The Curious Case Of Bobo

This week, I stumbled across some old VHS tapes from my speech class at The University of Georgia dating back to 2001. In those archives, I had written a speech about the firing of former coach Jim Donnan. Aside from the "off the field problems", I highlighted Donnan's abismal record agaisnt rivals Florida, Tennessee, GaTech, and Auburn, along with the poor performance of the offense. As I listened to my own speech, I began to think "dang, am I ever satisfied with the offensive of my team?".

The short answer to that question is this: No, I am the type of personality that is always looking for a way to make things I love better (just ask my wife and kids). Some may say it's a major flaw of mine, but others say it is why they love me. On second thought, I'm an Atlanta Falcons fan, and I tend to like the offensive coordinating of Mike Mularkey; so, there I can be satisfied! :)
I write this blog post today mostly as an answer to a question posed by The Senator over at Get The Picture . This is in response to some comments that went on in one of his post game threads after last Saturday's loss to the LSU Tigers. Linked Here is the article I commented on, and a small portion of the comment thread went a little something like this:

Andy Coleman

Senator, you’re right on about that series being the pivotal point in the game. That series was followed by 3 more just like it, even into the 3rd quarter. Bobo stalled, and the crap hit the fan.

Senator Blutarsky
If you think I’m pinning the loss on Bobo, you’re overstating my point.

Andy Coleman

I know you’re not on the new OC train like I have been for the past four years, I’m just amazed that you admit how crucial it was when we nutted up on that series. Do you recognize that there may be a direct correlation between play calling changing all of the sudden during a game, and Murray going all bankers mid game?

Senator Blutarsky
Both Bobo and Murray were dealing with an offensive line physically challenged all night, running backs who had trouble hitting the holes faster than LSU’s linebackers closed them and receivers who couldn’t hold on to passes to save their lives. I really doubt Murray was thinking to himself on that third down play, “I gotta do something here… Bobo’s playcalling is killing us.” He was just a kid in a pressure situation trying to make a play to help his team. It blew up. Hopefully he’ll learn from his mistake. That’s all I recognize.

Andy Coleman
I bet Murray wondered why he was handing it off up the gut on 1st and 2nd down for the 4th possession in a row, only to have Crowell/Thomas run into a wall. There are ways to neutralize D-lines, and off tackle dives and draws on 1st and 2nd down are not them.

Senator Blutarsky
“There are ways to neutralize D-lines”? How closely were you watching the game? It wasn’t just LSU’s d-line that was an issue. Those linebackers were obscenely fast closing down the gaps. It was clear that Georgia’s running backs weren’t prepared for that. Although to be fair, until you play against them, I’m not sure how you could be prepared.

Andy Coleman
Ok, let me change my post to “neutralize fronts”. Either way, same point. Please understand that I think LSU was a better team than the Dawgs. But, I don’t want that to be the case in a few years. I want what is best for this team, and in my (I’m a virtual nobody, but a loyal alum/fan none-the-less) opinion, Bobo ain’t it! Bobo makes top dollar, and we have proven (Grantham) that top dollar can get you a whole lot more if you pick wisely.

From that point on, there were literally almost 100's of other comments from me, people that think I'm a moron who know's nothing about football, people that agree with me (this fellow "Adam" had some GREAT insight), and even a few more comments here and there from The Senator. If your interested, the comment thread is up to 194 at this time, and there is some fairly great conversation if you pick through the trolls.

It's not posted above, but soon thereafter in the conversation, The Senator called me out and asked "Who’s a “balls out” OC in your mind?", and then several of his blog readers back him up in that notion and dared me to name a possible replacement for Mike Bobo if I am such a genius.

Before I tell you my answer to that challenge, let me take a second to give my true stance on Mike Bobo as the offensive coordinator at The University of Georgia. I sit here today and proclaim that Mike Bobo is not the worst possible choice of OC that we could be graced with at this time, and admittedly so, the man can seemingly call plays with exceptional success from time to time, even for the course of entire games! Take the 2011 Auburn game for example; need I say more? That was a thing of beauty from where I was sitting in the end zone of Sanford Stadium. It's documented in probably 5-10 forums on various blogs that I was stunned at how on fire our offense was coming out of the gate against LSU last Saturday, minus the dropped touchdown passes.

To sum up my thoughts from the SECCG, I'll just post a comment from my ever so popular post after the game:

I did a poor job of fully explaining my qualms with Bobo's play calling on this particular blog because I forget that all readers haven't read all of my posts on UGABlog, where, many times I've given specific analysis of why I think this team deserves a better coordinator. I know that people who get on here and anonymously call me names have not (nor are they going to) read everything I have ever written about Bobo. Those who know me have heard my criticism of Bobo's Gameday coaching for 4 years. Those people also know that Mike Bobo is my 3rd favorite UGA quarterback of all time.

As far as "fault" is concerned, where have I ever said that it was Bobo's fault that we lost. I know why we lost to LSU. They were a much more well-rounded football team that didn't make mistakes or drop touchdown passes.


What I do believe about the SECCG is this: the offensive game plan took a drastic turn late in the first half. At one point, there were 4 straight possessions where we ran it between the tackles on 1st & 2nd down, only to get stuffed and then put Murray's head on a platter on 3rd and long against a pissed off defense full of future NFLers. We had them on the ropes the whole first half, then the script ran out, Bobo got nervous and saw that our defense was playing lights out....then, The Shit Hit The Fan. The only chance in hell the Dawgs had at winning that game was to play balls out on offense until our defense had the game in hand. After our offense and special teams wet the bed, the defense said WTF!

After writing that post, the boys over at DawgSports.com put up an article that explained things better than I could ever dream of, and here is that link in case you're interested; "Improving the Georgia Offense for 2012: a Tough Call".


WHO WOULD BE A POSSIBLE REPLACEMENT FOR OUR NEW OC?

I can honestly say that I have toiled over this question more in the past 3 days than I am proud to admit. It's been to the point that my wife politely requested I stop researching and spend some quality time with the family. It was at that point that I realized I would be wasting my time trying to spit out actual names of who I think would be viable candidates for the OC job at UGA.

The actual conclusion I came to is simple. If I were Mark Richt & Greg McGarity, I would conduct a search for my new OC in the following way. First, I would put the word out on the street that I was looking for a young (sub 50), energetic candidate that has a coaching philosophy similar to that of Steve Spurrier and/or Sean Payton. I'm not saying that my new OC has to run the same offensive scheme as those guys because I tend to love the pro-set (with spread undertones) that we currently run at Georgia. What I'm saying is that I want a guy who is cut in that mold. The kind of guy that lives and breathes offensive adaptation. Adapting to your personell; adapting to your opponent; adapting to the flow of the game; mostly, not set on doing something one way just because that's the way I do it by God.

Now I know for a fact, that after some of my deerest fans read this post, they are going to call me out on some sort of contradiction they feel that is embedded within this post. To that I say, bring it on! Let's just hope that we can get some honest debate instead of all the "douchebag, moron, a$$hole, idiot, etc...". It's not that I can't handle those comments (I am actually genuinely amused by most of them), it's just that I love a good debate better than anything in the world. Especially when it is something I am so passionate about, The Georgia Bulldawgs! So, to all of you that have it in your heads that I am not a "real UGA fan", I wish you could peer in my heart brother because there ain't much I love more in the land than the Dawgs, Bobo or no Bobo!

GATA

Favoritism By The SEC Officials

I feel like my limited blogging this season has all been directed towards the bashing of good ol' Coach Bobo. I'll give him a break this week and point out the fact that whoever makes the decisions on suspensions in the SEC offices are a bunch of IDIOTS.

Should Kwame Geathers have been suspended for punching someone last week after they tried to end his career? I think not, but even if you say yes, was what he did anywhere near as bad as Nick "The Thug" Fairley last year against the Dawgs?

Fairely gets and atta boy for trying to injure a player, and Geathers gets punished for defending himself.

The official statement from the SEC was that "any issues would be handled between the conference office and the institution."

The translation: Auburn has been put on alert that Fairley will be suspended if he engages in any more late hits.

The SEC reviewed tape of the Georgia game and several of Fairley’s hits on Murray. Fairley was penalized in the third quarter when he led with his helmet and hit Murray in the back after Murray had already released the pass.

The fact that Fairley was penalized on the play probably contributed to his not being suspended.

Double standard anyone?

BCS Trophy On Display In Georgia

Breaking news this morning: The BCS National Championship Trophy will be on display in Cecil Newton's church this Sunday morning. The crystal football will be available as a "piggy bank" of sorts so that appreciative fans can fill it full of money for Cecil and his church.

Why Auburn Should Handle Oregon

For the past week, I have been having more fun writing responses on UGA Haters blogs than posting things on my own website about the Dawgs. But, I do have something I would like to say today, and it isn't really related to UGA, other than the fact that I think this year will have another SEC dominant performance in the BCS National Championship game.

We all know that Cam Newton is amazing, and he is going to "get his" against the Ducks on January 10th. But, the real deciding factor in this match-up, as far as I see it, will be the battle in the trenches. Take a look at these stats:

AUBURN O-LINE: 6'8"-320lbs, 6'6"-300lbs, 6'3"-316lbs, 6'3"-305lbs, 6'4"-297lbs
OREGON 0-LINE: 6'5"-295lbs, 6'4"-290lbs, 6'5"-285lbs, 6'7"-320lbs, 6'5"-285lbs

AUBURN D-LINE 6'4"-256lbs, 6'2"-260lbs, 6'5"-298lbs, 6'3"-296lbs
OREGON D-LINE 6'3"-245lbs, 6'3"-230lbs, 6'7"-250lbs, 6'2"-256lbs

For those of you keeping score at home, that is a 308lb average on the O-line for the Tigers, and a 295lb average for the Ducks. On the flip side, that is a 278lb average on the D-line for the Tigers, and a 245lb average for the Ducks. The Oregon defensive line is giving up a whopping 68 pounds on average across the trenches. WOW!

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the Ducks should struggle mightily with the bigger, faster, and stronger Auburn team. But, we all know that games aren't played on paper, now are they?

CPS Playoffs - Round 2

If you are interested, you can go back and read my last few blogs on my idea of what the NCAA football playoffs should look like this year. Today, I am continuing the series with what I predict would happen in round 2 of the 2010 playoffs. For Round 1 Click Here.

#1 Auburn versus #5 Wisconsin

• Auburn faces another tough task in this one, and the Badgers are well prepared for Cam Newton. As usual, the SEC speed is too much for the Big Ten.
• Auburn 24 - Wisconsin 17
  

#2 Oregon versus #11 Virginia Tech

• Man those Hoakies are on a mission. They win their 13th straight to make it to the final 4!
• Virginia Tech 19 - Oregon 17
  

#3 TCU versus #10 Boise State

• This is the match-up we were all waiting for...until the Boise kicking fiasco. TCU proves that they are the better of the two guys normally left out in the cold.
• TCU 34 - BSU 30
  

#4 Stanford versus #8 Arkansas

• Ryan Mallet is making his case to be a top 10 pick in the draft on this playoff run. He gets the best of the other best QB prospect in this year's draft.
• Arkansas 38 - Stanford 24

Stay tuned tomorrow for the Final 4 edition of the 2010 CPS NCAA Football Playoffs!

Meyer Steps Down, Leach To Take Over

The title of this post should be any SEC fans worst nightmare! A Mike Leach offense would be viscous with the talent that comes through UF!

Click HERE to read the story about Urban.

Keep in mind that I am speaking in the hypothetical sense.

Auburn Wins, Goes to 0-11 For The Season.

That's right, I said Z-E-R-O & 11. The Auburn Tigers and sCam Newton have sold their souls to the devil and beat my beloved Dawgs tonight. Mark my word. I don't go out on a limb very often, but the Tigers have been playing an ineligible player this year, and he is AWESOME, but they will forfeit their season when all is said and done.

Am I bitter that he helped to defeat the Dawgs tonight? Not at all. We couldn't stop him because he is one hell of a college football player. I don't think he will be able to do the things he does at the next level, but we'll see.

My deepest concerns pertaining to this whole situation are that he is completely SCREWING Auburn University, and they have gone all-in hoping a miracle keeps the NCAA from ruling sCam as an ineligible player. Cecil Newton solicited money. That negated sCam's amateur status. Put this in your pipe and smoke it too: Auburn paid the kid or his family. Otherwise, why in the hell did he go there instead of Mississippi State at the last minute. How did Cecil's church miraculously come up with 10's of thousands of dollars to make improvement? Why is the IRS and FBI interviewing witnesses? I know why...the rumors are TRUE.

Go Dawgs! That was one hell of a performance against the number "2" team in the nation.

500 Never Looked So Pretty

I never thought I would be this happy to see my beloved Dawgs sitting at 4-4. That being said, who is the best team in the SEC right now? I would have to say Alabama.

Trying to understand college football has become equivalent to understanding a woman!

The Pre-Season's Over Boys!

The past can't be changed, the Dawgs are 1-2. What we can do is just "pretend" that the first two SEC games were just pre-season, and clean house from here on out! A 9 game winning streak could salvage everything that has been lost thus far.

Results or Reasons

I heard a speech yesterday from a high school football coach. In the speech, he was asked about a recent loss. He simply said, I could give you several reasons, but what people want are RESULTS.

Amen to that. The Dawgnation wants some results, and let's start with some positive ones tomorrow!

Dawgs 34 - Dogs 13

Boise State Proved Me Wrong

I made a mistake once before. Then I found out that I just thought I was wrong, and upon further investigation, my assumed mistake was a mistake. Last night, BSU jumped on Va Tech before they knew what hit them.

To make a long story short; I didn't even have a chance to watch any of the game last night because I was returning from a family beach trip. Boise State fans, players, and staff, to you I say "I am sorry". You played one of your two games you have to prepare for in the regular season last night, and came out victorious.

I still say this is what would happen if Boise played UGA's schedule.

If Boise State Played In The SEC

I have written about my disdain for Boise State getting so much attention in the past. For instance, we all know what happened in the UGA v. BSU game.

Since the hype is going crazy again this year, I thought it would be fun to take a look at what would happen if Boise State had the same schedule as the Dawgs this year. Here are my predictions as to what the outcome would be.

Sep. 4 Louisiana-Laf. - BSU rolls (1-0, 0-0)
Sep. 11 at S Carolina - BSU loses (1-1, 0-1)
Sep. 18 Arkansas - Mallet throw for 400 yards (1-2, 0-2)
Sep. 25 at Miss. State - BSU gets first SEC win (2-2, 1-2)
Oct. 2 at Colorado - BSU wins (3-2, 1-2)
Oct. 9 Tennessee - UT is down (4-2, 2-2)
Oct. 16 Vanderbilt - BSU slams (5-2, 3-2)
Oct. 23 at Kentucky - BSU squeaks (6-2, 4-2)
Oct. 30 at Florida - LOL (6-3, 4-3)
Nov. 6 Idaho St. - BSU can breath (7-3, 4-3)
Nov. 13 at Auburn - AU rolls (7-4, 4-4)
Nov. 27 Ga Tech - hmmm (7-5, 4-4)

I really thought about each one of these games, and gave the benefit of the doubt to BSU pretty much every time I was unsure. A realistic record for the Broncos would be 7-5 with the very same schedule that the Dawgs will play this year. Even if you adjust for a 1 game margin of error, BSU is sitting at 8-4 (best case) or 6-6.

I would love to hear some other opinions on this subject. Let me have it!

Coleman's Coins (Week 1)

I love to gamble, er uh, I mean PICK the winners of a few college football games every week. I have been doing this for about the past 10 years, and I only gamble with coins; chocolate coins of course! Since I am wasting, er uh, I mean spending a lot of my time every week writing about the Dawgs on www.UGABlog.com, I thought I would start a weekly blog that picks my favorite games of the week. Let's call these picks "Coleman's Coins".

Each coin will be represented by a ($), and rated on a scale as follows:
$ = 1 coin
$$ = 2 coins
$$$ = 3 coins
$$$$= 4 coins

S Mississippi @ S Carolina (-13.5)
$$
I think the Ol' Ball Coach is sandbagging about Garcia.
SC wins 30-10

UL Lafayette @ Georgia (-28)
$
The only thing stopping this from being a 3 coiner is Murray's rawness.
UGA wins 48-13

Kentucky @ Louisville (+3)
$
Louisville starts out STRONG in 2010.
Louisville wins 24-20

UCLA (+1.5) @ Kansas St
$$
KSU got beat by the Cajuns last year, and are looking at a 5-7.
UCLA wins 24-17

Oregon St @ TCU (under 50.5)
$$$
Don't underestimate that Horned Frog defense.
TCU wins 24-13

Boise St (N) Virginia Tech (N) (+2.5)
$$$
Do I even have to explain how much I hate the BSU hype?
V Tech wins 24-21



All lines are as of midnight on 8/31/10, and they are retrieved from www.SPORTSBOOK.com.

College Football & Academics

Over the past week there have been a few articles that really caught my eye concerning academics and NCAA football. The first came from the Atlanta Journal last week: ACC tops SEC in academics. The second really bad news article also came out of the AJC: Branden Smith's academic "issues".

Both articles, mainly the second, got me to thinking about something that has really bugged me ever since I graduated from UGA. Why do so many athletes take the amazing education opportunity they are getting via scholarships for granted? I know for a FACT they are given every kind of support system you can imagine to succeed in the classroom (tutors, note takers, etc.) I could probably write a 10,000 word essay on my thoughts, but I am curious to hear some other opinions. What do you think?