Greetings all! Sorry it's been a while. The end of the semester is starting to catch up to the folks at OTR. I have papers and projects that are all nearing their due dates, so free time to blog is scarce. I'm always a big fan of those numbered list things people do on blogs, so I thought I would do one this week. We have lots to cover.
10.) I went to the Coldplay concert in Atlanta last night and it was a pretty good show. I have also stumbled upon a little-known fact...Coldplay fans are the most prolific wearers of Argyle sweaters on the planet. I saw more Argyle sweaters in the CNN Center before the show than I have seen in the rest of my life combined. I'm not sure what this can be attributed to. It truly was mind-boggling to see the numbers. For the record, the concert was too short, but it was a good one. The take-home lesson of the day is that I have entirely too much knowledge of the hit 90's sitcom Full House. Far too much.
9.) Phillip Fulmer is out at Tennessee. I know, this isn't exactly breaking news. Like I said, I've been busy. It's going to be strange seeing Georgia head to Knoxville next year and not see that jolly orange blob on the sideline for the Volunteers. There's no denying, a change had to be made at Tennessee. It just seemed like the Vols stopped playing for their coach. That wasn't any more clear than their first game after Fulmer announced he would be "stepping down." After defending their coach all week, the Vols got beat. At home. By Wyoming. Not good. No word yet on who will replace Fulmer. Maybe Mike Leach? Will Muschamp? Or will they bring back David Cutcliffe? Whoever it is sure has plenty of work ahead of them to rebuild that trainwreck.
8.) The Braves are finalists in the Jake Peavy sweepstakes, and I couldn't be happier. I would absolutely love to see the hard-throwing Alabama native in a Braves uniform. However, it could be costly. The package that seems to be in the works includes Yunel Escobar, Gorkys Hernandez and Jo Jo Reyes/Charlie Morton. While it would be worth it to me to give up those players for a healthy Peavy (who has several years left on his contract), it does make me nervous. Just because all the good luck that followed the Braves during their 14 years of dominance has turned into horrible luck, I could see Peavy suddenly lobbing grapefruits or developing tendonitis as soon as he puts a tomahawk across his chest. Things should start to be resolved later this week.
7.) A little nugget for you Georgia hoops fans out there. South Atlanta's Derrick Favors, who is considered the top hoops prospect in the country, is set to choose between the Dawgs, Georgia Tech and NC State in the near future. It would be a major score for Dennis Felton, but nothing more than a one-year rental. I think he ends up a Yellow Jacket. He's apparently quite close to his mother and grandmother in Atlanta. Plus the Jackets already have a dynamite recruiting class set up for next year. I'm not getting my hopes up, but like I said, it will likely be a one-and-done deal for Favors as he'll likely bolt to th
e League.
6.) This. Nuff Said.
5.) So much for the Hawks being the second-worst team in the Eastern Conference. All of the experts wrote last season's playoff run as an aberration. Now, they are 6-0 heading into tonight's game with those same Celtics in Boston. A win here would be monumental for one of the most troubled franchises in all of sports. That's right. Monumental. They beat the Bulls in Chicago without Josh Smith and with Joe Johnson having a rare off night. If they can beat the Celtics without Smith, Atlanta will be a force to be reckoned with. They just have to avoid the trademark letdowns that plagued the Hawks last year. I personally can't wait to head to the Highlight Factory and listen to Ryan Cameron get nutty.
4.) The Falcons are grabbing headlines and it has nothing to do with rotweilers or coaches without souls. The Dirty Birds are 6-3 and they show no signs of slowing down. Matt Ryan is truly a joy to watch. As Mike Wilbon said, all he does is make the right play and right decision almost every single time. Michael Turner is a load to tackle and even the defense has played above their pay grade. They have trailed for 11 seconds at home...all season. Most recently, the beat division rival New Orleans convincingly in the Dome. If they can beat either Carolina or Tampa Bay, they could be a serious fly in the NFC playoff ointment. Like the Hawks, the Falcons' bandwagon is filling up. Make sure to grab that Matt Ryan jersey before he gets caught in a pirated DVD scandal and ends up in Leavenworth with Mr. Vick.
3.) I am stealing this schtick from Clay Travis (author of a great book called "Dixieland Delight" and formerly of sportsline.com), but the message is an important one. Raycom Sports football telecasts are a disgrace. Give me a camera and four moderately-trained chimps and I'm confident I could churn out something better. I lost track of which Dave it was (all three commentators are named Dave), but one of them doesn't realize he has a microphone and doesn't have to scream loud enough to be heard from Lexington. The graphics look like something from Madden 96' and the analysis is mind-numbing. Of course, Georgia is on Raycom again this week. Luckily, I'll actually be in Jordan-Hare and won't have to hear the abomination that is sure to be that telecast.
2.) Apparently, Georgia rubbed more people the wrong way last season than Marv Albert and Harold Reynolds at a Christmas party. First they, "stomp" on Vanderbilt's logo. Then, the infamous Gator Stomp that resulted in a Georgia beatdown this year. Now, it's the time of year to rehash Georgia's wonderful Sanford Stadium Blackout/Soulja Boy extravaganza. Apparently, the Auburn team that was at the other end of that blowout/festival has filed the image of Verne Lundquist "cranking dat" away in the motivation category. Take this quote from Auburn wideout Rod Smith (an Atlanta native).
"That's been on my mind for the whole year.....They even had whoever was
calling the game - those guys were up in press box doing that. That got to me.
It's just another opportunity to try to get them back for what they did to us
last year. I've definitely been looking forward to this game. This is the game
that's been marked on my calendar since last year....I'm sure it didn't sit well
with any of the players on the team. It was a hurtful feeling in my heart to be
on the sideline and to see those guys dancing....We have an opportunity to get
those guys back. Maybe we can talk to coach Tubs and play some music."
Apparently, the fact that the War Pigeons are 5-5 and have been blown out by the Dawgs the past two years isn't motivation enough. But wait, here's a wonderful nugget from kick returner Tristan Davis.
"I've got something for them.....Don't let me get in the end zone. If I score on a kickoff return against Georgia, I'm with Yox (Auburn strength coach Kevin Yoxall) the rest of my life. I'm going to let it be known."
To clarify, any Auburn players that commits a personal foul has to do some extra "conditioning" with Yoxall at practice. Apparently, Tristan plans on doing just that. Never mind that this guy's name is Tristan. Never mind that he's on a 5-5 team that struggled with UT-Martin last week. I'm actually concerned he may get a chance to do something considering the state of Georgia's kick coverage. Regardless, it should be an interesting early afternoon showdown on Raycom!
1.) This just in from the head-scratcher department: Georgia's defensive players are sticking up for hot-seat resident and defensive coordinator Willie Martinez. The fact that the defense is defending Martinez is misguided, but not surprising. What is surprising is the fact that this is probably the best defending Georgia has done all year.
We all know that it takes players to execute a defensive scheme in order for it to work. I don't claim to know enough about the x's and o's of football in order to diagnose the problem. But I know there is one. And in the end, the coach is to blame. This is the same defense as last year, minus Marcus Howard and Jeff Owens. I know, those are two big parts of the defense, but that doesn't explain the defense's monumental faceplant this year. Incidentally, I believe people aren't paying enough attention to the departure of Kelin Johnson from the secondary. He wasn't the most talented safety Georgia's had, but he was definitley the unit's leader. But that's neither here nor there.
It comes down to accountability. Either Martinez needs to change his schemes, his personnel or his motivation. If it's personnel, the problem is in recruiting. Maybe he's being too stubborn in his schemes. I don't know. A coordinator (or head coach for that matter) has the responsibility of getting the most out of his players. If the players aren't executing, it's the coach and coordinator's job to make them execute. Ironically, Martinez is a defensive backs coach and and the secondary has been a disaster zone.
The players held a closed-door team meeting led by Corvey Irvin and Rennie Curran. They stressed having fun and regaining their swagger. That's a good idea. Because if they don't, they are going to be remembered as one of the most inept Georgia defenses of the decade. No matter who's to blame.
10.) I went to the Coldplay concert in Atlanta last night and it was a pretty good show. I have also stumbled upon a little-known fact...Coldplay fans are the most prolific wearers of Argyle sweaters on the planet. I saw more Argyle sweaters in the CNN Center before the show than I have seen in the rest of my life combined. I'm not sure what this can be attributed to. It truly was mind-boggling to see the numbers. For the record, the concert was too short, but it was a good one. The take-home lesson of the day is that I have entirely too much knowledge of the hit 90's sitcom Full House. Far too much.
9.) Phillip Fulmer is out at Tennessee. I know, this isn't exactly breaking news. Like I said, I've been busy. It's going to be strange seeing Georgia head to Knoxville next year and not see that jolly orange blob on the sideline for the Volunteers. There's no denying, a change had to be made at Tennessee. It just seemed like the Vols stopped playing for their coach. That wasn't any more clear than their first game after Fulmer announced he would be "stepping down." After defending their coach all week, the Vols got beat. At home. By Wyoming. Not good. No word yet on who will replace Fulmer. Maybe Mike Leach? Will Muschamp? Or will they bring back David Cutcliffe? Whoever it is sure has plenty of work ahead of them to rebuild that trainwreck.
8.) The Braves are finalists in the Jake Peavy sweepstakes, and I couldn't be happier. I would absolutely love to see the hard-throwing Alabama native in a Braves uniform. However, it could be costly. The package that seems to be in the works includes Yunel Escobar, Gorkys Hernandez and Jo Jo Reyes/Charlie Morton. While it would be worth it to me to give up those players for a healthy Peavy (who has several years left on his contract), it does make me nervous. Just because all the good luck that followed the Braves during their 14 years of dominance has turned into horrible luck, I could see Peavy suddenly lobbing grapefruits or developing tendonitis as soon as he puts a tomahawk across his chest. Things should start to be resolved later this week.
7.) A little nugget for you Georgia hoops fans out there. South Atlanta's Derrick Favors, who is considered the top hoops prospect in the country, is set to choose between the Dawgs, Georgia Tech and NC State in the near future. It would be a major score for Dennis Felton, but nothing more than a one-year rental. I think he ends up a Yellow Jacket. He's apparently quite close to his mother and grandmother in Atlanta. Plus the Jackets already have a dynamite recruiting class set up for next year. I'm not getting my hopes up, but like I said, it will likely be a one-and-done deal for Favors as he'll likely bolt to th
e League.6.) This. Nuff Said.
5.) So much for the Hawks being the second-worst team in the Eastern Conference. All of the experts wrote last season's playoff run as an aberration. Now, they are 6-0 heading into tonight's game with those same Celtics in Boston. A win here would be monumental for one of the most troubled franchises in all of sports. That's right. Monumental. They beat the Bulls in Chicago without Josh Smith and with Joe Johnson having a rare off night. If they can beat the Celtics without Smith, Atlanta will be a force to be reckoned with. They just have to avoid the trademark letdowns that plagued the Hawks last year. I personally can't wait to head to the Highlight Factory and listen to Ryan Cameron get nutty.
4.) The Falcons are grabbing headlines and it has nothing to do with rotweilers or coaches without souls. The Dirty Birds are 6-3 and they show no signs of slowing down. Matt Ryan is truly a joy to watch. As Mike Wilbon said, all he does is make the right play and right decision almost every single time. Michael Turner is a load to tackle and even the defense has played above their pay grade. They have trailed for 11 seconds at home...all season. Most recently, the beat division rival New Orleans convincingly in the Dome. If they can beat either Carolina or Tampa Bay, they could be a serious fly in the NFC playoff ointment. Like the Hawks, the Falcons' bandwagon is filling up. Make sure to grab that Matt Ryan jersey before he gets caught in a pirated DVD scandal and ends up in Leavenworth with Mr. Vick.
3.) I am stealing this schtick from Clay Travis (author of a great book called "Dixieland Delight" and formerly of sportsline.com), but the message is an important one. Raycom Sports football telecasts are a disgrace. Give me a camera and four moderately-trained chimps and I'm confident I could churn out something better. I lost track of which Dave it was (all three commentators are named Dave), but one of them doesn't realize he has a microphone and doesn't have to scream loud enough to be heard from Lexington. The graphics look like something from Madden 96' and the analysis is mind-numbing. Of course, Georgia is on Raycom again this week. Luckily, I'll actually be in Jordan-Hare and won't have to hear the abomination that is sure to be that telecast.
2.) Apparently, Georgia rubbed more people the wrong way last season than Marv Albert and Harold Reynolds at a Christmas party. First they, "stomp" on Vanderbilt's logo. Then, the infamous Gator Stomp that resulted in a Georgia beatdown this year. Now, it's the time of year to rehash Georgia's wonderful Sanford Stadium Blackout/Soulja Boy extravaganza. Apparently, the Auburn team that was at the other end of that blowout/festival has filed the image of Verne Lundquist "cranking dat" away in the motivation category. Take this quote from Auburn wideout Rod Smith (an Atlanta native).
"That's been on my mind for the whole year.....They even had whoever was
calling the game - those guys were up in press box doing that. That got to me.
It's just another opportunity to try to get them back for what they did to us
last year. I've definitely been looking forward to this game. This is the game
that's been marked on my calendar since last year....I'm sure it didn't sit well
with any of the players on the team. It was a hurtful feeling in my heart to be
on the sideline and to see those guys dancing....We have an opportunity to get
those guys back. Maybe we can talk to coach Tubs and play some music."
Apparently, the fact that the War Pigeons are 5-5 and have been blown out by the Dawgs the past two years isn't motivation enough. But wait, here's a wonderful nugget from kick returner Tristan Davis.
"I've got something for them.....Don't let me get in the end zone. If I score on a kickoff return against Georgia, I'm with Yox (Auburn strength coach Kevin Yoxall) the rest of my life. I'm going to let it be known."
To clarify, any Auburn players that commits a personal foul has to do some extra "conditioning" with Yoxall at practice. Apparently, Tristan plans on doing just that. Never mind that this guy's name is Tristan. Never mind that he's on a 5-5 team that struggled with UT-Martin last week. I'm actually concerned he may get a chance to do something considering the state of Georgia's kick coverage. Regardless, it should be an interesting early afternoon showdown on Raycom!
1.) This just in from the head-scratcher department: Georgia's defensive players are sticking up for hot-seat resident and defensive coordinator Willie Martinez. The fact that the defense is defending Martinez is misguided, but not surprising. What is surprising is the fact that this is probably the best defending Georgia has done all year.
We all know that it takes players to execute a defensive scheme in order for it to work. I don't claim to know enough about the x's and o's of football in order to diagnose the problem. But I know there is one. And in the end, the coach is to blame. This is the same defense as last year, minus Marcus Howard and Jeff Owens. I know, those are two big parts of the defense, but that doesn't explain the defense's monumental faceplant this year. Incidentally, I believe people aren't paying enough attention to the departure of Kelin Johnson from the secondary. He wasn't the most talented safety Georgia's had, but he was definitley the unit's leader. But that's neither here nor there.
It comes down to accountability. Either Martinez needs to change his schemes, his personnel or his motivation. If it's personnel, the problem is in recruiting. Maybe he's being too stubborn in his schemes. I don't know. A coordinator (or head coach for that matter) has the responsibility of getting the most out of his players. If the players aren't executing, it's the coach and coordinator's job to make them execute. Ironically, Martinez is a defensive backs coach and and the secondary has been a disaster zone.
The players held a closed-door team meeting led by Corvey Irvin and Rennie Curran. They stressed having fun and regaining their swagger. That's a good idea. Because if they don't, they are going to be remembered as one of the most inept Georgia defenses of the decade. No matter who's to blame.
2 comments:
"The best defending Georgia has done all year"
Hah.
Also, the Mobile Press-Register broke that the LSU/Alabama ties to the shooting was just a myth perpetuated by someone trying to grab headlines - both parties were in fact Alabama fans.
I do apologize for my lack of production as well, as I've been consistently doing my best Bryan Evans impression defending against the Calvin Cycle, and failing miserably.
Ah leave it to the Mobile Press-Register to ruin my fun.
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