Remember seeing these guys at Tyrone's for a $1 cover charge? I am being half-serious when I say it might be my fault that the Georgia Bulldogs lost to the South Carolina Gamecocks last Saturday between the hedges in Athens, Georgia so if you really feel the need to vent your anger at somebody, you can direct it at me. By my own estimation, I committed the cardinal sin of any true Dawg fan (and especially an alumnus) of the University of Georgia--I took a game against an SEC opponent for granted. I was so sure that Georgia would easily win the game that I decided to leave for Savannah and listen on the radio instead of watching it at home, as I normally would. Because I'm old enough to remember the pure joy as a child of listening to Larry Munson's famous call of the 80-yard touchdown pass from tight end Richard Appleby to wide receiver Gene Washington on the "end around" pass, the idea of listening to the game "live" and then watching the highlights on replay had some appeal to me. I guess I was feeling a little bit nostalgic. The bottom line is that I had a choice, and in retrospect I chose unwisely. I probably should have stayed home and watched the game, and drove to Savannah later that night. Should have, would have, could have. I should have known better. Because I have played sports myself for much of my life, I've always been a little superstitious about sticking to a routine on Game Day. On the other hand, sometimes you just have to accept that some things are a little more important than who wins or loses a football game and it's important to keep our … [Read more...]
Todd Grantham versus Jeremy Pruitt — which Defensive Coordinator would you rather have?
It's a good thing I don't drink coffee. This morning during breakfast when I read Michael Cunningham's article in the AJC that was published a couple of weeks ago, suggesting that Todd Grantham has done a better job of coaching defense at Louisville than Jeremy Pruitt has been doing this year at Georgia, I would have spit that coffee all over my keyboard. Water cleans up much easier. Nor does it hurt very much if you laugh while swallowing and some goes up or down the wrong way. Was Mr. Cunningham serious? Has he actually watched the two defenses play, or simply looked at the raw statistical analysis? In his defense, Mr. Cunningham normally writes about the Atlanta Hawks and professional basketball. He must have wandered a little bit out of his comfort zone. That's the only way I can guess someone might think Todd Grantham could do a better job at Louisville than Jeremy Pruitt has been doing this year at Georgia. He simply can't have watched Todd Grantham coach a defense before. However, I have. In fact, I watched Grantham in action for four mostly painful years, from 2010 - 2013, every game the Bulldogs played. And in my personal opinion, Georgia won the freaking lottery when Grantham left and they hired Pruitt to replace him. Now it simply isn't fair to Grantham to compare him to Jeremy Pruitt, a man who has proven he knows how to coach a national championship caliber defense. Grantham's work should be measured against Willie Martinez, the guy he replaced. Grantham was a slight improvement. But I am sure that I can recognize a … [Read more...]
