Did Saturday Really Tell Us Much About The QB's

I have been away from the blogs for the better part of last week, except for a couple of superficial posts. So, for that, I apologize to all readers. I have read about everything under the sun concerning Saturday's G-Day game in Athens.

Deservedly so, a lot of praise and attention has gone to Zach Mettenberger for his outstanding performance in the spring scrimmage game. A big factor I have seen little mention of though is the circumstances surrounding Mett's performance. By that, I mean the fact that he was playing against 2nd and 3rd stringers the whole time he was in the game. A few of his big completions even came against former walk-ons. No, to his defense, Mett wasn't throwing to AJ Green or Kris Durham because he was mostly with 2nd string offensive guys.

I'm not trying to defend Aaron Murray's sub-par performance, or degrade Mett's. The whole point of my rant today is that it would have been nice to see Murray and Mett battle it out with the same first team offense.

I failed to mention Logan Gray so far, right? Well, I think that it has been made pretty obvious that he can be a solid backup with his own package of plays, but he does NOT have an SEC caliber arm, or the poise to lead this team. I think he could help us somewhere, but not as our starting QB. I tend to join the folks who are scared that Coach Richt is going to follow in the tradition of giving Gray the job because he has paid his dues. Will it be another Joe T/Joe Cox story?

Let me continue to trust in Coach Richt, and hope that whoever wins the job doesn't even come into play all that much in 2010. Why do I say that? Because I have a DAMN GOOD feeling that Todd Grantham's defense is going to start to dominate once the bugs get worked out! I may be jumping the gun because it is not totally realistic to expect this defense to click right off the bat, but the talent is SOOOOOO there!

GATA GATA GATA

Best Seat In The House For G-Day

Unfortunately for me this year, that seat is not going to be inside my beloved Sanford Stadium. I came to the conclusion in the wee hours of Saturday morning, that I would not be a very good daddy to my little birthday girl if I made her spend 3 or 4 hours of her birthday driving back and forth to Athens instead of giving her the birthday wishes that a 4 year old deserves!

Therefore, the best seat in the house for me on this glorious day will be sitting right beside the two loves of my life, watching ESPN 360's live coverage of the game. If you didn't already know, the game is going to be covered live by ESPN on their online channel. Click here to watch.

The way I figure, if I open the windows, put on my gameday gear, and bark with my daughter a few times. Sitting at home on Lilly's birthday will be the best time a dad could ask for watching his Dawgs with a future UGA cheerleader!

Excitement Is Buidling For G-Day

I failed to make a post earlier today, and I have felt a bit obligated to make up for it all day long. I am on my spring break this week, so my schedule is such that my normal routine has been thrown off. Beside that, my wedding is coming up, and this week has been designated to finish the things that are the "Groom's responsibility".

Tonight I find myself getting all wound up for Saturday! I just read the AJC's posting of G-Day rosters, and boy am I ready to watch the RUMBLE!

Go Dawgs! GATA

The Perfect G Day Game For 2010

I tried to envision what the perfect G Day game would be like yesterday, and I had a change of heart mid way through my fantasy. Most fans want to see touchdowns. I was no different than the typical fan when I started thinking about the things I want to see happen on the field Saturday afternoon.

I was eager to see Aaron Murray light up the scoreboard; throwing for 3 or 4 touchdowns, running for 1 or 2 more. Something like 14-18, 250 yards, with another 50 or so rushing yards to go with it. I had visions of the 3/4 offense (Ealey & King)breaking off a few long runs as well. Then, we all know that AJ Green is going to do his thing! At least 2 touchdowns from that beast.

Then, it hit me! We all know the offense is going to be stellar this year anchored by one hell of an offensive line. Barring some sort of disaster at the QB position, we should always be able to put points on the board. What I REALLY want to see this Saturday in Athens is a defense that flies all over the field like a bunch of wild banshees! I want to see a 14-3 type of game with sacks galore.

Do I think it will happen? Probably not, but I still would like to see that defense dominate at least some portion of the game. There is too much talent on that side of the ball not to put a product out on the field that QB will fear!

Go Dawgs!

The Final Countdown

Finally, the week is here where we all get to go experience another "Saturday in Athens"! Of course it will not be the same as seeing the Red vs. Orange or Red vs. Yellow, but watching the Red vs. Black will do for now.

I can't wait to see live and in person the:

-battle for quarterback...
-new speed laced 3-4 defensive attack...
-blitzes coming from all over the place (even if it is vanilla for the scrimmage)...
-Aaron Murray running around in the pocket...
-the best receiver in the USA...
-a running game with a one-two punch like no other...
-that beautiful green grass with the power G in the middle!

G-Day is within site, and April 10th is my little girl's birthday as well. How awesome is it that she wants to spend it watching the boys between the hedges (even if she was persuaded a little bit by pops)!

My Take On Saturday

Well, after talking to one of the officials from Saturday, I found out that you find out very little from an official! Ha! It makes sense that a football referee wouldn't have much to say about the overall performance of a team during a game due to the fact that refs are taught to focus primarily on the area of the field in which they have been assigned.

Ref buddy did say however, that the speed of the defense was just simply ridiculous. There were very few times when a receiver had much room at all to make a catch. Damn! That's quite a change from almost every game I watched last season. Last year's Arkansas game looked like a flag football game with guys running open all over the place each time ARK had the ball.

The other big highlights came from the running backs, according to ref. Both 3 and 4 were running the ball extremely well. This is nothing surprising, as we knew King and Ealey were going to be exceptional next season. But, it does give me a lot of hope for the potential of this offense, especially when I see how good our passing numbers looked yesterday.

Hopefully I can come back later with a more in depth outtake on the spring thus far, and as always...thanks for reading!

GO DAWGS!

My Favorite Spring Topics So Far

I am starting to get a quite a bit anxious about April 10th! I haven't even watched any replays of football since the Superbowl, and it is past time for some football! Today I just want to take a few minutes to look at some of the topics that have really caught my attention during the first third of spring football practice in Athens.

5). The atmosphere that has been set up by the new coaches seems electric. Granted, I haven't been to any practices, but Hale and the likes are keeping me very well informed!

4). Is Jakar Hamilton going to be the real deal? I have been on the Hamilton bandwagon for some time now, and I was surprised to see that he is still working in with the second and third team at practice. This may be just for the shear fact that he is new to the program, but who knows. I even wondered if there had been any consideration of giving him some reps at corner since we are THIN!

3). How much confusion will there be for the guys that have no experience in the 3-4? At the end of the day, the goal is still the same, right? Stop the offense from advancing the ball by being in position and tackling with good form. How quickly can we have our guys in position most of the time? That is what I worry about!

2). We all want to know who the starting QB will be, but along those same lines...will Aaron Murray do as well as Tom Brady wearing that pretty glove?

1). And, the number one thing that has me all in a tizzy this spring in Athens....where in the hell am I going to tailgate next season?

QBs Split Snaps Evenly...MISTAKE

So, after reading every piece of news made available about UGA's first day of spring practice yesterday, it has been made pretty apparent that the 3 quarterbacks are going to split practice snaps evenly throughout the spring. I will give Richt and Bobo the benefit of the doubt for at least 3-4 practices, but after that, they need to lean towards a starter.

I know that this post is a reiteration of the one from yesterday, but hopefully Mark Richt will read this. PICK A MAN FOR THE JOB ASAP. None of the guys have ever started a college football game! The starter needs as many reps as humanly possible, and that AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN if three guys are splitting time evenly!

UGA Should Decide QB ASAP

UGA Should Decide QB ASAP

The fact that there is a quarterback battle of any kind could be seen as a good sign, especially from optimistic Dawg fans. I, for one, am glad that we seem to have some formidable options this year unlike last. Without the arm injury, I firmly believe Murray would have been our guy after the third or fourth game of the season in 2009.

That last comment is one of the main reasons I believe this quarterback battle may be getting a little over hyped by the media and blogosphere. I tried to ride the fence for most of the off season, but I have come to the conclusion that I am a blogger, and not a reporter; therefore, I am obligated to spout at the mouth about who I feel should get the nod. From reading thousands of articles, blogs, reports, and watching hundreds of videos and live action, this whole "battle" seems like a no-brainer. Aaron Murray is our man.

I could go on and on like many have, but I am going to give my top 5 reasons that UGA should go ahead and let the world know that Aaron Murray is the next coming:

1.) He's flat out better at the position than the other two. I saw Mettenberger play every game from his high school senior year, and I saw nothing special other than a BIG arm. He may develop into an SEC caliber QB one day, so don't get me wrong. Gray, while not given much of a chance, did NOTHING to show he should be the man last year.

2.) Aaron Murray did things in high school that only pure winners do on the football field. The miraculous recovery from a broken leg, ridiculous stats, poise beyond his years...need I say more? Heck, just watching him warm up with the other guys during the Tennessee Tech game last year showed me he is much better than his competition.

3.) It's time to make Logan Gray face the fact that he can help this team in other areas. I think Gray has the potential to be a great possession type receiver. Wouldn't it be sweet to have our very own shorter version of an Ed McCaffrey type play-maker?

4.) The whole "this guy has paid his dues thing" hasn't really panned out for Georgia as far as QBs are concerned, now has it? Joe T and Joe C may have been great guys and all, but...

5.) And, the most important reason that I think the UGA coaching staff should go ahead and end the drama as soon as possible is so that Aaron Murray can go ahead and become the leader of this team.


Now, I very well could be wrong, Murray may not be the best option. If that's the case, then let's make whoever the man is, THE MAN ASAP!

Go Dawgs, I can't wait to see who starts as the leader of The Decade Of The Dawg!