Stuff

Georgia received its 14th commitment for the 2010 class when well sought after Junior College safety Jakar Hamiliton decided to commit to Georgia over Alabama.   He attended Georgia Military College.  This is the third safety to commit to Georgia this year joining Newnan safety Alec Ogletree and Kissimmee, Florida safety Marc Deas.

Speaking of Recruiting, big time five star recruit and current Florida commit Matt Elam, is looking at other schools because he heard that Urban Meyer might leave Florida for Notre Dame. Maybe he read Paul Finebaum’s column last week? 

SEC Blog Team Speed Kills begins its week long examination/preview of the 2009 LSU Tigers.  This is the ninth team they have previewed complete with a different post Monday through Friday.  Last week they previewed Georgia.  Good Stuff.

Smart Football with Chris Brown discusses “Was Spurrier’s offense a failure in the NFL?” “Or was it the man that failed?”  I think most people will be surprised what he says.  Interesting read.

How Much of a Real Possibility is it that Urban Meyer leaves Florida for Notre Dame?

How much of a Real Possibility is it that Florida Coach Urban Meyer leaves Florida for Notre Dame?

  Rumors have flied around this topic like moths to a flame.  People have said if Charlie Weis doesn’t win at least 9 games this season for the Irish, he is gone.  Maybe. Maybe not.  I am guessing they would still have to pay Weis a hefty buyout of his contract if they were to fire him.

There was a column by well known college football columnist, Paul Finebaum, that Meyer would leave Florida for Notre Dame because staying at Florida would be the wrong move.  It is a pretty vicious attack column on Meyer. I wish Atlanta columnists were this controversial. Here is an excerpt-

You can call Meyer lot of things. He’s arrogant. He’s cold blooded. He recruits like a serial killer. But he’s not stupid.

Meyer doesn’t have to study history to understand that staying in Gainesville would be the wrong move. All he has to do is walk across the street from his office and ask Billy Donovan.

 

 It would be the wrong move to stay at Florida?  Why would he ask Billy Donovan?  He is not the Football coach.  Donovan is second fiddle because he is the basketball coach and not the Football coach, not because Florida fans have quickly forgotten that he won them back to back championships.  Football holds more weight.

  He also suggest he would do this after he won a third national championship at Florida? Here is another interesting excerpt from the article-

Perhaps there was a time when Meyer was about what’s right in college football. They say he was just a normal guy out in Utah. Maybe he was even a decent cat for about 24 hours in Gainesville. Since then, Meyer has become obsessed with success and power (see the blatant strong arming of quarterback turned talk show host Shane Matthews). The lure of being “the man” at South Bend might be too intoxicating for him to turn down.

  He would???  I will believe when I see it. It just doesn’t seem practical.  Your running arguably the top program in nation and you want to trade down?  That is exactly what leaving Florida for Notre Dame is– trading down.  If your obsessed with success and power, why wouldn’t you stay at Florida and the SEC.  He is not going to win 3 national championships at Notre Dame. I would be impressed if he won more than one in South Bend if was even lucky enough to win that.

If it’s an issue of how much money are they going to offer him, then Urban Meyer is coaching the Irish next fall. Finebaum points out the fact the Florida Athletic Department recently cut 40 million dollars from its budget.  Though I find it hard to believe the Gator athletic department and alumni wouldn’t rush to string together funds to match it like LSU did with Les Miles a few years ago when Michigan came calling. That being said Notre Dame and Michigan are not what they used to be.

  This is the 21^st century not the 1960’s or 1970’s.  Notre Dame is no longer the king of the mountain. The Notre Dame of old is like a rich and successful business man.  The Notre Dame of NOW is the son of that rich and successful business man who can’t even measure up to his father’s great legacy.   Plenty of us have known people whose parents were successful and the children turned out to be  just regular joes.  Maybe they were not grade-A screw-ups but in comparison to their father they were average.  Saying that Notre Dame is your dream job is little strange. Your dream job at Notre Dame was to coach there at the time of Ara Parseghian , Knute Rockne,  Frank Leahy, Dan Devine,  Lou Holtz  and many other great names to mention.  That Notre Dame is gone.

Personally, I hope Meyer’s arrogance drives him to take this job if it is offered. However, for this to happen, Charlie Weis would actually have to lose his job.  The Irish have a somewhat easy schedule this year.  A schedule that other than the Trojans of SC has them favored in likely every game.  I have seen both teams schedules(Notre Dame and Florida) and both are very easy (at least compared to most years in Florida’s case).  If both teams are successful this year which I believe they will be, Nobody is going anywhere.

  This is just what I think.  What do you think?

UPDATE- Gatorsports.com- Urban Meyer said at a charity golf tournament Saturday that-

“I’m not going to Notre Dame. Ever. I’m going to be the coach at Florida for a long time, as long as they want me.”

College Football Links

It is definitely a dead period in college football.  So why not fill it with links-

Georgia has lost offensive lineman Tanner Strickland for the season due to shoulder surgery.  Here we go again.

Dawgsports continues its discussion of the Mark Richt era of Georgia football with a discussion of head to head matchup with rivals. Interesting read.

Jay Cutler got the Dawgs in trouble!! Relax, they were only secondary violations. 

This one is from two days ago but I thought it was great piece discussing the BCS and Congressional interference with College Football by SI’s Stewart Mandel.  He really hit it out of the park on this one.

Robbie Andreu of the Gainesville Sun/GatorSports.com discusses 5 questions for the Gators.   He also talks to back up QB John Brantley about the offseason.(hat tip- Mr.SEC.com)

Georgia grabs commitment number 13

Brandon Burrows of Marietta’s Walton High School has commited to the Georgia Bulldogs. Burrows plays weakside defensive end.  Last year he had 24 tackles and 10 sacks his junior year of high school.  Scout.com ranks him as just 3 star prospect but he is a big dude standing in at 6′3 238 and looks like he could really reek some havoc on the footbal field. Check out his highlight reel on Scout or Rivals.

What is your College Football Bucket List?

I was listening to ESPNU’s College Football Podcast with Ivan Maisel and Beano Cook and they were discussing their college football bucket list.  I am little bit young to be thinking about stuff to do before you die but I will play. I am going to rank them in no particular order just how they come to me. 

1.I’d like to see the Georgia-Florida game a few more times.I liked to actually get seats before I go so I don’t ending up watching it from the Hooters at the Landing which isn’t that bad but I’d like to get into the stadium to actually see the game.  I love the party just by itself but I would like to see the game too and I am getting too old to drink like that.

2.Beano Cook mentioned a good one on the podcast- A Night Game at LSU.  Rumor has it that the LSU Science Department has a device that measures earthquake movements and such.  Night games at LSU are rumored to actually register on the dial.  LOUD, VERY LOUD!!  I like to see Florida vs LSU at night in Baton Rouge before I die.

3.I would like to witness the Iron Bowl- Bama vs Auburn; BUT, not until Auburn picks itself off the ground and atleast somewhat rights itself.  I would like to sit in the Bama section just to piss my Auburn grad brother off. lol.

4. I would like to see a game from Oregon’s Autzen Stadium possibly- Oregon vs Cal.  I heard this stadium and that crowd is NUTS!  I heard its a great place to watch a college football game and I would like to make the journey before I die.

 5.I would like witness the Miami vs Flordia State game.  A somewhat underappreciated rivalry(at least lately) was once great and will be great again. Throughout my childhood and into my teen years watching All those wide right and wide lefts on tv was a big deal and plus during that time these two teams were the two best football programs in America.

6.I like to go to the Notre Dame vs SoCal game at night in South Bend.  I think one of the greatest plays I have seen in College Football in the past ten years was when Matt Leinart threw that long pass to Dwayne Jarrett to set up the win over the Irish.  When he looked at the defense and checked off the play at the line and then made the big play happen that was just chilling.

7.I would like to journey to the Third Saturday in October for the Alabama vs Tennessee game in a year in the future where both teams are top notch.

8.I would like to journey to SoCal for the annual post Thanksgiving “Battle of Los Angeles” – USC vs UCLA.  This is an underappreciating rivalry especially by Southerners. Hey kids, the Trojans are good. let it go. 

9.I would like to journey to Boise, Idaho to witness a game on the Blue Turf of Boise State.  I think I told a story once on this blog about how my third cousin played in the Humanitarian Bowl for Clemson there and my relatives froze their ass off in January. Well, How about September?

10.I would like to go to the Arizona vs Arizona State- I don’t know if I have ever said this on this blog, but I came real close to attending the University of Arizona over Georgia.  I visited both schools(ASU and Arizona) and I thought they were both great but I thought Tuscon was a better college town and nicer campus.  I still root for Arizona in college basketball to this day.

11. I would like to witness the Texas vs Oklahoma game in Dallas. I think last year this was probably the most entertaining game that I watched all year. Great tradition. Who wouldn’t want to see this game?

12.I would like to witness a college football game in Lubbock, Texas home of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. That just looks like a cool place to watch a game.  Almost like a high school Football atmosphere but with 45,000 people.

13.I would like to witness the Apple Cup- Washington vs Washington State live from Seattle.  Check out this stadium on line.  Its incredible!

College Football Links 7-02-09

ESPN recruiting Analyst JC Shurburtt gives Georgia mad props on their current recruiting and says they could be on the verge of a big time top 5 class.

Pat Forde of ESPN.com has a post about the most heated rivalries in college football.  Its a good read.Tx vs OU, TN vsFLA, GAvsFLA, BAMA vs LSU, etc.Chat with Pat Forde about College Athletics most heated rivalries at 2pm at ESPN.com, Thursday.

The weight of both offensive and defensive playbooks doesn’t bother incoming Georgia freshmen Branden Smith.  He says he would be bored if he only played one side.

Streit of Bubba N Earl has a list of 10 things in college football that are bound to fail.  A good list.

Rumors of Michigan vs Georgia in 2010/2011 are likely not to be true.

Team Speed Kills- makes predictions for the upcoming season for the South Carolina Gamecocks.  They have been previewing them the entire week. 

Hey, Vandy football players can be felons too!(hat tip- Chris Low ESPN). Justin Cabbagestalk was arrested Tuesday night and charged with a felony count of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief.  Cabbagestalk signed a LOI to play at Vandy in February.  Vandy players can get arrested too. Who knew?

Defending the Flex-bone Option Offense of Georgia Tech

Dr.B of the Clemson Blog “Its ClemPson dammit, not Clemzzzun” does a nice job explaining the basics of defending the flex-bone option offense of Georgia Tech.    He goes position by position which each’s responsibility in the defense. It centers around these basic tenets-

-Take away something: The Dive or the Pitch, but preferably the Dive.
-Control the LOS: You must control the operating space of the QB and dive backs in the middle.
-Get the LBs into the running lanes: The DTs cannot be knocked backwards and the LBs must fill the lanes and be free to move.
-Discipline: Defenders must know how to recognize blocking schemes, and not worry about his teammate’s job, only his.
-Lack of Stunting. You dont want to get caught in alot of stunts or play too many tricks up front, because you’ll just open a hole for a Dive.

He was very thorough and its a good read.  Check it out.Click on the above underlined link to go to the article.

Georgia receives yet another commitment

Southwest Dekalb running back Ken Malcome has committed to the Dawgs.  Malcome who stands in at 6 foot 215 pounds can really move for a man his size(on the film on the Scout site he looks a little bigger).  Malcome is built like a mack truck, but he changes directions well, and as I said before he really moves fast for someone his size.  He gives the appearance of somebody who would have no trouble Bill Bates-izeing someone and if you watch his film you will see that.  If you have a subscription to Scout or Rival’s you should watch his highlight reel.  Malcome could be the sleeper pick of the class.  Malcome chose Georgia over Florida among other schools. If this kid shows up next summer ready to play, he really could be someone special. When you see a back that is his size you may think of the great Georgia backs of old but part of you thinks of Jasper Sanks who had similiar dimensions and who didn’t turn out so well.  Here’s to hoping he shows up ready to play as opposed to being like Sanks.  Malcome was the eighth Georgia commit for the month of June and 12th overall.

Has Michael Carvell returned as the AJC College Football Recruiting Reporter?

It certainly appears so!  AJC finally posted something about the verbal commitment of Newnan safety Alec Ogletree to the University of Georgia.  It had previously been reported that Carvell had accepted a buyout from the AJC.   Is this return temporary or permanent?  The College Football offseason is a long one and its especially long when your favorite MLB team the Atlanta Braves is currently in the midst of a bad funk with no end in sight.

  At this point in the Mark Richt era at Georgia, I just assume that recruiting will pretty much go well and it pretty much has.  I assume that it will take care of itself but in the summer months or in the month of January or February when the Georgia Basketball team is normally in the tank, having no shot at March Madness, I find football recruiting some what interesting.  Although as many a football coach has said before “Potential don’t mean shit”, its that potential for greatness that grabs my attention during the recruiting season.  It doesn’t even matter if he is not playing for the Dawgs, if he is good you’d like to see how he does once he arrives.  Eventhough Trent Richardson is playing for Alabama or Greg Reid at FSU, anybody who saw these kids’ film has to be interested in how they will do on the next level.

  Anyway, I thought Michael Carvell did a great job as the Atlanta-Journal-Constitution’s Recruiting reporter and its good to see he is back.

Who is a Better Receiver: A.J. Green or Julio Jones?

Who is a better receiver- AJ Green or Julio Jones?  This is a question that has dawged SEC fans minds particularly since the beginning of last season. 

Much of this comparison will be based on the big time receiver(Green and Jones)’s effect on the rest of their team specifically the Quarterbacks – John Parker Wilson and Matthew Stafford.

A few things that may or may not have tilted Green or Jones positively or negatively that we must take into account before the discussion begins- For Bama. 1.Bama had a less talented QB- most people would agree with this.  2. Bama ran the ball more times than Georgia and in fact ran the ball(63%) almost twice as much as they threw it(36%) which as far as balance of offense they came in dead last in the SEC. 3.Bama did not have a talented number 2 like Mohamed Massaquoi(who ended up being the number 1 leading the Georgia bulldogs in Receiving)  For Georgia- Green and his QB never had a healthy offensive line much less as talented of a line as Bama. . Some other points to include Bama had a new and improved OC(Jim Mclvain) and offense.

  As a sports fan I consider myself a pessimistic realist and writing a college football blog the past year has made it worse.    A few days ago on a dawgpost.com forum the question was asked “Who is better- AJ or Julio”.  Me being the pessimistic fan that I am answered Julio Jones atleast at first mainly because Jones appears slightly more NFL ready and Jones showed up more in big games against teams like LSU, Georgia, and Florida. The Bama blog Roll Bama Roll on SB Network  argues the case for Julio Jones. If you really get down to it these are two receivers are two different types of receivers.  I see the Terrell Owens comparison with Jones and the Randy Moss comparison with Green.  They are both Top Flight Receivers but who is better?

 My original arguement was that on the surface it appeared that Julio Jones made John Parker Wilson a much better QB than he actually was, despite having less yards and touchdowns than Green.  There are stats to support this.  Wilson threw 4 less picks in 2008 and his QB passer  rating jumped from 114.6 to 122.2- nearly 8 points in 2008.  He only threw 10 TDs with 4 of them going to Jones but again a positve TD to INT ratio 10-8.  So despite throwing less yards and less TD passes, John Parker Wilson got better with Julio Jones presence on the field.  Matt Stafford is a top flight talent and JP Wilson is an average to medium talent at best.  So one would think more weight should be shown Wilson/Jones and Bama’s way. Also, weight should be sent towards Stafford/Green’s way because of an injury riddled/less talented offensive line. 

However, upon further review,  and despite the added weight stats, not only did Stafford/Green put up better numbers but stats show that Georgia QB Matthew Stafford improved EVEN MORE with AJ Green than Wilson did with Jones.  I knew that he improved but I didn’t think that he improved that much and it was much more considerable.  Stafford improved his QB Rating of 128.92 in 2007 that was without an AJ Green to 153.54 with the presence of A.J. Green in 2008.  In 2008, Stafford yardage jumped nearly a 1000 yards with 2523 in 2007 to 3458 in 2008. His TD to INT ratio increased its gap from 19-10 to 25-10. Stafford’s completion percentage also jumped from around 55% in 2007 to 61.4% in 2008.

A solid point that Pete at Roll Bama Roll brought up is that Julio Jones accounted for more of Wilson’s passing yardage(40%) compared with Green accounting for 28% of Stafford’s yardage.  That being said Green had twice as many TD catches(8) as Jones(4) and he averaged more yards per game 74.1 to 66.0.  So since Green was a smaller percentage of the Georgia offense and he still topped Jones, doesn’t that put him ahead of Jones OR is it the opposite because Green had a better supporting cast of MoMass, Michael Moore, who were good distractions that helped get Green more open?

Who is better A.J. Green or Julio Jones? OR is it still too close to call? Honestly, I could understand all three arguments.

UPDATE- More support for AJ- AJ Green played in 13 games while Jones played in 14 and yet Green still put up better numbers in TDs(8-4), yards(39 more), receptions per game, reception yards per game.  It’s clear that Jones may have been NEEDED MORE(40% to 28%) but I looks that Green is the better receiver overall.  The scary thing is that Green looks like he has much further to develop as a receiver and just physically- what I am saying is that I believe Green’s ceiling is much higher than Jones and he will continue to surpass him as they move along in their college careers.  However I expect BOTH to become great NFL receivers in the future.  Comparing these two is like comparing a 99 to a 98.   Whose to say that Jones wouldn’t have done better catching passes from Matthew Stafford.