Port Authority ran into those buildings. We saw them helping people escape the chaos that was Ground Zero.

Even after the second plane hit, those men and women continued into those buildings. Their job was to save lives and that's what they were going to do. No one thought that the buildings would come down. No way those buildings could come down. And then it happened. The buildings came down.

First the South Tower and then about 30 minutes later the North Tower fell. During those 30 minutes, you could still see the Heroes running into the buildings to try to save lives. Never in my life have I experienced anything like this. I have seen hurricanes and tornado damage, but to see the destruction that occurred on this day was unheard of. How could something like this happen.

Jump to 2010, many have forgotten. Many have never believed. Many just don't care.

For me, this is a day that I will never forget. I will ensure that my children never forget. I will make sure those around me never forget.

This day was a day that was an attack not just on NYC and DC, but an attack on each and every one of us. This is something that should never be forgotten. EVER.

Many will be turning on games today, but I want each of you to take a moment. Nearly 3000 lives were lost, but thousands more were touched by this day. Those are the ones we need to think about. You should also thank a policeman and a fireman. As those will be the ones running into the building to get you out. Those will be the ones that will save your life. Pray for their families that they come home each day.

If you were offended by any terms used in this post, then don't come back to this blog.

Photo via delong on typead

iPhone4 HDR Compare

Which ones are the old style and which ones have the HDR effect applied.

Leave your guess in the comments

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5. 




6. 

Apple TV, Everyone is missing the Caps

On Wednesday, Apple released several new versions of iPods and an update iTunes, but what most are talking about is the updated Apple TV. So what do I think about this little device.

• Yes this is a cute little device.


• Yes I did order one for $99.


• Yes it covers some aspects I'd TV viewing. 


• It has an A4 processor. The same has the iPhone4. 


• It will be a great streaming movie option.

But

• It lacks the ability to replace TV viewing unless you want to rent every show for $.99. That's assuming the show is available.


• It lacks a storage option, so streaming only. 


• Until a hack is out, it's limited in the streaming options. 


• It lacks a good remote. 


• It doesn't run iOS. So no apps other than what Apple give you. 


• No live streaming. This means no sports, concerts and the like Live.

But why buy it.

• I see it running iOS within a year. I can't see Apple missing this boat.


• This will become more than a "hobby" to Apple.

The gotchas

There goes your ISP cap. I have a 250GB cap with Comcast and I use around 160-180GB a month between work, netflix streaming, live podcasts and normal surfing. So unless the ISPs develop an app that allows you to watch your channels live and by using that app, it doesn't count against your cap, we could all be in for a world of hurt as we all would start to run over these caps. 

But I do see the Time Warners, Comcasts and the like having an app and even selling it or charging per month to use it. This is the way things are going. It will all be just about the data. The same way Cell Phones are going to be about the data and not the minutes. 

So once I get my little black box in, I'll let you know what I think after using it for a while.