Random Thoughts on the First Half of Combine

1. Clearly the SEC dominates the world of Football and everyone in the main-stream sports media hates that fact.

"The SEC averaging about 40 players drafted a year for over a decade!"

2. How in the world in Ryan Mallett not the consensus top QB in the draft and how is he not competing for the top overall spot?
3. Julio Jones did everything better than A.J. yesterday but Green will still go ahead of Jones. In the end the game tapes dictate a players final evaluation and A.J. was a better overall WR in college. However, while A.J. did not really hurt his stock Jones did go a long way in elevating his stock. There is no way Julio falls past the Rams and his chances of being gone before that went up after yesterday.

4. Clint Boling really elevated his stock on Saturday. A guy who has played both guard and tackle brings great versatility and is probably now a 2nd round pick. With two first round and multiple 2nd round picks I expect the Patriots to be active and possibly snap up Clint in the 2nd--he is a prototype Patriot because of his versatility.

5. Cam Newton is your typical arrogant, immature, scrambling, black QB and he will be a bust just like Vince Young. No scrambling black QB has ever won a Super Bowl and none ever will, if you draft him you are stupid. Scrambling QB's just don't win it all look at Tarkenton, Cunningham, Vick, etc. Yong didn't win till he learned to throw the ball, and Elway didn't win until he rode on TD's back. With Newton you are basically drafting Terrell Owens attitude with Vince Young's skill set as your QB.

6. I don't know what Alabama is doing in their S&C program but one look and Julio Jones and Mark Ingram let me know that what ever they are doing we need to be doing the same thing. Every Bama player that I saw looked like Beast-Man.

Sports & Grits Pre-Combine Big Board: Players 1-10

With the combine kicking in this weekend we are assured of three things:

1. Some highly touted prospects won't do anything (especially throw the football).

2. The SEC will clearly dominate but Kiper, McShay, and Mayock will talk about Big 10 and Big XII players incessantly.

3. Some fat brother from Alabama with spectacular chestecles will be rockin Indy sans a shirt.

Now I have seen almost every draft guru and draft websites big boards and mock drafts and per the usual everyone has a bias but none more than Scott Wright's Draft Countdown which is apparently an extension of the Big XII marketing department. I have visited Scott Wright's site for a few years now and he just like Kiper starts off in January with an absurd big board full of Big XII players (Kiper's is usually full of Big XII and Big Ten players) but as we gradually get closer to the draft they begrudgingly begin to face reality and start filling their boards with SEC players. Well since everyone else can be bias so can we and guess which conference we are bias towards.

1. Patrick Peterson- CB LSU 6'1 221- Now I know what you are going to say how can a Georgia blog rank Peterson above AJ Green well let me explain. Green and Peterson are clearly the two best players in the draft and are the most NFL ready offensive and defensive players respectively. However, at the cornerback position Peterson will be considered a more valuable player because elite corners are harder to come-by than receivers. At 6'1 and over 220 lbs Peterson is a gigantic corner but has that size without a loss of speed or agility. Peterson has the coverage skills to cover anyone and his size, strength, and physicality could make his the top corner in the league sooner rather than later.

2. A.J. Green- WR Georgia 6'4 205- Easily the best WR to enter the draft since Calvin Johnson and maybe the best deep threat since Randy Moss. Elite stature at 6'4, hands, route running, speed, leaping, and overall body control. He is listed by most as going between 4th and 10th in the draft but should he fall below the Bengals at 4th everyone who passes on him will regret it before the end of his first season (be that this year or next with a lock out looming).

3. Marcell Dareus- DE/DT Alabama 6'4 305- Dareus edges out Fairley for the three spot based on his versatility. Fairley can play any position on a 3-4 D-line but Dareus can play any position on a D-line regardless of a 3-4 or a 4-3 scheme. Dareus is a rare blend of strength and finesse and he has shown a high level of play for longer than Fairley who could be seen as a one year wonder. Dareus falls no further than 3rd to Buffalo but will most likely go 2nd to Denver because Coach Fox built his success at Carolina on the backs of his D-linemen.

4. Nick Fairley- DE/DT Auburn 6'5 300- Fairley was as dominant on the defensive side of the ball this year as Newton was on the offensive side. One season of being virtually unblockable in the most talented conference in the country will be more than enough to push him into the top five and possibly the number one overall spot. Most teams will look at the impact that Suh had for the Lions and realize that Suh was dominant in the crappy Big XII while Fairley was as dominant if not more so than Suh and exhibited his dominance in the SEC. Fairley will not fall past Buffalo at 3rd.

5. Robert Quinn- DE North Carolina 6'5 270- Great size at 6'5 but needs to add some weight to his frame without a drop off in his speed. A more consistent player than Bowers at Clempsun and should be an elite pass rusher by his third season in the NFL. Purely a DE and while tremendously athletic he is less valuable than Dareus and Fairley because of their ability to play DT or DE.

6. Von Miller- OLB Texas A&M 6'3 245- Every team that runs a 3-4 is looking for the next Clay Matthews and Miller should be the closest thing to Matthews in this years draft. If he falls past the Cardinals then Miller could be the first player that teams will try to move up and draft, and if he is available when the Browns belly up to the bar then Holmgren would be more than happy to deal his way out of the top ten in exchange for picks.

7. Da'Quan Bowers- DE Clempsun 6'4 275- I am not sold on Bowers and think he is the first player that should be on bust alert. Bowers was often times MIA in games. Just look at him against South Carolina a game that he should have been big in but he is a non-factor. His size and athleticism as well as the premium that is placed on the DE position will put him in the top ten but if a team takes him over Robert Quinn it will be a huge mistake.


8. Gabe Carimi- OT Wisconsin 6'7 327- A number of draft analysts have Carimi as the third or fourth OT in the draft and a late 1st rounder. Carimi is not quite as tall as Colorado OT Nate Solder but Carimi is the best combination of heigth and weight of all the elite tackles in the draft. Also, Wisconsin has an excellent track record of developing O-linemen going back to the Alvarez era. Carimi is also the most battle tested of the top tackles and will not fall past Detroit at 13th but could be the first tackle taken at 8th overall by the Cowboys.

9. Ryan Mallett- QB Arkansas 6'5 240- I am pretty sure that I am the only person ranking Mallett this high but then again our blog rarely conforms to societal norms. Mallett is a perfect NFL QB- great size, strong arm, experience in a pro-style offense, and battle tested in the SEC. If Blaine Gabbert was so great then Missouri would have won a lot more games because Big XII defenses are garbage. Mallett on the other hand played 8 games a season against SEC defenses each of which has no fewer than 5 future NFL players on their defensive squad.

10. Anthony Castonzo- OT Boston College 6'7 300- Castonzo needs to add a few pounds to his 6'7 frame and add some strength to avoid dominant bull-rushers in the NFL but he is a very athletic tackle. He is not the total package that Carimi is but he is better than Solder from Colorado or Sherrod from Miss. St. Castonzo is most likely to start out at RT and eventually would be moved to LT as he develops.

Atlanta Falcons Draft/Free Agent Forecast.

Well it is combine time again which means our weekend plans involve us, a couch, and the NFL Network. In spite of the fact that the NFL doesn't allow defensive players to actually play football--we still watch it because..... well.... it is football....sorta. However, I really get into the NFL this time of year because I love the draft. I think the draft is as exciting as any quasi-arena league game that the NFL plays. When monitoring the draft one must also be mindful of the state of free-agency as it directly influences draft day selections. With that in mind let's look at the Falcons goals and targets in free agency and draft strategy.

Atlanta made great strides in 2010 and they have a great core of players. Unlike many other teams the Falcons have a quarterback who, if not considered elite now, is on the cusp of that consideration. Also, the Falcons have a great group of running backs with a clear cut starter, an elite pass rusher, and a true number one receiver. While the core is there the Falcons still need a few complimentary pieces to put them into Super Bowl contingency. The Falcons top goal in free agency has to be the re-signing of guard Harvey Dahl. Dahl is arguable one of the top three guards in the NFL and keeping him on the team should be a top priority. In addition to Dahl the Falcons should be trying to retain right tackle Tyson Clabo. Clabo may be a problem considering his recent pro-bowl selection (which could drive the cost of re-signing him up too far). Justin Blalock is also a free agent but while it would be nice to keep him he could be replaced far easier than Dahl or Clabo.

With the steady decline of Tony Gonzalez this season it has become obvious that Roddy White needs another pass catcher to carry the load. Another receiver should be at the top of Dimitroff's top do list. John Abraham is an elite pass rusher and one of the top sack artists in the NFL but much like with White it is abundantly clear that he needs a complimentary player to assist him on the D-line. Another pass rusher would help relieve Abraham of a steady diet of double teams.

To a lesser degree the Falcons may want to look at upgrading the left tackle position as former 1st rounder Sam Baker has failed to meet his first round expectations. Also, Curtis Loftin tends to look weak at the point of attack and as a middle linebacker a stout run stuffer is key to running an effective 4-3 scheme. Dunta Robinson could use some help at the corner position and Todd McClure is not getting any younger at center. Here is a list of free-agents that the Falcons may look to bring in:

1. Sidney Rice- WR Minnesota Vikings- The Vikings did not franchise tag Rice and with Favre looking to actually be done this time Rice will probably want to go to a contender with a QB that can get him the ball. Rice keeps a home in Charlotte as well as Miami but neither of those teams are set at QB and neither is really a contender for the play-offs much less the Super Bowl. Atlanta is close to his home town of Gaffney, SC and with White on the roster Rice would consistently draw other teams number 2 corner or would get into the slot on the nickle corner or an outside linebacker. All that should add up to Rice being virtually unstoppable in red and black.

2. Braylon Edwards- WR New York Jets- An older, less talented version of Rice. Edwards would benefit from the presence of White just like Rice would but being a former first rounder he may have an elevated opinion of his own abilities and may be more expensive than Rice.

3. Ray Edwards- DE Minnesota- Greatly over-shadowed by Jared Allen and the Williams wall while with the Vikings Edwards is an excellent DE. Stout against the run and with an excellent initial burst Edwards would force teams to pay him enough attention to free up Abraham as well as the DTs. He would not be the featured DE in Atlanta just like in Minnesota so he may just be in it for the money and that may keep Atlanta out of contention for him.

4. Charles Johnson- DE Carolina- A former Bulldog and a player with NFL experience in the 4-3 would make him an excellent fit in Atlanta. Johnson was a surprising replacement for Julius Peppers and the Panthers may make a huge push to keep him.

5. Zach Miller- TE Oakland- Miller is one of the most underrated players in the NFL but that is mostly on account of him playing for the Raiders. Miller has excellent size, the ability to stretch the field, and top notch hands. He should be looking to get out of Oakland ASAP and the price tag on him may stay low. Signing Miller would most likely mean no fair-well tour in Atlanta for Tony Gonzalez.

6. Owen Daniels- TE Houston- About as close to Jason Witten as you can get without actually having Witten. A balanced TE that has excellent hands and isn't afraid to mix it up blocking-wise. A major knee injury may cause trepidation by some GMs but he should be totally healed from that.

When the draft kicks-off in April the Falcons will have the 27th pick in each round and will also have the 28th pick in the 7th round. This is our Atlanta mock draft but before we get into it let me give some disclaimers: first, while many pontificators have the Falcons taking Wisconsin LT Gabe Carimi with their first round pick I disagree with the premise that he will still be available at the 27th pick. Also, I think that between Rice, Edwards, and Santonio Holmes the Falcons will pick-up a complimentary receiver via free-agency.

Round 1 (27) Allen Bailey DE Miami 6'4 285

Round 2 (27) Marvin Austin DT N. Carolina 6'3 310

Round 3 (27) Clint Boling G/T Georgia 6'5 315

Round 4 (27) Wesley Saunders TE S. Carolina 6'5 270**

Round 5 (27) Tori Gurley WR S. Carolina 6'5 230

Round 6 (27) Chris White LB Miss St. 6'4 245

Round 7 (27) Ted Laurent DT Ole Miss 6'1 305

Round 7 (28) Lazarius Levingston DE LSU 6'4 280

** I'm not sure what the deal is with Saunders who did not file his paper work to enter into the draft, but if he can be taken the Falcons should because despite some off the field problems he is a tremendous talent.**

Soccer? Really? I am So Ashamed!

There have been tons of warm, squishy, good, feelings around the Dawgs this off-season (even here at our evil little site). However, the latest news of Aaron Murray injuring his ankle has brought back that old familiar shame that we felt after the Colorado game.

Now the injury itself doesn't seem to be a very big deal and Murray will be more than ready when Boise State rolls around in Atlanta. No, there is no need to panic and demand that some explanation be given for the disposal of Mettenberger . Although with no Breast Firmness Inspector on the roster we are in danger of Athens' titties becoming a little on the droopy side.

The shame that we feel comes from how the injury happened as opposed to the injury itself. Our hopes of a tougher team come this fall took a major hit with this news...why would you play Soccer? I can not put enough emphasis on the following statement:

SOCCER IS GAY!

Soccer was invented in England by old ladies who had recently had hip replacement surgery and couldn't risk playing real football on account of being old and brittle. No male over 8 years old should ever be caught dead playing soccer. Here is a list of people who may play soccer without ridicule:

1. Old Ladies

2. Male children 8 years old or younger

3. Female children

4. Bull-Dykes

5. Asians

6. Citizens of the State of Ohio (cause Ohio is super gay)

Since Aaron Murray doesn't fall under any of these categories he should be ridiculed and made fun of by his teammates as well as his coaches. Might I suggest that when in his presence one should run around in a circle with his arms in close to his body, his wrists held in a exaggerated limp fashion, and in a high pitched female-like voice chant:

"Ohhhhh look at me look at me I'm Aaron Murray and I'm playing soccer. Ooooohhhhh I can't use my hands I can't use my hands!"

People who like soccer are stupid or European and since saying something is European is the same as saying something is stupid and gay we are right back to soccer being stupid and gay. People who are "Soccer fans" are all militant about soccer and demand that you like it as well. They say things like:

"It's the most popular game in the world."

"It is very big in Europe"

"If Americans would just give it a chance"

Do you know why America is so awesome and every where else is so not awesome? The answer is pretty simple because we hate soccer. Hopefully Aaron is just young and confused and only had some questions about playing soccer but now realizes that he actually does really like girls.

Tuesday hoops grab bag

A win in Knoxville all but seals up this team's dance invite, something Fox desperately needed to show a big time class of 2012 recruits that this program was on a steady climb. After a frustrating month, two near gimmes at home with LSU and South Carolina will seal their Madness fate. For those who can, tickets to the final home game of the year against LSU on March 2 can be had for near half price With that concrete roof, Stegeman can become an intimidating environment if the crowd shows and gets into it.

One of the parts of that environment seems to be getting a bit full of himself. If you regularly attend Georgia men's hoops games, you are familiar with Rocky. But let's face it kid, you're a sideshow act who's somehow gotten more notoriety than he deserves. It's a funny act, but you are not bigger than the team or the program. People aren't coming just to see you. Georgia athletics has financial needs; needs that are filled thanks to companies like Geico. It's a nice story aside from the obvious Red and Black slanting, and we hope you get two more moments of glory before moving on (you've got to be graduating this summer, right? Cause it seems like you're a 9th year senior by now.)

Thursday's game against Florida may be sans Chandler Parsons. The 6'8 F has been a thorn in Georgia's side for going on 4 years now. A win here would be a huge boost for this team confidence-wise down the stretch.

And on the "Dance". We love this new ESPN commercial. The Madness is almost back baby, and we love it!

Tuesday grab bag

For starters, the Red and Black isn't a very well run newspaper. They've removed the story on Aaron Murray breaking his ankle, and as an alum of that paper, it's a shame to see how far it's gone. It had plenty of problems when I was there years back, but it's just gotten worse in quality, and the constant slants against certain aspects of the UGA community (athlete hating, among other obvious biases) has become clear. Murray just sprained his ankle playing the other futbol, and even if he misses much of spring, that just opens reps for Mason and Lemay. He'll still get plenty of work over the summer and going into the season to hopefully improve into his sophomore season.

And Dave Perno may not last the season. Georgia baseball was swept by Stetson, and after naming himself pitching coach in the offseason, Perno has somehow decimated a program that seemed on great footing after game 1 against Fresno St. We wanted to do a baseball preview, but Perno's actions over the winter held us back. We're already known too well for wanting Richt gone, and a season preview of "Perno gets himself fired" would just be depressing. College baseball can be tricky, teams get hot and cold, smaller teams sometimes can trot out a big time pitcher against a kind of B squad in mid-week games, and losses to unknown teams happen. Stetson isn't exactly unknown, and always seems part of our schedule. But to get swept? Things really don't look good for this team, and Perno's pups have been good for some awesome memories--watching games from the Green House on Kudzu Hill, heckling Travis Storrer, listening to Mack Williams heckle anyone and everyone like an All American heckler, watching Gordon Beckham's storybook home career ending with multiple HRs, etc. But the wheels have fallen off and that thing went downhill fast from the 2008 ending. It'll be interesting to see how AD Greg McGarity addresses this situation, be it with a mid season change, or waiting til the offseason, and then the much needed facilities enhancement to help a program with an insane recruiting backyard and dozens of built in advantages to consistently competing at a level it's capable of.

This is Why the SEC is So Great!

If you grew up in the 1980's like we did then you know the following to be an undeniable truth:

"Skeletor is the uncontested overlord of all that which is evil."

If you don't know who Skeletor is then let me tell you if Hitler and Satan had a kid and that kid was a huge dick he would be Skeletor. Skeletor was the principal villain in the He-Man cartoon series and he was a real SOB.



Sure there were other 1980's cartoon villains but they all paled in comparison to Skeletor. Cobra Commander...please....Mumm-Ra....not even hardly....Gargamel.....get out of town, son. Skeletor was always doing some mad dickish stuff to He-Man and everyone in Eternia. People were always like...."Geeesh that Skeletor is such a dick!"

"Alabama and Skeletor- hating you until you have nothing left in life."

The SEC currently has a real life version of Skeletor.......Alabama. Not just happy to have sold their souls for a National Title-Alabama will not sleep until they win at everything and you have nothing. Auburn just won a National Title and so what do the Bammeroids do in response? They kill Auburn's trees. Killing a glorified agriculture schools trees would be like us going to Atlanta and burning all the GameStops to the ground right in front of the Techies. The best part is the guy who killed the trees called into sports talk, admitted to the deed, and signed off with a "Rollllllllll-Tide"

Hahahahahahahahahahaha! Could you imagine:

Radio: Here is our next caller CCRider in Augusta, CC what's up man?
Rider: I just burned down every GameStop in Atlanta. You can't buy computer games no where now Techies! GO DAWGS!

Is Clowney Even Going to Make the Grades?

"Is it racist to assume that a poor black kid who takes pictures like these before ever playing a single snap of football in the SEC is going to be arrogant and difficult to coach?"

Well it is good to be a Gamecock in 2011-- they have taken home their first SEC East Championship, beat Clempsun two years in a row, and kept DE phenom Jadeveon Clowney in state what they couldn't do with Courtney Brown in the 90's or Carlos Dunlap a few years back. Most in Cock-Nation feel that Clowney will put their team over the top when thrown into the mix with Lattimore, Alshon, and Spurrier. However, we have to pause to ask the question--Is Jadeveon going to be academically eligible?

Now I know what you are going to say if you are a Gamecock fan.



"Oh just because you are a black kid from the South who went to public school and have a first name that sounds like something that a retarded three year old would call a stuffed animal then you are stupid, right? Racists!"

Excellent use of the race card Gamecocks. You see that is how it works down here. White people assume that the black kids with ridiculous names that play for other schools are stupid but our black kids with ridiculous names are actually Rhodes scholars. Ahhh the joys of SEC football. The problem with Jadeveon is that there are real questions about his academic eligibility, and with all the attention he has been getting and with the Gamecocks recent run-ins with the NCAA Spurrier had better tread lightly here.

If you aren't familiar with the how things work in Columbia let me explain it to you:

1. The Gamecocks often times get involved with highly sought after players- Stephen Davis, Courtney Brown, Michael and Peter Boulware, Demitrius Summers, Stephen Garcia, Marcus Lattimore.

2. In the past other teams like FSU or Auburn would out bid the Cocks for the truly good players and SC would win the kids that were highly over-rated or who are lazy and will eventually be a bust (i.e. Summers and Garcia).

3. You can identify these kids because they roll up into Columbia acting like they are playing for the U circa 1985, everyone is so grateful that the kid didn't have enough sense to go else-where that they treat him like a god. The player then starts to believe that he is a god and it pretty much all goes down hill from there. Do not question this for it is simply the way of the Cock.

Clowney comes into Columbia with academic questions as well as statements like these that you can see over at Bernie's Dawg Blawg. To sum it up Clowney didn't like Saban because he did nothing but talk during Bama's in home visit. Doesn't Nick Saban know that football didn't exist prior to Jaedeveon Clowney? Oh sure he has rebuilt two football powers in the deepest conference in the world but what does he know he is short. Saban did a whole lot of telling Jadeveon instead of a whole lot of being in awe of Jadeveon's presence. Saban was boring to Jadeveon and wanted to talk about football instead of the things that Jadeveon wanted to hear like how awesome Jadeveon is. I'm sure that in the long run Jadeveon will elevate the Gamecocks to the status of National Championship Factory while some dude name Saban ends up falling by the way side. It doesn't sound like the recruiting has gone to Jadeveon's head at all. It sounds like Jadeveon is just a quiet humble kid who is ready to get to Columbia and get to work. It sounds like Jadeveon and the Cocks were made for each other.

Florsheim Shoes....The Official Shoe of Ron Franklin and Sports and Grits

Earlier today we had an e-mail exchange with the guy who runs A Bulldog in Exile Blog. The result was the Outlawed Cold Blooded Sausage Makers gaining a link on another site as well as adding a new link to our list. Now I have read BIE many times but when I went there today to link the site I saw something.....something that let me know that BIE is a site that is all about class. There was a link to the Florsheim Shoes website along with a 15% discount on new arrivals. Well played sir. I must admit there was the slightest twinge of jealousy because we don't have access to a magical 15% off of the most ballerest shoes in all the world. We naturally highly recommend that all Cold Blooded Sausage Makers go the the BIE site and link to the Florshiem coupon.

There is a shoe for almost every occasion and when that occassion happens to be showing the strength of one's pimp hand only Florsheims are acceptable. All shoe companies have a super star pitch man like Jordan with Nike. Florsheism's man if they had one would be "Arch-Bishop Ron Magic Don Franklin." Sometimes hoe's be trippin and they need to be put back into their place and nothing gets that job done better than the business end of a Florsheim wielded in the oh so capable hand of Ron Franklin. Do you remember back when women would try to be on sports telecasts and talk about it like they were an analyst or something and everyone just stood around and let it happen? Of course you do because you were sitting at home thinking "is this ugly/dikey chick trying to talk about football...this can't be possible she doesn't have a penis...oh God this horrible make it stop!" Then like General George S.Patton rolling his tanks over the cusp of a distant European country-side, like a knight in armor bent on chivalry, like the most pimpadellic Grandfather of all time...Ron Franklin came to the rescue. He let "female sports journalists" (psssttt I can't even believe that is something that is real) know that they are little more than empty headed objects of his sexual desires.
Oh sure they got him fired because he is "Sexist" but a prophet is never understood in his own home and a hero is often under appreciated in his own time. One day you will be watching an SEC game called by two bull-dykes and you will say to yourself "Dear sweet Ron what have we done...what have we done?"

Blogger Podcast Allows the Outlaws a Place at the Table

In spite of being beset by flu like symptoms you humble servant CCRider was still able to participate in the Leather Helmet's Dawg Blogger Podcast . In all honesty right now I would change this into the biggest Disney Dawg Richt-O-Phile site in the universe in exchange for a Z-pack....cause the flu sucks harder than Willie Martinez.

Many thanks and much love and respect to ECDawg with the leather helmet for inviting us despite the fact that the most powerful regime in all Georgia Bloggery has banned us and branded us outlaws. It showed quite a bit of courage on the Leather Helmets part as any content not approved by the regime could earn one's blog a banning.

We participated in the podcast with Bernie of Bernie's Dawg Blawg, Mike in Valdosta, CorbinDawg of the Grit tree, and of course ECDawg. We gave our usual totally unfounded facts and completely unsupportable opinions.

The only problem with these podcasts is we come off sounding reasonable and as we all know that is not our speed. The podcast covers recruiting, the o-line coaching change, the shake-up on the defensive staff, and the S&C program. We kept it reined in for the most part and don't think we offended anyone-- however in the end we did liken ourselves to the Jews persecuted in WWII Germany which by implication would make our banners Nazis. Considering we are all of Scots-Irish decent and from the Deep South that makes us the honkies of all honkies and means we know nothing of actual persecution. Then again we have never let silly things like facts get in the way of our ramblings.

Signing Day Summaries: Georgia's Dream Team

In spite of all the negativity in the blogosphere, and three guys in Augusta doing their damnedest to sabotage all the coaches' hard work in Athens, Georgia brought in a stellar signing day class. With a little time to assess these things, we offer our review of the signees below. But before we start, we'd like to point out how 2012 looks as good, if not better, than the 2011 crop. Already in tow are WRs CJ Curry and Lonnie Outlaw, DL Jalen Fields, and K Marshall Morgan, as well as probable out of state 5 stars Keith Marshall (RB, NC) and John Theus (OL, FL), among other elite out of state targets (as Richt has said, with the plethora of talent in GA, you better be good if we're crossing the state line to come after ya) and what's said to be even better in state talent to pick from the Empire State of the South in 2012. So the future looks bright here, while the $2,800,000 question is can Richt get enough out of it to bring back 2002-2007 glory instead of 2009/2010 disappointments. But here's the official Sports and Grits review of Georgia's 2011 signees.

QB Christian Lemay-Great pickup. One of the top QBs in this class, plus he enrolls early (which in our opinion, a spring in Athens is more beneficial than his senior season would have been). Provides quality depth behind Murray and Mason, and probably surpasses Mason to replace Murray as a redshirt junior in 2014. Grade, A-.

RB Isaiah Crowell-Like the QB spot, it's small, but ideal. As reports of Washaun Ealey and Caleb King possibly departing, it'd have been nice if there was one more name here for depth (Josh Clemons?), but if at least one of the 2 older players can get back in Richt's good graces, we should be fine. Plus, there is a clear need for the aforementioned Marshall in the 2012 class, and even better from our eyes, no fullbacks! We lost Chapas and Munzanmeier, but have Xander Ogletree and probably a walk-0n or 3 that could be a backfield pulling G. Not signing a FB is great to us, if it means we start to putting more threats on the field making our "pro-style" offense look more like the pros current "style". Grade, A-.

WR Malcolm Mitchell, Sanford Seay, Justin Scott-Wesley, Chris Conley A good 4 man set at a position of need. Good size, as all but Scott-Wesley are listed over 6', all have good speed with Scott-Wesley in particular having great track times. Conley is reported the most polished as a WR, Seay may have the most in terms of physical tools, Scott-Wesley the fastest, and Mitchell the most explosive play-maker. It's a bit disheartening that in spite of a top 5 pick in Green, a talented young QB in Murray, and an offense in need of an impact player there, we couldn't hit a top 10 guy, but this is still a solid group that should produce plenty of big plays. Grade, B+.

TE Jay Rome A big time player, and arguably the top TE in the country. Size, strength, route running, play making, pedigree, Rome has it all. Ideally, we'd have loved to haul in Nick O'Leary as well as Rome, to continue the Georgia tradition of multiple match up problems at TE (Watson and McMichael, McMichael and Johnson, Brown and Wiggins, Pope and Milner, White and Charles) but that'd just be greedy and personal as we like two TE offenses. But Rome was a big time player, and although the depth chart might delay his impact (Figgins, White, Charles, and Lynch leave little open playing time), he should make a significant contribution in the next 4-5 years. Grade, A.

OL Watts Dantzler, Zach Debell, Xzavier Ward, David Andrews, Hunter Long, Nathan Theus 6 names, and while there isn't a lot of star power there, it's a great class. Andrews seems like an ideal heir apparent to Ben Jones, and Hunter Long provides another potential quality interior OL. Ward and Debell provide a pair of long athletes with ideal feet and athleticism for OT. They need to add weight, but it's a lot easier to add weight on to a wide framed 250-260 pound 18yr old than it is to take it off as they mature. Dantzler has that size listed 300+, and is said to be an ideal RT prospect. Theus is more a long snapper than OL, but seems to have the size to possible add depth inside and said to be an NFL caliber snapper (which no one notices unless they mess up). OL recruiting is always hit or miss, as it's hard to project how guys this big will do in HS when they are so much bigger and stronger than their competition. But you can make up for quality in quantity, while the quality is still pretty good, and an improved S&C program should go a long way into making an improved OL going forward. Grade, B+.

DL John Jenkins, Chris Mayes, Sterling Bailey, Ray Drew They say Drew starts at OLB, but at 6'5, 250 or so, we see him getting bigger and ultimately putting his hand on the ground. Bailey is similar to Drew, with the size and athleticism to develop into a great 3-4 DT/DE (depending on what you term them). Mayes is also a great big athlete for the 3-4 DL, but is said to be questionable academically. But Drew and Jenkins are the headliners here. Drew is an all-world talent, and one of the Dream Team leaders. He has the tools to be an impact this year, a first round pick in 3 years, and his attitude sounds ideal. Jenkins is supposedly the missing piece as a 3-4 NG. 350 or so, and can move are rare, and he is said to be just that. We here at S&G think the Mt. Cody comparisons are a bit much, and would be satisfied if he's another Gerald Anderson or Donnan JUCO type contributor (Emarlos Leroy, Jermaine Smith, Jason Ferguson). We've had good, albeit varied, success with JUCO DL, from Donnan's trio to more recently Jarius Wynn and Corvey Irvin. We'd have liked a few more though, as the DL was the weakest link last year defensively, and even if Jenkins is all he's been hyped to be, he can't play every snap and we could use some help behind him, Deangelo Tyson, and probably Abry Jones as the starting DL. Grade, B+ with Drew, B- without him.

LB Kent Turene, Ramik Wilson, Amarlo Herrera, Quintavious Harrow We missed Dickson from Griffin, and the main 3 all project to ILB not OLB. The team has several physical talents already, and Wilson, Turene, and Herrera all sound like great additions to the ILB core. Thick, powerful, smart, between the 3 there should be at least one stud produced (which is good if you go by historical averages). We put Harrow here because he's a HS LB and players don't generally go farther from the line of scrimmage as they step up. With his elite speed, we think Harrow puts on some pounds, and ideally follows the career arc of Marcus Howard. All in all, it's a decent group, with a great ILB group but a lot to be desired in terms of OLB potential. Bailey or Drew may end up at OLB, but with their current sizes, it's easier for those guys to add size as they mature instead of stay the same weight. Not included here is sign and place Dexter Staley, who would be on the list if not for academics forcing him to take a detour at GMC. He should be a big time addition to the 2013 class. Grade, B-.

DB Damien Swann, Nick Marshall, Devin Bowman, Chris Sanders, Corey Moore Moore and Sanders were extremely early commits, and are described as a solid pair of safeties. There were a ton of players at that spot in state, including Brian Randolph, Avery Walls, and several other BCS signees, but we took Moore and Sanders early. That speaks highly of them, and the coaching staffs opinion of them. We'll see how they turn out, as several elite S prospects have disappointed (CJ Byrd, Jakar Hamilton, even Reshad Jones to an extent, among others), but both sound like excellent pick ups. Marshall is said to start at CB, and while he has elite QB tools, the demands of basketball (he's among the best Gs and will play for Mark Fox in the offseason) put him in the defensive backfield, not the offensive backfield, but his physical tools seem to lend him towards another former QB turned DB, Sean Jones. Devin Bowman has the pedigree to be a top player, and Damien Swann was the best CB from Atlanta. Both should add depth behind the two Brandon's (Smith and Boykin) next year. Swann is said to be a possible Smith with his speed and offensive potential. It's got plenty of talent, strength in numbers, and as Doug Gillett said bring an emphatic end to Willie Martinez's past "Lollipop Guild" recruiting strategy for the position. Grade, B+.

Specialists -Theus could have gone here, but at his size, we think he gets some snaps on the OL before all is said and done. But with a trio of senior kickers, Richt resisted the urge to add one in this class to redshirt and take over later, allowing Morgan to replace Walsh next year, and perhaps a walk-on to take P after Drew Butler as Brian Mimbs and Gordon Ely-Kelso did before Butler. Grade, A.

Overall grade, B+. Yeah, we're probably being picky, but while it is a top 5 class, looking at it on the whole is still just a B+ to us. We love the marquee names, Crowell, Drew, Lemay, Marshall, Swann, Jenkins, Rome, but still see a bit to be desired. We lack a replacement for Justin Houston at OLB, could have used more DL, and lack an elite WR prospect to replace AJ Green. And while they did a great job closing, there were still a handful of misses that would have addressed those 3 lacking areas (Xzavier Dickson, Jeoffrey Pagan, Charone Peake, Terrance Smith, Corey Crawford, Deion Barnes, Toby Jackson, Ashley Lowery, Dink Fanning, Gabe Wright, and Rashad Greene, among others)

Pull His Scholarship Right Now!

Richt has been making strides this off-season. A new S&C team, finally fulfilling the expectations of in-state recruiting, and at least looking like he realizes that his job security is not a sure thing. The next step in the transition to a Cold Blooded Sausage Maker for Richt would be to cut the "suspended indefinitely" crap and start pulling some free rides.

Ealy has under performed, been arrested, whined about wanting to transfer, and now is openly defying a direct order from the coaching staff.

What further evidence do you need? If Richt wants to stick around he has to purge the program of this mentality of entitlement. I guess Ealy wanted to transfer when it looked like he would have to compete with Crowell. It isn't that bad having to compete with Caleb King because he is just as lazy and entitled as Ealy. Don't suspend him, don't talk to him about a transfer, just kick him off the team and pull his scholarship.

A sad day for Dawgs

For those that have spent a few years around Georgia's rivals or scout websites, you would be familiar with one of the most popular, and notorious, message board posters around, the inimitable Ghost.

We here at S&G got word this morning that the man passed away well before his time last night. Some had their issues with him, but you can not deny his steadfast love for all things UGA. Rest in Peace to a true Die Hard Dawg, you will be missed our friend.

DAWGS OR DIE! LONG LIVE THE MIGHTY G!

Inbreeding: formerly just for Alabama and Louisiana

Inbreeding is bad, because it produces offspring like you see above. Unfortunately, we seem to be getting just that in Athens with the announcement of Will Friend as OL coach. Maybe it's just us, but something about this hire seems a bit off, like "My Daddy is also my brother, and my husband" off. He's been a high caliber player in the SEC, and the staff knows what they're getting with him as he's been on it in recent years. We can only hope he's similar to his mentor, Neil Callaway, as a coach and the exact opposite as a recruiter/talent evaluator. Only time will tell if this is a good hire, but the level of inbredness in it has us at S&G a bit concerned. We could have had any number of choices to replace Stacy Searels, choices who could bring new ideas and methods to an offense that in spite of a relatively impressive pts/game average is constantly stone-walled against well prepared, well coached defenses. Instead we go with the younger model of the man Searels replaced; presumably because the older version hasn't gotten fired from the dead-end, never-gonna-be-legit UAB gig he currently holds. (Check it if you like, Alabama will never allow UAB the resources to be a threat, which is how they ended up with Callaway in the first place.)

For a program that has become stagnant and seemingly resting on it's laurels, we brought in an old friend when given the chance to get new blood in the OL coach, we did the same at S&C with familiar faces Tereshinski Jr, the elder Kasay, Thomas Brown, and Tony Gilbert brought on staff. Based on the current off season hiring trend, we'll assume the complete list of candidates to replace Warren Belin as LB coach is 5 names long: Todd Hartley, John Jancek, Boss Bailey, Mitch Doolittle, and Malloy Van Gorder.

Richt Got This One Right.

Admittedly we have been hard on Richt. Most of our ire is based on the fact that so many refused to feel the same out-rage that we did over a 6-7 season with a loss to UCF. We couldn't stand the fact that so many would cling to the past as an excuse for the present. However, when the present is going far better than expected then it is appropriate to cling to the hope that it provides.

While we have become the boggie-men bloggers for many Richt fans we do have the ability to give Richt credit where it is due. The recruiting effort of the University of Georgia Bulldogs has been reason enough to say that Richt is doing something right again. In fact not just right but better than he has ever done it before.

Ultimately Richt really only lost out on two in-State recruits that he really wanted while he won some pretty tough fights on a number of others. According to Rivals Richt landed:

2 recruits with a 5 star rating

12 recruits with a 4 star rating, and

11 recruits with a 3 star rating (and one two star rated player)

Now I disagree with Kent Turene only getting a 3 star rating instead of a 4 star but when you pull-in 14 players rated 4 star or above you can't really complain about just one. Richt basically split with Saban on two big ones with Bama taking Dickerson (4 stars according to Rivals) but Richt taking the bigger prize by landing Crowell (5 stars and the #1 running back according to rivals). Richt also had a split with the defending National Champs with Auburn getting Bray (4 stars) but Richt holding off a late push for Drew (5 stars by rivals).

The big question is now how much does this class do for Richt in the long run. Let's say Richt goes 8-5 or 9-4 and the younger guys are producing and developing by the end of the season. Will that be enough hold off fire Richt talk? Well that is hard to say. Certainly I think 10 wins would mean that Richt keeps his job easily and probably gets a few coach of the year awards. 8 or 9 wins would put him in a limbo state with less that 8 wins probably marking the end of the Richt-era in Athens.

Most people will look to the Boise game as an early indicator of Richt's future. The more that I have though about that the more I think that is incorrect. Should we rely heavily on the younger players then the team should get better as the season progresses. Also, this game will be the substitute National Title game for the Broncos. The Broncos will probably give their best effort and play their best game in Atlanta and the Dawgs may still be working out some kinks. I think Richt can survive a loss so long as it is close and he rebounds strong against SEC competition. In fact I think that even should Richt lose to South Carolina he can still survive if he wins out in the East (chances are the Gamecocks will shoot themselves in the foot). Richt almost has to win the Florida and Auburn games as both of those teams should be way down (especially Florida).



How much good will has the recruiting season bought Richt? It's hard to say but when the Jekins commit came in on top of the Crowell, Drew, Rome, etc. hope was springing eternal in Georgia and even here the Cold Blooded Sausage Makers are finding themselves wanting to believe.

Here is What I Don't Get About the NFL

Is it just me or does the NFL always work out just right for the NFL.

Take last night for instance. No one wanted Pittsburgh to win because most of America thinks their QB is a rapist (I can't really argue with that). Lots of people wanted the Packers to win on account of their QB not rapin' people and because "It just isn't fair how Brett Favre treated Rodgers."

I don't care about either of those teams but Pittsburgh is the far better team. Yet the AP defensive player of the year was totally ineffective. The top line backing core in the NFL was ineffective, the best defensive coordinator couldn't bottle-up a totally one-dimensional team. I know that the NFL tries to push their "Any Given Sunday" crap but some teams are just better and that is how it is.

Tell me how did a team with 16 injuries. Playing their 2nd string, rookie, right tackle; their third string, rookie tight end, their third string rookie running back who didn't even play his senior year in college due to injury; who lost their number 2 receiver early in the game; playing one third string outside line backer; a second string middle linebacker; A.J. Hawk who played at Ohio State...enough said; a back-up corner back; lost their nickle corner in the first half; playing a third string safety beat the team with the best defense in the NFL. Lets be honest about this thing.
Lets go back to last year. How did a totally one dimensional team with a crappy defense beat arguable the greatest QB in the history of the NFL? I will tell you how because last years Saints are like this years Packers they are a compelling human interest story. You would have thought that the second the Saints won the Super Bowl New Orleans was totally rebuilt. Guess what . It wasn't. The media loves the Saints and their Lilliputian QB and they love love love them some Aaron Rodgers.
Look at the history of the Super Bowl.
- When interest in the game was waining because the NFC was so dominant one of the worst AFC champions ever beat one of the best teams in the history of the NFL in Super Bowl III. The Jets shouldn't have even been in that game. But a Jets win solidified the importance of the Super Bowl and justified the merger of the two leagues.
- When the media was about to bust because no black QB had ever won a Super Bowl low and behold the Redskins come out of no where with a below average journey man QB who just so happens to be black and they win the Super Bowl.
- About a decade later the QB that was on the short end of the stick against those Redskins wins a Super Bowl against a far superior team. Elway is then called arguable the greatest QB even despite the fact that all he has ever done is choke in big games until he got TD then all he did was hand the ball off. The Packers were great from 95-98 but looked as if they had never played football before against the Broncos.
-Jerome Bettis got his Super Bowl in his home town in his last game. Hollywood couldn't have scripted it better.
-When the argument about black head coaches is coming to a head suddenly you have a Super Bowl where no matter what a Black HC will win.
-The Saints win the Super Bowl because "No one needed it more than the city of New Orleans. They deserved it."
- Now the one-dimensional Packers beat the best Defense in the NFL. It just always works...the good guys always win in the NFL. Mostly because its good for business.

The other thing I don't get about the NFL is how the league doesn't want great defensive play and they don't want dominant running games. The NFL wants passing, passing,passing because that is what the casual fan wants. You know the best way to have a great Defense in the NFL? Totally abandon the running game, get a good QB and throw the ball 80 times a game. Why do I say that? Look at last years Saints their defense got away with late hits, cheap shots on the QB, and pass interference through out the play-offs. Look at this years Packers they are a carbon copy of last years Saints. Against Atlanta, Chicago, and Pittsburgh Tramon Williams committed pass interference a combined minimum of ten times and I don't think he was flagged once ( he also threw a punch last night and didn't get ejected). Also, I couldn't help but notice from last night that it is now against the rules to block Clay "Anabolic" Matthews. Matthews blitzed in the first half and Heath Miller blocked him with two hands-open palm- between Matthews shoulders and pancaked Matthews. It was totally clean and he got flagged for holding. In the second half Matthews blitzed and Flozel Adams blocked him with two hands between the shoulders- a legal block- and he got flagged. It was unbelievable.
The NFL is garbage and I hope they have a lock out next year.

Vegas is Trying to Give You Money!

We are two days out from the Super Bowl and Vegas still has the Green Bay Packers as a 2.5 point favorite..........hmmmmmmmmm.....perhapse I am the only one but Pittsburgh is going to handle the Packers, and somewhat easily.

Green Bay's offense caught fire in the play-offs but let me remind you that those were all games against NFC teams and the NFC SUCKS! Green Bay is maybe the 5th best team in the NFL; Pittsburgh, New England, Baltimore, and New York (Jets) are all better than the Packers.

A-Rodge is a good QB but I have never seen the media wash balls so hard. Did Brett Favre act all dickish (intended) to him---of course he did but so what. The media loves Rodgers because he is finally "getting the shot he deserves" .....uhhhh.....this is the NFL no one deserves anything.

The Media will cry and Goodell will fine and maybe suspend Harrison when he decapitates Rodgers on the field, rapes his sister, and burns his house to the ground. Harrsion will not understand the fine saying "I thought this was football not the ballet."

If you think for one second that James Starks is going to run on the Steelers, A-Rodge is going to scramble around the pocket for 10 to 15 seconds and find an open receiver, or Mike McCarthy will out maneuver Dick LeBeau then might I interest you in investing in a pyramid scheme? You will sell a bunch of crap that no one wants and give me all the money, I know is sounds fishy but trust me you will be rich in no time.

Will the Dawgs Look to the NFL or Elsewhere to Replace Belin.

With a little inspiration from the upright Senator.

The pro-set I-formation (although pro-set is a little deceptive because so few NFL teams still use the FB base set I-formation as their base formation) and the 3-4 defense. That is the best way to describe the overall philosophy of the Georgia Bulldogs on each side of the ball respectively. Unlike say the spread which focuses on speed and misdirection the I-formation is based on good old fashioned line em up and run right at em' football. That being said the most important position group of the Georgia offense is the O-line. Now I know the O-line is important for everyone but for Georgia it is especially important and Searles was not getting the job done.

The 3-4 can't operate without linebackers who can seamlessly transition between pass rush, coverage, and old-fashioned stop the run play. With that in mind the line-backers become the most important single position group on the defensive side of the ball. No disrespect to coach Belin he did a great job transitioning the LB core and more than likely helped elevate Houston to a first round pick. The question now arises as to his replacement. Grantham should have a huge say if not the entire say on the next hire and he may look to some old friends in the NFL for help. There is no shortage of NFL teams that run the 3-4 and Grantham has deep ties to the pros. What is that you say? How about Dick LeBeau? Hey a kid can dream can't he and at the rate the collective bargaining agreement is going LeBeau might have some free time. If the NFL is not an option then the trick will be finding someone in the col legate ranks with 3-4 experience. Two guys to look at are:

1. Kenwick Thompson- California LB coach: On the younger side at age 42 so you would assume a high energy guy looking to make a name for himself. The Pac 10 and Cal in particular aren't exactly known for defensive play but if he could move into the SEC meat grinder and have success he could elevate his street cred.

2. Leon Burtnett- Houston LB coach: Leon is pushing 70 and looks like he is no stranger to Grandma's cough syrup. We assume he is still coaching because there are nights between 1967 and 1975 that Leon can't really remember and the subsequent Court ordered retributions, child support, and gambling debts have left him in a "has to work" situation. His age has also resulted in tons on experience and based on the eye ball test he looks like he wouldn't shy away from a little Gary Patterson-esque yelling.

As for the replacement for Searles we think there are two guys that warrant a close look:

1. Cameron Norcross- Nevada O-line coach/running game coord.: Nevada runs the pistol, but Norcross runs an O-line that looks like a spread offense. This would require Richt and Bobo to make a few crucial changes (one of which would be no longer wasting a player at fullback in the I-formation). Imagine Murray in the shotgun with Crowell and CT in the backfield with him. No you don't have to go to a total spread and the power running game would still be a vital part of the attack but given Norcross' success (Nevada was the top rushing team in the NCAA last year) and the tools that Murray brings-- a change might be for the best. Hey look at the change to a spread Spurrier made when his O-lines were under performing and he picked up a big time running back recruit.

2. Greg Adkins- Syracuse O-line coach/ recruiting coord.: Recruiting, recruiting, recruiting. Adkins is considered an excellent recruiter and proved it in the 90's when he had a successful stint at Georgia under Donnan. Norcross is a better X's and O's guy but Adkins would mean that there would be no need for changes to the scheme and an upgrade in the recruiting venue.

Crowell is a Dawg!

Richt continues his unprecedented run on talent by nabbing Crowell. Now we need him to look a lot like Marcus Lattimore.

Forget Auburn...Clempsun is Gonna Get the Death Penalty

Now I have tons of Clempsun friends and so I am writing this as an intervention for some of them. I would like to make two points about the man above:

1. His name is Dabo, and

2. He runs your football program.


Now you can't have the biggest joke in all of BCS conference football as a head coach and still pull 5 star recruits. In addition your school cannot be a glorified Klan rally and you still pull 5 star black athletes. Why on God's green earth would a young black man with tons of potential and NFL aspirations go to Clempsun? The Tigers have pulled FOUR count them four top 25 recruits, all are 5 star rated, and all are out of state recruits for Hey Dabo. Tony Steward the 13th overall player and #1 LB in the country out of Florida. Sammy Watkins the 15th overall player a WR out of Florida, and Mike Bellamy the 25th overall player a RB also out of Florida.

Everyone knows that Clempsun is the biggest wanna be SEC school in the country, and we all know that from the moment Clempsun football was conceived it has always been a copy-cat to the Auburn program. Your first coach, your colors, your mascot all of these things were copied from Auburn. Naturally it makes sense that you are now paying your players. Now when CJ Spiller passed on Florida for Clempsun it raised eye-brows but everyone gets the occasional pass. Now you are gonna pull three top 25 players away from Florida, Florida St., Miami, and no doubt Alabama as well..........come on fellas........lets be honest with ourselves......you are gonna get investigated. What are you gonna tell the NCAA? Sure our school was founded by one of the biggest racists in this countries history, and sure we are a redneck agricultural school, and sure our campus is basically a big cow pasture, and sure we play in the worst conference in the world, and sure you will get basically zero television exposure if you play here, and sure the only black people here are athletes but you know there is just something about these red hills that attract all these Geechee brothers from Florida (fyi try not to use the term Geechee when describing a black kid to NCAA investigators.....I know you typically use worse but don't forget you will be dealing with Yankees).

You can also throw in Stephone Anthony the 24th rated player in the country a LB from North Carolina. So why is it you are basically a non-factor for your in-state top players but you keep landing all these other top players? I am sure the NCAA won't ask any of these questions what with your dynamic and inspiring mentally handicapped Head Coach and your history of never cheating before....oh wait didn't Danny Ford coach there...yeah I'm sure the NCAA will think everything is above board.

This negativity is killing recruiting, part 3

Below is former Southern Cal LB commit Kent Turene. A 3 star Mike LB from one of the more talent producing programs in Florida high school football. Why on earth did he come to Georgia with all this negativity about his future head coach on Sports and Grits? Well, wonders never cease I guess.

Signing Day--Jadeveon Clowney and How the Cocks May be Fooling Themselves

Jadeveon Clowney is pretty much the consensus number one high school football player in the country. He is from Rock Hill, South Carolina which is pretty much a glorified suburb of Charlotte. His front runners are the Gamecocks and Alabama and all of that is common knowledge but here is what is not well known:

The Gamecocks have been crowing for weeks now that Clowney is a lock to play his ball in Columbia. Spurrier has recently been able to keep Lattimore and Jeffries in state and with an SEC East crown it would make sense that despite the less that aesthetically pleasing beauty of Columbia (aka The Butt hole of the South) he could keep Clowney as well. We operate out of Augusta, GA so we are right on top of South Carolina and as a result we have many friends and associates who are Cock fans. I have one particular source with a direct tie to the athletic department in Columbia and he has told me for weeks now that Clowney is a lock.

However, last week I had lunch with my Cock friend and the story was little different. He started off by letting me know that they "still have Clowney" but that there was a small complication. You see Clowney's Father was just recently released for a 12 year stint in the Hoosecow. Continuing in the long tradition of Gamecocks who have colorful fathers with ever more colorful names (see mouth-breathing Gamecock QB sensation Blake Mitchell and his father Nuggett Mitchell) Jadeveon's Father is a man simply known as "Chili-Bean"

Now believe it or not a man named Chili-Bean who just did 12 years in the Pookie is considered by some around Jadeveon to be a "bad influence". Some people are even going so far as to openly question if it wouldn't be better for Jadeveon if he didn't play ball far far away from Chili-Bean. Columbia is about an hour drive from Rock Hill so if Jadeveon were to play in Columbia one would naturally assume that Ol' Chili-Bean would want to keep a close tab on his future pay check.....I mean the son he loves very much. My friend summed the situation up by saying the bottom line is "he will go where his Momma wants him to go" but you can count Momma into the group that thinks Jadeveon may be better suited far away from Rock Hill....in a place like say Tuscaloosa.

Clowney would be a huge boost for Spurrier and Johnson but lets be honest....last year was bizarro world and now it is time for the Cocks to go back to being the Cocks and that means missing on big in-state talent. Clowney will not sign today but will rather wait maybe until his birthday in a couple of weeks. The further Clowney gets from signing with the Cocks today the worse the situation looks for Spurrier and the better for Satan.

Signing Day Summaries: Sports and Grits analysis of Paul Johnson's haul for Georgia Tech University

It's Early but Maybe Richt is Getting the Wake-Up Call.

As I type this Mark Richt is sitting on a recruiting class of 23 players (18 of which are in-state recruits). There is still one greatly prized in-State recruit out there, Isiah Crowell, but he is expected to be a heavy UGA lean.

Most people, ourselves included, are hailing Richt for an extraordinary effort in recruiting this year. While we are quick to point out our problems with the current situation we also have the capability to to say when things are going well. No matter what happens with Crowell and Jenkins (as well as a number of others) this is far more than anyone probably expected for a team that just went 6-7 and is surrounded by and competing with the current SEC East Champs as well as the last three National Champions.

Now while we are overjoyed to get the likes of Drew, Rome, Mitchell, and Swann I would like to express my excitement over a different aspect of this years class.....the O-line.

We are currently in the thick of the hunt for the Rivals number 74 overall player, OT Antonio Richardson of Nashville. If we should land the 6'6 310 pounder that would give Georgia seven O-line commitments; but even if we don't it is still a very solid group of six O-linemen. One center, 3 tackles, and 2 guys listed as O-linemen but at 6'3 both appear to be guards. Thank you Mark Richt for realizing that 5'8 to 6'0 tall 170 to 200lbs black athletes are a dime a dozen in the South but O-linemen are a rare commodity. Naturally you need the athletes but they are just spinning their wheels with out the Big Uglies up front. While our calling for Richt's head is something new to the 2010 season there has almost for the duration of his time in Athens been a slow grumbling on my part over the O-line.

Naturally we have no idea if any of these recruits will pan out or if a star studded class of freshmen and Juco's will be enough to save Richt from the executioner but at least he appears to be trying. So we say Good Job to Richt and his staff but we will hold off on spreading the rose pedals at their feet until we get a few wins on the field.

Some of you may not be aware but a number of Richt-O-Philles have been blaming us for the recruiting woes....except there are no woes this is a hugely talented class. Well since so many give us so much street cred we would like to take this opportunity to say to DawgNation:

You are welcome...we take as much of the credit for this class as possible. Naturally Richt and his staff did the work but we will now accept the responsibility for that hard work. You see without the cries of the Cold Blooded Sausage Makers Richt and his staff may have assumed all was well and they could continue their half-hearted attempt at running an elite program. We are here to promise each and everyone of you that we will continue our tireless work against the complacent attitude that has gripped Georgia Football for three years. We just hope that Richt and the staff continue to feel the heat and coaches em' as hard as they recruited em'.

Cold Blooded Sausage Makers vs. Richt-O-Philles

"Anyone in any walk of life who is content with mediocrity is untrue to himself and to American tradition." - Gen. George S. Patton

Leave it to one of the original Sausage Makers to sum it up in just a few words. Yesterday my brother Mr. Sanchez addressed the non-sense that we have in some way hampered Georgia in recruiting this year....funny because this may be Richt's all time best in-state haul. In the comments Mr. Sanchez had a back and forth with a regular Richt-O-Phille visitor to our site. The Richt-O-Phille gave us this glimpse into the mind of a Richt worshiper.

"But I know that 20 years from now, the young men that have graduated under Richt will have been better served than those that graduated under any other current SEC coach. And that is ultimately more important."

This is the difference between us and our kind and Richt-O-Philles. I am sure that the Richt lovers get very frustrated with us because we aren't touched and even a little choked-up by comments like this. So frustrated that they spend their days sending tattle-tale e-mails to other websites crying about how we need to be removed from their site. Really you are grown men and you a snitching and crying about what some people you don't even know wrote. Let us ask you this-- how does the shame and judgment in your son's eyes feel when you get home from work every day because you know that he knows that his father has a severe testicular deficiency. Oh excuse me I mean your daughters eyes because no "man" who is a big a vag as this could possibly have sperm superior enough to produce a male child.

Let me ask the poster of this comment this: "How has Richt better served his players?"

Is it because the players who have been around the past three years have seen laziness and entitlement that has resulted is some of the most catastrophic losses in UGA history. Has he helped them to understand that personal favoritism to subordinates is more important than fulfilling the duties and obligations that you have been paid for? How about what other SEC players have learned from their coaches:

Carolina players have learned that being Cock-sure and confident in one's abilities can lift you out of a lifetime of mediocrity.
Florida players have learned that sacrifice for the sake of a goal will result in obtaining that goal (twice).

LSU players have learned that sometimes you have to let your inner crazy show to let others know that you mean business.

Alabama players have learned that hard work, dedication, earning your keep, and focusing on what you want; and then putting everything you have into that goal will result in achieving that goal (a lesson the LSU also learned).

Winners win and losers lose. Right now the kids being coached to win on the field will win off the field and the kids that think they are too good to show up for a bowl that they really didn't deserve to go to in the first place will be getting fired by the kids that are winners in 20 years.

It is time for Georgia fans to put the program above the coach because some of us have lost our bearings.