I went to the game. We had moments where we played smart. We came out of the gate with more intensity than I've seen us play with on the road in a while. Those are the positives.
But things just sort of fell apart. Trey Thompkins was off his game all night going 3-15 from the field. He just couldn't get it to fall inside or out, and the frustration really wore on him. Really the whole team fell further and further into a funk as it got late.
Crazy factoid of the night....Georgia only shot 2 free throws in the game. There's no way there were only 19 turnovers. The stat sheet at half-time said 12 turnovers for UGA. There's not a chance in hell that only 7 turnovers were committed during the second half. Is there? Seemed like 28, but I guess the stats don't lie.
Vanderbilt shot 2-16 from the three point line, or this would've been an epic beating.
Bummer of a day. First Reshad Jones pulls a nutty and goes pro. Then Favors goes to GT. Now this game. I'm going to sleep before anything else crazy happen.
PWD
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55 comments:
Do you mean Asher Allen or Reshad Jones?
Reshad Jones is set to go pro too, JasonC. Yes, it's out of left field.
40 points. I don't ever wish for us not to sign a kid - Favors would have been a huge get, even for one year - but that's the final nail in Felton's coffin. Favors goes to Tech, we sign none of the top in state players, and we score 40 points; we knew the offense was a problem but this is worse than any of us could imagine. My sophomore year I played JV basketball and we eclipsed 40 points in a half several times. With 7 minute quarters.
AJC:
"In a brief phone conversation late Wednesday night, Jones confirmed he is rethinking his earlier plan to stay in school. But he said he won’t know for sure what he’s going to do until sometime today."
At least we got 40, remember the first two trips to Vandy under Felton, and thanks to injuries only scoring 39 and 37. Well, this one there were no injuries as an excuse.
Another crazy fact after this one Paul, we had only 3 players register more FGs made than TOs last night. Oy vey.
Trust me, Reshad is soooooo gone. There's also a chance of some rather unsavory news coming to light today. Hope it doesn't happen before signing day, but afraid this ain't gonna be good news.
Damn, I guess it is getting near "arrest season"-UGA's unofficial off-season program.
Is there any reason NOT to just go ahead and can Felton right now? He is a total lame-duck and we might as well starting combing the landscape for new guys. The charade is over. It's done.
Even an effing miracle of last year's epic proportions will not save the guy this time.
He has presided over 3 teams that have failed to score 40 points at Vandy. I know the backdrop is odd, but that is really unfathomable.
Unsavory news? What does that mean? Please explain or do not make these type of statements.
Gah. There's some stupid rumor floating around the UGAsports boards. The "unsavory news" is puported to not be player related.
With respect to that poster, it's unsubstantiated bullshit. I don't care what rumors are going around (and haven't heard anything but what this person posted, not that I am in a position to hear anything). If something surfaces - this poster alleged there would be an "announcement today" - we can talk about it then. Otherwise, the speculation is useless and the posters thread was more than a little self-serving IMO.
Reshad Jones? I just don't understand that. When you think of some of the frustrating things from out defense this year, Reshad was one of them.
Reshad Jones is incredibly lazy. The kid is a physical specimen, but he just lacks the effort that champions have. All the physical tools + laziness = mediocre results.
I wish Reshad well at the next level, I however don't think he will do very well.
Go Dawgs
anyone care to elaborate on the unsavory news. Let's just keep in mind that it's all rumors.
I wonder who they have been talking with about their prospects at the next level.
My only thought is that they think due to the economy, the money available next year will be a good bit less than what they may get as a late round this year. Better to go in a later round now than a higher round later and make less $$$$. From that standpoint, it makes sense to get out.
Anon @ 8:33am, there's nothing to elaborate on that I am aware of. The guy didn't really say anything else. It's as likely he's putting everyone on as it is that there really are rumors floating around.
Faulkner, it's highly unlikely the economy is going to affect salaries. Also, a difference of a couple of rounds can be a HUGE difference in starting salary - I suspect going third round next year would almost certainly bring in more money than say fifth this year. Hmmm, I need to look up draft salaries now.
Salaries do nothing but go up in the NFL.
It could also be a situation of Jones not thinking he can make the grades to stay eligible, and deciding to take his chances in the draft or getting signed as a free agent before camp starts rather than flunk out of school and effectively end his career.
RE: Rumors
The DawgVent is NOT a source. It's not even being "reported" over there. Some douche mumbled some stuff that's not even up there any more.
The Athens Clarke County arrest page shows nothing within the past 2 days, and the beat writers check it every morning. So it's not arrest related.
You guys are VERY likely chasing a red herring.
I've grown tired over the last year of watching Reshad try to tackle by simply putting a shoulder on a guy rather than laying some wood and wrapping up. How many long gainers did tech have where a tackle was missed. I miss Greg Blue, Sean Jones and Thomas Davis.
Bad news.. Inside source claims prince miller may go pro as well.. According to the source defensive coachs are changing things up, and the players don't like
hahaha prince going pro...good one!
UGA is officially cursed for some reason. Maybe we denied a goat admission to a game a few years ago. How else do you explain this past year? UGA preseason no. 1 in football only to lose to GT and Florida. Florida then wins their second title in 3 years and Tebow decides to stay. UGA then loses to GT in bball and loses Favors (and to teams like TAMUCC and Loyola). Now all of our football players are jumping ship while I'm watching programs around the country (OK, TEX, USC, and FLA) return at least a few of their studs. UGA is officially cursed. Damn goat.
Well, seriously, the secondary can not get much worse so these defections don't really bother me
Hey, anyone can "go pro", so don't laugh. Remember Danny Ware? Decides there's not enough playing time for him (which there wasn't), so may as well try to stick somewhere?
There is a point at which this begins to look like defections, and that can't be good.
maybe Reshad always dreamed of being on a practice squad
Does anyone think that the mass exodus of the secondary has anything to do with CMR and CWM throwing the players under the bus for the defensive struggles this year?
Yes, the secondary was not that good but I would rather say that it was coaching more so than player execution that caused us the most grief.
Yes the most recent example of failure is the Reshad Jones tackling debacle at GT. Another issue that was player related was Bryan Evans consistantly being out of position on passing situations.
Despite those two glaring examples the problem was not simply player execution. We see the pros and cons, well really just the cons, of the soft zone.
I believe this is why most of the players are leaving. They are tired of being blamed for failures when in fact the coaches need to take responsibility.
Hey, aren't they 40. Can't they take the heat. Its hypocritical and stupid to me for the coaches to act this way.
Anon 10:04, we don't play a "soft zone" hardly ever. I know people think that, but I don't get that misconception; almost everyone in the SEC plays man-to-man consistently, like us, and we tend to be as physical on the line as anyone.
There's this widespread belief, not here but on the AJC blogs and such, that we should "zone less" and "blitz more." Not saying you said this, of course, but the first one we already do, and the second one we don't want to do because it would take players out of the secondary on pass protection.
Anon@10:04am, no. I think anyone who thinks that is desperately looking for reasons to bash the staff.
I don't get how the players are being thrown under a bus? Coach Richt was pretty clear that he felt the tackling issues were a coaching problem resulting from his decision to do less tackle-to-the-ground in practice once the injuries started piling up.
Say what you will about schemes - and we all will - but our schemes haven't changed since the "halcyon BVG days." It's the d-line, stoopid, as they say. No front pressure is the death-knell in our league and in top-flight CFB.
Hale was on 960 this morning and he speculated (with reservation) that the pro-going of someone that's a marginal pro-prospect at this point is possibly due to the coaching staff telling the players that 100% commitment to Georgia is the standard. If players aren't all in, then they should move on. Sort of like how Bush told his staff in his last two years to either be all in or get out. It sounds like the coaches are serious about getting back to fundamental and working the hell out of the players this off-season. Maybe some of the players decided they'd be better served working harder for money instead of a degree in family and consumer sciences.
But, I'm more often wrong than not.
The "exodus" from the secondary probably has more to do with the fact that a 2nd or 3rd rounder in the NFL draft will be paid between $5 Million and $3.5 Million over the next 4 years. (FYI- NFL minimum salaries are locked in via the CBA and are based on years of service...and they go up each year. Although an interesting side note is that if the CBA doesn't get extended, minimum salaries actually go away, but I would expect a lockout or a strike before that happening)
AA is a lock for the first 3 rounds if he runs well at the combine. Just look at the history of the draft and how many CBs go between #15 and #90 in the draft.
Jones probably thinks he is a lock with his measurables (40, bench, etc.) for the same area. If he kills it at the combine, he could be in great shape to go in rounds 2 or 3...but safeties are a tough thing to predict in the draft.
The issue with these two guys is that they aren't going to get faster playing another year of college football. And as many times as Danny Ware has been cited, let's also think about Robert Geathers who everyone gloated about dropping to the 4th when he left early but now is raking in millions.
By the way, calling Reshard lazy is b.s. You can't bust your rear end through year round workouts, practices, two a days, summer conditioning, mat drills, etc. etc. etc. and be 'lazy.' Think about how much work this kid has put in since his freshman year of high school to be where he is right now.
Saying that he has the potential to be even better if he had more drive, that he seems to lack motivation, or even if he worked harder he could be better is one thing, but calling any of these guys 'lazy' is just stupid.
Agreed on both the last two posts. If you want REAL throwing under the bus look up what Urban Cryer said about his team after last year's loss to Michigan.
Couple more quick points...let's look at this in context. Every jackleg college football columnist in America is going to have a "These kids are great for coming back" column today. Of course they are...those guys need guys like Tebow, Bradford, etc. to keep people reading their columns and in turn to keep their jobs. Professional College Football writers have a conflict of interest on this subject. Just keep that in mind when you read their stuff over the next few days.
Also, keep in mind that Leinart gave up $15 Million guaranteed to go back to school for a year and he is still riding pine, Brohm probably cost himself $15 Million, etc. etc. Sometimes more film and more time for scouts to pick them apart can hurt a player. There is something to striking while the iron is hot. FYI-Those stories will not get written b/c those don't help influence opinion that these kids should stay and in turn don't help the professional college football sports writer's bottom line.
Final note, it is a good sign for your program that you lose kids early. For every Sam Bradford and Tim Tebow, there is a Curtis Lofton, Jarvis Moss, Derrick Harvey, etc. etc.
Just look at the early entries from 2005 to 2008 (that's four years of defections for those of you who are math challenged and get confused by 8-5=3). Which programs have lost the most underclassmen?
Florida-9
USC-9
Ohio State-8
FSU-7
Miami-7
Oklahoma-7
In the BCS era, those 6 schools have made up 16 of the 22 participants in the BCS championship game. Plus, USC was awarded an AP championship in 2003 despite not being a participant in the BCS championship game.
Florida has lost 9 underclassmen since 2005 and has still won 2 BCS title games.
We shouldn't be upset over kids leaving the program. We should really look at it as a sign that the program is getting better and is recruiting the kid of talent that it takes to compete with the elite programs in the nation.
Thank you Irwin for putting everything in perspective. I'm reading sooo much about how the georgia football program is in such a sad state right now and how Mark Richt is at a crossroads and he'll never lead us to a champsionship and we aren't recruiting loyal players and blahblahblah and it's really become kind of depressing. I, too, think that this says a lot about how well we recruit and I still think we have a bright future next year and years after. I just wish other people weren't so doom and gloom. There was a record number of underclassmen that went to the NFL this year but all anybody wants to talk about is how great all these other players are that stayed.
Fire Felton, he sucks!
For all of you wondering why Reshad changed his mind since Tuesday and has since decided to go pro, I have a little bit of info from the defensive meetings yesterday that may or may not help explain his reasoning.
According to my buddy who is a LB who shall remain anonymous, Reshad showed up late to a meeting and CWM started tearing into him. He criticized everything from his tackling to his poor attitude and said things like he was squandering his talent and didn't learn his no-arm tackling technique at Georgia. He basically made an example of him for the rest of the team and wouldn't let up all afternoon. My buddy got the impression that the coaches are trying to make wholesale changes in the attitude of the team... the staff has made it clear that nothing is given to you and that if you aren't prepared to put your ego aside, work hard, and be committed to win the Georgia way, then it will be a long season for you next year.
Although I hate to lose Reshad, it's encouraging that the staff recognized the problem with our performance this past year and will have no more of it. And although we may suffer the consequences next year, we should be a better team down the road.
Good luck to Reshad though. He was a solid contributor and one of my favorites on defense. I hope he tears up the combine, is drafted in the first 4 rounds, and goes onto to have a productive NFL career and make the bulldog nation proud.
Wow the Cuatro. If that's true, that's actually pretty encouraging. He needed that whooping after his performance this season, but if that's enough to make him leave, then I think we'll be better off.
cuatro:
i heard the same thing you did, from a walk on secondary player, is also the same guy who told me that prince is STRONGLY considering the draft.
A - Prince has NO SHOT of being drafted, at all.
B - Why is everyone thinking were going to the Music City Bowl? Joe Cox is good for 20 tds, 10 ints. Caleb, Samuel, Dontavious, etc. can put up similar production behind a much improved OL. Asher had exactly 0, thats ZERO, ints. Meaning if Brandon Boykin or Branden Smith comes in and gets ONE, thats one more turnover we got from that position that we didn't last year. And Reshad, wow. I'll take a sure tackler with less natural ability (Battle, Tra)then a kid who reminds me of Andruw Jones in pads.
Jones is a thug and we don't need guys like that representing our University. I will dearly miss the ability and character of Allen, Moreno, and Stafford. The one guy I could do without is Reshad.
Let our sorry ass defensive players with their big-egos go pro! We dont need them anyways!.. I mean its not like we could do any worse without them? Honestly, I never really thought that Prince Miller, Asher Allen, or Reshad Jones were that good anyways..
But thats just my opinion
Guys let's just look forward to 2010 now. We will be a good team next year, best case 10-2 and worst case 9-3. 2nd in east, New Years Day Bowl again and beat a Big 10 team. All a big transition year for 2010 when we begin anew and build towards something bigger. '09 will be another coronation of the Gay-tors in the SEC. Every single other team in the SEC (short maybe Ole Miss) will be taking steps backwards in '09 except for Fla. It sucks, but that is the way it is going to be in '09 unfortunately for us.
I have no doubt, CWM is cracking the whip, and if #9 couldn't take the heat, so be it. Best of luck at the next level.
As far as Felton and the BBALL team, he should be gone.
Anon 1, thank you
we're a damn good team with a coach many people would love to have. there is a reason CMR AVERAGES 10 wins a year. our recruiting is great, we have continuity on staff and with have a 5th year senior at QB
this isn't like AU starting a JUCO transfer or LSU starting a Harvard boy. Joe Cox was a top ten qb coming out of Charlotte.
Reshad tackles like my grandma. Good riddance.
Assuming what The Cuatro stated is true, so far that's the best news of the off-season. CUM and his staff came down hard on their defense (especially the secondary) after ’07, and look how they improved in ’08. The difference between the ’07 Major Wright and the ’08 version is a testament to that.
I seriously doubt that our secondary will be worse next year. If coaches do a better job instilling the Sean Jones through Tra Battle “Georgia way” of doing things in the sophomores & freshmen, I expect our secondary will be better next year.
Remember that young guys can more easily contribute early in the secondary than pretty much any other personnel group.
At worst, maybe this convinces Greg Reid that UGA is the place where he can get immediate playing time. If we have a great d-line and lb's who can pressure, then we can live with youth at db.
Anon 1300-
I think you're a bit misguided. Remember when we were all 'looking forward' to 2008 and 2009 back in 2006 when Stafford was taking his lumps? It's fools gold to try to predict the perfect season.
Maybe that is the type of program we are...only capable of competing every other year...but I just don't believe that.
The three "best" Richt seasons, in my opinion, are 2002 with a sophomore QB winning the SEC, 2005 with a first time starting QB winning the SEC, and 2007 with a Sophomore QB winning the Sugar Bowl and finishing #2 in the AP. Why get your panties in a wad in January? Let's figure out who will be on the roster before declaring crazy predictions...fair?
JT: I think others would argue that Asher Allen didn't have any picks because our opponents were rarely challenging his side of the field.
I'd rather take away a third and get no picks, then to give offenses more options.
Allen was a good corner. He'll be missed. Sorely missed unless our line play gets a lot better.
Branden Smith and Greg Reid could potentially be a potent combination on the corners...of course that's speculating that Reid will actually decide to come to UGA.
Gen. Stoopnagle - You may have a point. However, I am confident in the talent level of Branden Smith, Brandon Boykin and hopefully, Greg Reid. My hope is that teams try to challenge them and we can get more takeaways. That has been the one thing consistently missing since CWM too over. The lack of picks from the secondary. I would LOVE to see that number improve drastically.
Fletcher- I say we'll finish second in the east behind Fla (a good bit behind Fla at that) simply because the rest of the east will be awful. We're are on sound footing and will have a seasoned QB, solid OL, RB by committee, top tier WR, and a "serviceable" defense. We swap Ala, get LSU in Athens, Aub is awful, SC is hit hardest by departures of any other league team, etc. I say we'll be second in the east because who else could be?? We'll lose convincingly to Fla, drop another SEC contest somehow, and Okla St is the swing game between 9-3 and 10-2.
I also think CWM will be released next year.
And for anyone wanting an interesting tidbit that isn't GA related, I think Randy Shannon is fired next year and look for Tuberville to consider taking over in Miami and restoring that program to elite status.
I would love to have Shannon as DC if that were somehow possible. Neither here nor there though.
The story behind Reshad definitely is true. I'm hearing now that Reshad is coming back after all, although I think he set to announce officially later this afternoon. I think this is a real good sign for him... maybe he turned a corner. Hopefully he returns with an attitude adjustment and becomes an 1st team All-SEC FS next year.
We will lose to Ok St, LSU, Florida and tech...and prob 1 or 2 more.
agreed. minus Tech
Reshad is staying P.S.
http://ugadogsblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/jones-decision-at-430.html
Call me crazy. There is NO WAY we lose to OK State.
You think we'll lose 5-6 games? No way in hell. LSU comes to our house at night, and still without a QB. And tech had beginners luck, which was obviously figured out pretty quickly by LSU, just watch the game film. I see 2, maybe 3 loses, and yet another 10 win season.
Back to basketball...
My fondest memories of attending games while a student at UGA are from basketball; yelling at mullet-head jorts-wearing Dwayne Schintzius, witnessing an SEC title in person, beating LSU with Shaq, discussing with my roommates who the worst ref in the SEC was (John Clougherty). I love college basketball.
This team is truly embarrassing and we have become a joke. This has to be one of the worst teams in a BCS league, possibly one of the worst in D-1. I am beginning to think Felton should be fired mid-season. How many more performances like Kentucky and Vandy can we take? How does the athletic department like being on tv and having more visiting fans in the crowd than home fans? I never saw anything like that while a student, and we weren't always that good, obviously.
It's just unacceptable. We need to thank Dennis for his yeoman work in cleaning up the program and offer him a nice vacation in Bora Bora or somewhere else far, far away. In time for Valentine's Day.
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