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October 16, 2011

Venerate or Denigrate? My Thoughts on Grantham

Wait, let me title this 'My thoughts on Franklin.'  Lost in all of this, due to the choke sign last year, is that Franklin is way more than complicit in what happened.  As what happened in the game, the second guy is the one that always gets caught.  His condescending statements about the situation merely show that:
“We just had a tough, emotional game and some things were said that I didn’t think were appropriate. I went to find Coach Richt and didn’t find him, so I found one of his assistant coaches and it didn’t go well. We’re not going to sit back and take it from anyone.”
Now, I'm not going to say Grantham is blameless here.  Clearly he has a temper and that temper got the best of him.  But is Grantham supposed to 'take it' when the other guy gives it out?  If the story that Franklin was chastising a Georgia player on the field is true, then the whole situation sits on Franklin's shoulders.  That is a way bigger issue than the choke sign last year.

Of course, there are people willing to lay all the blame on Grantham for everything due to something he did a year ago without even worrying about how it went down, or why.  Grantham is a very passionate coach.  We need that.  From my seat, Grantham didn't do anything other than stand up for his guys.  We, as Georgia fans, deserve whatever we get if we are willing to cast him aside for that.

If I am proven wrong, I'll say so.  Until then, I believe there were at least two men involved that could have handled their business differently.  Regretfully, only one is getting the blame.

TD

15 comments:

Pl0we said...

I like Grantham. I could see my self hanging out with him and fighting crime. I like coaches like him and wish CMR was this fiery.

Slic Ric said...

GTG is catching the wrap for this because FSS coverage went from players and coaches walking to midfield after the game, to Rambo on the ground, to CTG yelling in Franklin's face. It's like you said it's always the 2nd guy that gets caught. I applaud CTG for standing up for his players and I know they appreciate it. Players play harder for a coach who has their back like that and hopefully it lights a fire under the team. I'm sure CMR will say something to CTG about this but he doesn't deserve any form of punishment. I'm shocked by the amount of negative comments regarding from Georgia fans regarding the incident. We want more fire from our coaches and our team and then a guy shows it and gets crucified for it. Those "fans" should be ashamed and just wear blue and orange to the game in 2 weeks. CTG is a DGD and I'm glad he's our DC. I can promise you this, Vandy's coach, and any coach for that matter, will think twice before coming after one of our players again.

PatinDC said...

Ditto. I hope the ones saying that Grantham should calm down are not praisng Muschomps for his sideline passions.

Ginny said...

I wouldn't change CMR's demeanor at all, and I think Grantham offers a good balance to it. He's the yin to CMR's yang.

RC said...

Not to absolve Grantham, but I said to my wife early in the game that the Vandy players were being mighty chippy, and appeared to me to be baiting our guys. Franklin's comments after the game were exactly as I'd suspected- he's clearly motivating his guys to "not take $hit off of anyone," and that's what it gets him. You're right that he shoulders the lion's share of the blame in this incident.

Anonymous said...

Looked to me Franlin was going after one of our players, probably Jones, and Grantham took exception. I can't fault the guy for that.

I think Jones, however, should have been thrown out the game for punching a player even after he was chop blocked though I think I would of done the same.

What I don't like about our players, this generation of players, (I'm an old guy)is the misplaced cockyness after making a good play. Damn it if you make a good play, great! Get up, dust yourself off and get ready for the next play. Win a championship; then get cocky.

RedStripeDawg said...

Of course Barrett Sallee (in Scout.com link) is going to denigrate and lay blame on Grantham. He's an Auburn alum and fan that will never be neutral when it comes to writing about rivals he dislikes.

Tony Waller said...

RedStripe, I almost linked to an asinine thread on one of our boards that was essentially saying the same thing. Then I remember why I don't read those boards.

Anonymous said...

Coach Franklin's post game comments and his actions are not consistent. Watching the replay, as time expired Coach Franklin was approximatley 5 yards onto the field when he begins pointing at one of our players and from his head bobbing was clearing yelling at a player. If he characterizes this as seeking out Coach Richt then Coach Franklin is a coward and a liar.

Anonymous said...

If Franklin was talking smack to one of our players, he needs his behind kicked. If he has a problem with a UGA player, tell the head coach. Talk to your own cheap shotting players, dude.

Franklin strikes me as Paul Johnson with a little better exercise program and slightly better media skills. Basically, they're both testy little Napoleons who think they're geniuses at second rate football schools. Get over yourselves, boys.

Anonymous said...

JJBA still says the sticky still wears the gray pants

Anonymous said...

Grantham is a madman and loose cannon. Good.

Anonymous said...

Amen anon 9:01. We need a madman and loose cannon.

goalinestalker said...

I was in Nashville for the game and I can assure from my seats we were getting cut on almost every play. Jarvis was held on at least 5 plays that were never called. The Geathers deal was just a retaliation from getting cut from behind. Our corner bit hard on the toss sweep pass for a TD, that was not on Rambo. As far as Grantham he has a spine and is def a players coach. With #9 #83 #26 back for the UF game lets just hope we dont wet the bed again in Jville. I live here and cannot deal with these Gator fans another 365 days.

todd said...

Look for two things to happen in every single game from here on out (if our opponents are smart because this works against UGA):

1) Trick plays. Trick plays are gambit moves because they should have a higher failure rate than success rate. Unfortunately, they work all too well against UGA. Defense, special teams, it does not matter.


2) People saw how UGA nearly self-destructed against Tennessee in the 4th quarter with penalty after penalty after penalty. What should've been a comfortable 3 score margin turned into a chance to recover an onside kick.

It was very obvious that Vandy was trying to bait UGA players into penalties all night. Lots of puhing and shoving after the whistle and our guys were not the only way hitting after the play was dead. Just ask Kwame Geathers. They wanted to get into our heads and under our skin and we stupidly allowed them to do it. Then they made a couple of plays and Vandy nearly won that game.

Much of this is our fault. We've got to recognize these tactics for what they are ....even when the refs want to act like WWE refs that didn't see the bad guy throw the brass knuckles into the ring, only the result.

Kudos to Grantham for finishing what Franklin himself says he started. How this turns into something negative about Granthm and UGA ... I don't know.

Whatever the SEC does or does not do, we need a strong statement of support and perhaps even a conemnation of Vanderbilt's tactics publicly from our AD. No, Vince wouldn't have done that and neither would Damon. But I'm hoping Greg will take the stance Franklin took and decide that we're not going to sit back and allow ourselves to take blame for something else that we did not start.

 
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