Photo by John David Mercer, USA TODAY Sports [Typical disclaimer: Only the opinions of an ordinary Bulldog fan and alumnus are being expressed here. I've never met or spoken with Coach Kirby Smart. I'm not authorized to speak on his behalf, nor on the behalf of the University of Georgia.] There is no whining in college football. Conventional wisdom called for the most conservative, safest strategy: instead of continuing to play to win, now try to extend play and avoid losing during the final three minutes of regulation. The only problem was, that strategy failed miserably in the national championship game less twelve months ago, with a superior, more experienced Georgia defense. True, this Georgia defense has terrific young talent, but it is no longer anchored at key positions by the likes of Roquan Smith, Lorenzo Carter, or Davin Bellamy. Asking these freshmen and sophomores to stop an Alabama team from scoring that had beaten every regular season opponent by an average of three touchdowns and every prior SEC opponent by an astonishing average of almost 33 points per game would probably be asking too much of them. Talk about deja vu. Twice in one year, to lead the vaunted, favored Crimson Tide by double digits late in the second half, and to lose the game only because Alabama scored on their final possession? That would be a very bitter pill to swallow. So Kirby Smart faced a difficult decision with 4th and 11 for Georgia's offense at midfield, with 3:11 left in the fourth quarter of a tied SEC championship game. The "smart" play would be … [Read more...]
Mark Richt: the best man for a difficult job
Famous tennis instructor Dennis Van der Meer has often said that a player's IQ is cut in half as soon as he or she steps onto the court and the games begin. His quip translates to mean in the spur of the moment during heated competition, people tend to make ill-advised, emotional decisions as opposed to rational and reasonable ones. Apparently, that would also be an appropriate way to describe many Georgia Bulldog fans, especially during football season. Fans who are calling for a coaching change have let emotion shape their comments, which often lack logic and intelligent thought. People are called "fans" for a reason. It's short for fanatic. These "fair-weather" fans have unrealistic expectations for the present, and a very myopic vision for the future. The truth of the matter is that Mark Richt is an excellent football coach. However, his team has already lost twice this season. Some of our fair-weather fans (apparently those few suffering from temporary insanity) have called for Mark Richt to be fired. To fire Coach Richt at the end of this season wouldn't just be dumb, it would be one of the most stupid decisions in school history -- and that even includes Jake Scott's legendary death-defying ride over Stegeman Coliseum on a motorcycle. Coach Richt is currently one of the best in the business, and when he finally retires, he will ultimately be considered one of the greatest college football coaches of all time. The fair-weather Georgia fans currently calling for his ouster may be wondering -- how can anyone make such an outlandish claim, … [Read more...]
Fair-weather fans
I graduated from the University of Georgia in 1983. I am a Bulldog who bleeds red and black. In contrast, my dad never had any sort of solid connection to any particular school or football program. Rocky didn't go to college. He was what I refer to as a "fair-weather" fan, meaning that he'd ride the bandwagon when things were going well, but at the first signs of trouble he'd be ready to hang the captain from the main mast and jump ship . While I was in school, a Bulldog banner usually welcomed me home every Thanksgiving and remained on display until the Christmas decorations went up. But those were the glory days of Herschel Walker, Erk Russell and the Junkyard Dawgs. Georgia won just about every regular season game during those three years, so Rocky never had time to switch his allegiance to another team before the season was over. However, once Vince Dooley retired, the football program went through a long period of decline under the leadership of Ray Goff and Jim Donnan. I still remember a small plane circling over Sanford Stadium at every home game, pulling a banner behind it that read, "Fire Ray Goof!" and wondering if Rocky had paid for it. Being only a fair-weather fan, Rocky loved to aggravate me if UGA was struggling when my family and I visited for the holidays. Sometimes I would even find a Yellow Jacket banner flying over my parking space when we visited for Christmas, if Tech was having a better season than my Dawgs, or managed to beat us that year. If Rocky hadn't died in 1997, he probably have called this week to play "Rocky Top" to me over … [Read more...]
The Pearl: 7 April 2015
For many years nobody talked about adoption. I hate to say it this way, but a lot of men feel like they don't want to adopt because it doesn't make them feel like a man not having their own child. I've never felt like less of a man adopting. I look at Caleb and Dakota, and I don't think of anything else except, God made this child in somebody else's womb for us. There are so many beautiful kids out there who didn't ask to be put in a certain situation; they're just looking for love. It's a blessing for Angie and me that these beautiful kids are now ours and we get to raise them. Winning golf tournaments is great, and I hope I can keep doing it, but I know that the most important thing I'm going to do in this lifetime is be a dad to Caleb and Dakota. - Bubba Watson Because the Masters begins this week, I thought I'd hunt for some pearls related to golf. But since the tournament doesn't actually start until Thursday, I decided the first few quotes don't have to related to golf itself, but words of wisdom from people famous for playing the game. If you know anything about me or read much of what I write, you've probably figured out that I'm an avid fan of the Georgia Bulldogs. Normally whenever a past or present Bulldog accomplishes something special, alumnae and diehard fans will call that person a DGD -- the acronym meaning a "Damned Good Dawg." Bubba Watson played collegiate golf for the University of Georgia. Watson may be called a DGD for things he's done both on and off the golf course. He deserves it for winning the Masters golf tournament in 2012 and … [Read more...]
The very talented Chris Conley
Before my friend Kevin Weakley got me thinking about Georgia Bulldog wide receiver Chris Conley's performance at the NFL Combine, I probably would have said "Star Wars" if pressed for one word or phrase to describe this most impressive young man. Conley is bright, articulate, and extremely talented -- a young man as famous for his directorial skills and devotion to the Star Wars movie series as for his achievements on the football field. Another word that comes to mind when thinking about how best to describe Chris Conley is underappreciated. During his four years in Athens, the "worst" play I can remember Conley making was a pass he actually caught -- the last second, deflected pass from Aaron Murray in the 2012 a few yards short of the goal line. It was hardly Conley's fault -- a wide receiver's natural instinct is to catch any ball thrown in his direction. I know this, because I was once a slow, very short receiver. But I had good hands. Based on personal experience, I believe it's very safe to say in the same situation, I would have caught the ball, too. Only a human brain that could process information as fast as a computer would have been able to analyze that situation and determine the best option was to knock down the ball instead of catching it. Because I'm not ready to declare Chris Conley to be superhuman, I'm not ready to say he should have known better than to catch that pass. It would have been one of the few he dropped over his career that I can remember, because Chris Conley was known for being reliable. Our "speed burner" receivers … [Read more...]
