S&G 2013 Draft Projections....because it is never too early.

This time next year we should be discussing the SEC's seventh consecutive National Title and yet another draft dominated by the SEC.  Now we never really know which redshirt sophomores will jump into the draft nor do we know which Juniors will return for a senior season.  With all of these uncertainties the Ol'Boys at S&G are just going to guestimate.

1.        Jarvis Jones                            OLB                       Georgia

2.        Marcus Lattimore                   RB                          USCe

3.        Sean Porter                            OLB                        TXAM

4.        Sam Montgomery                    DE                          LSU

5.        Tyler Wilson                          QB                          Arkansas

6.        Knile Davis                             RB                           Arkansas

7.        Barkevious Mingo                    LB/DE                  LSU

8.        Devin Taylor                           DE                         USCe

9.        Dee Milliner                            CB                          Bama

10.     Barrett Jones                           T/G                         Bama

11.     D.J. Fluker                              OT                          Bama

12.     Nico Johnson                          OLB                       Bama

13.     Johnthan Banks                       CB                          MSST

14.     Jelani Jenkins                          OLB                        Florida

15.     C.J. Mosley                             LB                           Alabama

16.     Kwame Geathers                     NT                         Georgia

17.     Baccari Rambo                          S                           Georgia

18.     Tyler Bray                              QB                           Tennessee

19.     Tyrann Mathieu                       DB/KR                  LSU

20.     Jake Matthews                         OT                          TXAM

21.     Chris Faulk                             OT                           LSU

22.     Sharrif Floyd                           DT                          Florida

2012 NFL Draft Re-Cap

Just in case six consecutive National Titles and once again dominating the draft was not enough to establish SEC superiority here is a picture of the LSU coaching staff as the Fabulous Freebirds, enjoy.

As true Southerners we naturally don't much care for the NFL but we do view the Draft as the last hurrah of the college season.  Now you may like the draft or love the draft but we doubt your ADHD along with your quasi- obsessive compulsive disorder leads you to breakdown the draft as if you are an actual GM the way we do over here at S&G.  With that in mind here are our five winners and five losers in the draft along with our grade for each:

WINNERS

1. Pittsburgh Steelers - Grade A: 

Best Pick- David DeCastro, OG, Stanford
Best Value- Chris Rainey, RB/KR, Florida
Their first pick of the 7th round (Toney Clemons WR Colorado) was the only stretch.  Everything else was not only a good pick but also a value pick.

2. San Diego Chargers- Grade A:
Best Pick- Melvin Ingram, DE/LB, South Carolina
Best Value- Melvin Ingram, DE/LB, South Carolina
All you need to know is that they got the top pass rusher and a top 5 pick with no off field issues with the 18th pick.  They had a few misses but also got a future starter at Center in the 7th round.  The Ingram pick was one part smarts and one part luck for the Chargers management.

3.Indianapolis Colts- Grade B+:
Best Pick- Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
Best Value- Josh Chapman, DL, Alabama
Grabbed a 1st round talent at TE in the 2nd and got a 3rd round talent at DT in the 5th.  Luck will be a great starter but will never be Peyton Manning level and will never be the player he is projected to be.  Colts get a B+ and not an A because with the new Rookie pay scale they could have re-signed Manning, traded down with the Browns for about 10 picks, drafted either the best RB or OT at 4 and re-built their team.

4. Cincinnati Bengals- Grade B+:
Best Pick- Kevin Zeitler, OG, Wisconsin
Best Value- Orson Charles, TE, Georgia
I don't see Kirkpatrick as a very big risk and think he was better than Gilmore who went 10th.  Zeitler was a great pick and Charles is a 1st round talent that fell to the bottom of the 4th.

5.Philadelphia Eagles- Grade B-:
Best Pick- Fletcher Cox, DT, Mississippi State
Best Value- Brandon Boykin, CB/KR, Georgia
The Eagles got the best DT in the draft and they got him outside of the top 10.  The Cox pick alone was enough to get them in the top 10, but they grabbed Boykin (a second round talent) at the end of the 4th round.  The Eagles also grabbed the very talented Bryce Brown in the 7th.  Brown is a high risk high reward guy but at the end of the last round he is a safe bet.

LOSERS
1. New Orleans Saints- Grade F:
Worst Pick- Akiem Hicks, DT, Regina
Pick That May Actually Make It- Nick Toon, WR, Wisconsin
There are bad drafts every year but usually there is at least one decent pick by even the worst GMs.  The Saints draft this year was not one of those drafts.  While one can make the case for Nick Toon as a decent pick the truth is that the Saint's entire draft was horrible.

2. Seattle Seahawks- Grade F+:
Worst Pick- Bruce Irvin, LB, West Virginia
Pick That May Actually Make It-Jaye Howard, DT, Florida
If the Seahawks had not taken Howard in the 4th round their entire draft would have been a flaming pile of failure.  Kentucky LB Winston Guy in the 6th and NC State DE J.R. Sweezy in the 7th were decent picks.  The Irvin pick will haunt this franchise for 5 years.

3.San Francisco 49ers- Grade F+:
Worst Pick- A.J. Jenkins, WR, Illinois
Pick That May Actually Make It- Joe Looney, OG, Wake Forest
All of their picks weren't horrible but they were all reaches.  The 49ers drafted for need and not for the best player available which is a big no-no.

4. Oakland Raiders- Grade D-:
Worst Pick- Miles Burress, LB, SD State
Pick That May Actually Make It- Juron Criner, WR, Arizona
All of their picks weren't horrible but they were all reaches.  The Raiders drafted for need and not for the best player available which is a big no-no.  "Where have you gone Al Davis?  A lonely Raider Nation turns it's eyes to you."

5.Jacksonville Jaguars- Grade D:
Worst Pick-Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma St.
Pick That May Actually Make It- Andre Branch, DE, Clampsun
Blackmon is over-rated and will be a bust.  Branch has shown flashes of ability but is inconsistent.  All the other picks were just darts thrown against a board.



Nail, meat head of the hammer

Paul Westerdawg drives this home to absolute perfection. We won't steal his thunder, just say go read his comments regarding Mark Fox's continued attempts to win Talladega in an '87 Honda Accord hatchback.

Best of the Rest- The 15 Best Players Still on the Board for Round 2

Remember Kids---The Sgt. Osiris Rule is still in play:

Friday is now the day in which teams are built.  The 2nd and 3rd rounds allow you to take a few more risks without violating the Osiris Rule (Round 1, just so you know, is not the place to test the Osiris Rule).  By our Cold Blooded calculations there were at least 13 players taken yesterday that were not 1st round material (and at least 6 that were not even 2nd round material).  Our calculations also show that there are at least 6 players still available with a 1st round grade and 9 others who were on the line between the 1st and 2nd rounds in their grades.  Here are the best players still hanging around:

1. Courtney Upshaw- OLB Alabama:  The Packers, Patriots, and Texans all whiffed on the chance to take a player perfect for the 3-4 and with experience in this system.  Expect Upshaw to be gone very soon this evening.
2. Alshon Jeffery- WR USCe:  The Cardinals, 49ers, and Titans all stretched for WRs and all made huge mistakes with their 1st round picks.  I expect Alshon to get gobbled up by the Rams...maybe with the first pick of the second round.  I still believe that Alshon is the best WR in this draft.
3.Bobby Massie- OT Ole Miss: 3rd best OT in the draft and a guy who could have easily been a 1st round pick.
4. Cordy Glenn- G UGA: If you want him as a OT then he is a mid-2nd round pick if you want him as a guard then he is just slightly behind DeCastro who is the top guard of the draft.
5. Peter Konz- C Wisconsin: Top center of the draft.  O-linemen from Iowa are tricky because they are so well coached; O-linemen from Wisconsin are just plain good.  Konz anchored arguably the best O-line in college football over the past two years.
6. Orson Charles- TE UGA: A nightmare mismatch for almost any line backing corp in the league.  Penalized by most because his true potential was never shown under the coordination of I Has A Crayon.
7. Reuben Randle- WR LSU: LSU has produced so many receivers in the past 8 years that some of their guys can get lost in the shuffle.  Randle has great size, great hands, and great instincts. 
8. Jared Crick- DL Nebraska: Has played DE and DT while at Nebraska.  Overshadowed by Suh, then injured, then moved out of DT and into DE.  All of these things hurt his production but could be a steal for the right team.
9. Josh Chapman- DT Alabama: Short by most standards but a powerhouse nose that would be great in the 3-4.
10. Coby Fleener- TE Stanford:  Not the mismatch nightmare that Charles is at this position but he is a better blocker than Orson and like most of the Stanford Cardinal that we have seen in the draft the past few years he is a very smart player.
11. Jonathan Martin- OT Stanford: Honestly too finesse to be a LT but much like Chris Williams from Vanderbilt that went to the Bears a few years back could be a RT or a left guard.
12. Janoris Jenkins- CB N.Alabama:  1st round talent still on the board.  Why you ask, simple:
He was kicked off of the Florida Gators team under Urban Meyer.......the only real question is just how many dead bodies are there.
13. Jake Bequette- DE Arkansas: Think Jarret Johnson formerly of the Ravens now with the Chargers.  A white DE from the SEC who could excel if converted to a pass rush OLB in the NFL.
14. Brandon Boykin- CB/KR Georgia:  Can be molded into a nickle corner but a huge value as a kick off /punt returner and gunner in punt coverage.
15. Andre Branch- DE Clampsun: A less talented but almost as lazy version of Quinton Couples.

Draft Winners, Draft Losers, and Pete Carroll might actually be interested in the Arkansas job.

Each and every year at this time we are reminded of Sgt. Lincoln Osiris' time tested and sage wisdom:

Yet each and every year someone in some NFL front office simply can't help themselves and this year that man was in the Seattle front office.  More on that point in a bit.  In the mean time let's breakdown the big winners, then the losers, and then we can discuss...of course...the SEC dominance.

WINNERS

Steelers- You know what the Steelers always do?  Go to the playoffs.  You know why?  Because they understand how the draft works.  They stayed pat, watched multiple teams crap the bed or stretch on players, and got the best O-lineman on in the draft.  Kalil has multiple holes in his game but DeCastro is a special player and the kind of dominant O-lineman that you rarely see in the draft.  DeCastro beside Pouncey means the Steelers will run between the tackles, control the clock, and win games.

Chargers- The Chargers sat on their pick, watched as the Jets Indian food buffet-diarrhea crapped the bed, and got the best 3-4 pass rush LB in the draft.  Did you see Quinton Coples highlight reel?  It was sad.  He was playing lazy and not finishing plays....AND THAT WAS ON HIS HIGHLIGHT REEL!  Did you see Melvin Ingram's highlight reel.  Explosive, dominant, finisher of plays.  Additionally, Ingrams tape was of him against SEC talent and Coples was of him against Duke, NC State, and Maryland.

Cowboys- They didn't have give up the entire farm and got the most NFL ready defensive player in the draft. 

Eagles- Best D-lineman in the draft and got him outside of the top ten.  Well played.

LOSERS

Seahawks- This pick showed a fundamental misunderstanding of a) how to assess talent, b) how others assess talent, and c) how to leverage picks.  First of all here is a sentence you never want to hear about your first round pick "He had to go back and get his GED." Irvin had a late 2nd round early 3rd round grade.  The Seahawks could have traded down three times and actually gotten out of the first all together.  Had they done this they would have gotten 3 first round picks for next year giving them 4 first round picks next year.  Additionally, they could have gotten 3 more second round picks in this years draft (which lacks star power but has a lot of team building 2nd and 3rd round talent).  The Seahawks could have done all of this and still got their man in the late second round.  Pete Carroll either doesn't understand the NFL or he really does want to coach Arkansas next year.

Jaguars- Undersized, slow, overrated, wide receiver in a wide receiver heavy draft.  Just plain stupid.

Panthers- This is no less than the fourth time the Panthers have taken a white, concussion waiting to happen, undersized, inside linebacker. 

Bills-  Gilmore is a second round talent.  He has never shown any sign of anything at USCe.  They had no less than 15 better options and if they just really wanted a corner Kirkpatrick was available and far more talented.

Jets- Melvin Ingram is an elite player.  Coples is a lazy player.  Ingram was forged in the fires of the SEC.  Coples played in the ACC where only three schools are serious about football.  Ingram in a high motor guy.  Coples is a quitter who doesn't finish plays.  The Jets are stupid.

PUSH

Browns-  They got the best player in the draft but took it in the pooper from the Vikings who played the Browns.  The Browns then lost control of their bowls on account of taking it in the pooper and crapped the bed by taking a 40 year old Big XII QB.

Vikings- They basically took the player they wanted all along, created a false pretense in interest in their pick, and stole multiple picks from the awful Browns.  Sounds good right?  Then they traded back in and took a Safety from Notre Dame.  That is all you need to know.  A secondary player from ND. 

 Bucs-  Took the best safety on the board but then got back in and wasted a pick on a running back from Boise St.

Patriots- Big risk on a Syracuse DE but then took the player the Panthers should have taken 16 picks earlier.  Hightower and Mayo on the inside = no running on the Patriots.

Oh and also the SEC sent nine players in the first and should send 9 to 15 tonight....You're welcome NFL.

MERRY DRAFT DAY! Time To Get Your Kiper Hedge On.

Sometimes six consecutive championships just isn't enough to prove your superiority.  When titles aren't enough you can use the draft to show the nation just how much better you are at football than everyone else.  By our calculations the SEC should be sending roughly 44 players to the NFL over the next three days.  While that is not surprising here is what is surprising- the West will outshine the East 26 to 18.  In the past the division has been almost even.  This year the West has eight more players looking to go than the East.  Additionally of the 12 players that could go in the first the West will send 9 and the East only three (with 2/3 of those players coming from USCe).

Anytime one Conference sends more than 35 players in a single draft they can crow about their talent level.  The SEC has averaged 40 players a year since 2000, and by the way next year we can count two more teams in the SEC.  If we could count AnM and Mizzou this year the total would be 52 players with 6 coming from AnM and two from Mizzou.

Here is the team by team breakdown with the projected round posted by the players name:

UGA

Cordy Glenn  OL  (1)

Brandon Boykin CB (2-3)

Orson Charles TE (2-3)

Ben Jones C (3)

USCe

Melvin Ingram DE (1)

Stephon Gilmore CB (1)

Alshon Jeffery WR (2)

Antonio Allen S (4)

Travian Robertson DL (5)

UF

Chris Rainey RB (4)

Jaye Howard DL (5)

UT

Tauren Poole RB (5)

Malik Jones DE (5)

UK

Winston Guy S (5)

Danny Trevathan LB (6)

VAN

Casey Hayward CB (3)

Tim Fugger DE (5)

Sean Richardson S (6)

Bama

Trent Richardson RB (1)

Mark Barron S (1)

Dre Kirkpatrick CB (1)

Courtney Upshaw LB (1)

Dont'a Hightower LB (1)

Josh Chapman DL (3)

DeQuan Menzie CB (4)

Brad Smelley TE (7)

LSU

Morris Claiborne CB (1)

Michael Brockers DL (1)

Reuben Randle WR (2)

Brandon Taylor S (3)

Ron Brooks CB (3)

Deangelo Peterson TE (5)

Will Blackwell OG (5)

MSST

Fletcher Cox DT (1)

Vick Ballard RB (5)

Quentin Saulsberry C (7)

Ole Miss

Bobby Massie OT (1-2)

Brandon Bolden RB (6)

Arkansas

Jake Bequette DE (4)

Joe Adams WR (4)

Greg Childs WR (4-5)

Jarius Wright WR (6)

Jerry Franklin LB (7)

AUB

Brandon Mosley OT (4-5)

Why does McShay and Kiper keep calling Cordy Glenn a tackle?

Have they not watched his film? He's slow to the edge, doesn't handle speed well, doesn't move as fluidly as an NFL OT, and doesn't have the long frame they have. Cordy Glenn is a great RG. He's proven that over the last few years, including last year when he was a mediocre LT. Glenn and Decastro are potential All NFL OGs over the next deacde or so. Neither one should be described as a tackle.

53% of U.S. Citizens are MORONS....or Maybe Just Evil

The new cool thing to do if you have the market cornered on football oriented video games is to have the general public vote on the player you place on the cover.  Madden NFL Football will announce the newest cover-boy for their yearly slightly modified but essentially the exact same game as the year before at 5pm today on the World Wide Leader in Douchery.

The semifinals were wrapped up and here are the results:

Calvin Johnson 66% wins over Aaron Rodgers 33%
Cam Newton 53% wins over Patrick Willis 47%

Now if people were not morons and they actually understood football not a single person would have voted in any of the brackets except for Patrick Willis.  Willis would have gotten 100% of the vote and no one would have gotten anything else.  EA Sports would have gotten the message and placed Beast-Man on their cover.

Of course 53% of the world could be deliciously evil and voted against Willis so as to avoid Willis suffering an injury a'la the Madden curse.  You know the curse....If you are on the cover you will get hurt.  Just ask Eddie George, Marshall Faulk, Dante Culpepper, Ray Lewis, and most recently Peyton Hills:

The rare and elusive "Great White Running Back" thought extinct since the days of Jim Taylor. Recently spotted briefly in Denver and then witnessed by all in Clevland only to be taken out by the Madden Curse.

The particularly evil part is that Cam "Wanda" Newton could be the recipient of the season ending Madden Curse injury.

Even better for us is the fact that the finals are currently Newton from Auburn vs Calvin Johnson from Georgia Tech which means regardless of the winner and the injury all Dawgs get to secretly chuckle to ourselves about a Tiger or a Jacket hero getting hurt.........Please don't even act like you won't enjoy it.




While we're on the subject...

I crafted a "beginner's guide to Georgia AAU hoops" on dawgsports.

The Atlanta hates us monster strikes again

Tony Parker chose UCLA yesterday, and to that I say, in the words of the greatest superhero created in the last 20 years....

Now, UCLA is a good program. Lots of tradition, with the bright lights and star power of LA. They've produced countless pros, from Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton, on up to Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook. Their big man tradition is as good as any in the country. But here's why I invoke the great genius that is Karl Pilkington. Of all the schools on his list, UCLA fit the least (aside from Korey McCray). Ohio St lost JJ Sullinger, so they had an immediate need for someone like Parker. They return two freshmen who were touted recruits but didn't establish themselves last year. So Parker could have gone there, played right away, in a system that fits his strengths, and has produced a strong line of NBA first round picks (Greg Oden, Kosta Koufos, BJ Mullens, JJ Sullinger). Duke, while going more perimeter oriented and have an underskilled hustler of a PG (Wojo) coaching bigs, had a need as well. The Plumlee's return, but Parker seems a much more physical presence than either. And while Krzyzewski has gone smaller, he has history with similar players to Parker in Elton Brand and Shelden Williams, and was very successful with them. Kansas? They return Withey, but otherwise also had an easy path for playing time, with a strong hoops environment, and plenty of tradition and NBA products. We've made the case for UGA, and all the reasons in our corner, so no need to rehash that. So where does UCLA fit? They've got McCray, who helped bring in a quality perimeter player in Jordan Adams as well (and we could use someone like him too on our roster next year). But they have a more crowded depth chart than any of the other finalists. The Wear twins play the 4 and 5, and will be juniors. Josh Smith was a highly touted recruit two years ago, in the same mold as Parker, and he'll be back for his junior year as their 3rd big in the rotation with the twins. Fellow 5 star signee Kyle Anderson can play the 4 in a more perimeter oriented lineup. There's two other rising seniors who were highly touted recruits but worked the end of the bench last year. Parker could be looking at very limited minutes as the 4th or 5th big in a rotation for at least a year, if not two. They are clearly the farthest from home. And their coaching situation is the least stable of the bunch, with Ben Howland failing to make the NCAAs last year in spite of a talented roster, and failing 2 of the last 3 years despite bringing in highly rated recruits in bunches every year, and not exactly having a reputation for developing those star recruits. If that trend of ineptitude continues, and this new class of stars fail to mesh with the glutton of good, as has been the trend under Howland lately, he'll be in trouble. It's a make or break year for Howland, and failing to make the NCAAs, again, will not be tolerated in Westwood. Considering their past success, and the amount of talent on hand, simply making the NCAAs without a deep run might not be tolerated either. So the young man chose the least stable coaching situation, farthest from home, and the most crowded depth chart. Korey McCray must be one helluva salesman. So with a spot on the staff coming open now that Todd Okeson has taken a job at Southern Utah, it'll be interesting to see if Fox finally hires a locally connected salesman of his own. Georgia basketball fans, proud masochists since 1905.

The Georgia Football Theme Song for 2012

Yeah, it's a day late. But then again, people who enjoy such foliage aren't known for their punctuality.

One More Evil Thought On Richt's "Extra" Rules.

Sports and Grits is a blog dedicated to telling how it is no matter how much you dislike the truth.  We are hated and despised by many within the Georgia fan base because of one simple truth....We live in reality and a large number of Dawg fans do not live with us in that reality.  This struggle is not new to the world.  In fact the struggle between what is and what Hippies call "Utopia" has been going on for centuries.

Now if you are a regular on this blog because you know us to be beacons of the truth then you know the man in the picture above.  On the other hand if you are a Disney/PeePee Dawg then do not look directly at the above picture for the greatness of the man may drive you insane.

His name is Niccolo Machiavelli and in 1513 he wrote an Italian, Politically-based, pre-cursor to Sports and Grits.  The book he wrote is called The Prince and it is a must read for all Cold Blooded Sausage Makers.  In fact it was so baller that the Catholic Church banned the book all together......sound familiar?  Well needless to say the Catholic Church took a major hit with the advent of Protestantism and the original Martin Luther's 95 thesis.  Hmmmm....I wonder, could those that ban and oppress S&G face a similar fate in the near future?  Could they be ruined by a competitor?  Hard to say right now but if history repeats itself our work will be considered legendary in the field of SEC Football studies in about 200 years. 

Mark Richt is always talking about doing things the right way and the way things are supposed to be.  Richt is trying to give guidance to 17-22 year old kids who most likely come from abject poverty, a fatherless home, and a socio-economic background that looks down upon education and considers violating the law as an inevitability in life.  Trust me I see it everyday.  Here is an example.
 Educated and productive members of society, if arrested, will say "I have been charged with ________".  Uneducated, unproductive, social leaches, when (not if) arrested, will say "I done caught a charge". 
Do you see the difference?  They have caught the charge much like one catches a cold.  Any attempt to do anything other than sheppard these kids in and out of the University, get the most out of them, and pass them off to the NFL is a waste of time.

"The distance is so great between how we live and how we ought to to live that he who abandons what is done for what ought to be done learns his ruin rather than his preservation; because a man who wants to make a profession of goodness in everything is bound to come to ruin among so many who are not good."~~Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince (1513).

Wow, its like Ol' Niccolo had a crystal ball and was describing Mark Richt and the SEC circa 2012.

Riders Milkshake Brings All the Voters to the Yard!

One of the centerpieces of the CCRider for Commish platform is my pledge to bring the Banana Pudding Milkshake at Chick-Fil-A to the masses.....all year long!

Just so you know it is back right now.

Naturally, since this is a blog that focuses on all matters of SEC Football whenever something is back we cue Gamecock Legend Corey Boyd.  Hit is Corey:
"THE BP SHAKE IS BACK LIKE COOKED CRACK, SON!"

Could we really stand a chance with Tony Parker?

We've been over this before, Georgia has a good sales pitch. And Mark Fox has apparently been relentless with it, which may finally be paying off. We can sell immmediate playing time. With a role needed to be filled that he fits perfectly. And a system well designed to showcase his talent. For the coach some rate as the best developer of talent and a proven producer of NBA talent. Close to home. With several friends and former teammates. On a grand stage with lots of television and scout exposure. With another elite talent on the floor. And the chance to go down as a signature star of the program instead of at best another rung on the ladder. But could it actually work? No one really imagined as much, but we kept at it, and others may be falling by the wayside. Georgia has it's negatives (mainly fan support and atmosphere), but that can change in a hurry with a winner. We've also got a lot of pluses too, so let's look at some of our competitors negatives. The true contenders all along have been Duke, Ohio St, Kansas and UCLA. Georgetown gets mentioned, although they always seem quickly dismissed. And Memphis has some positives, and could be the darakhorse here. Duke: He has admitted concerns with getting big man coaching from a scrappy PG (Wojo). Their big man development, while not bad with Zoubek or Shelden Williams, hasn't produced an NBA caliber starter since Elton Brand though (whose games seems similar to Parker's). Plus, with two Plumlee's returning, and a SR Ryan Kelley, the opportunity for immediate playing time isn't strong and may relegate him to bench role player for a while. Is Parker willing to sit behind a couple pasty white boys before showing his stuff when he could be getting a featured role for 30 minutes a night in Athens? Ohio St: Long thought to be the leader here, but reports have them falling off. With the poker face he's played, I wouldn't be surprised if that was a ruse and the Buckeyes are ultimately the choice. Thad Matta has recruited well, they win, produce big time players, and have a spot open with the vacating (and similar skilled) JJ Sullinger. I've long felt they'd be the choice, but if those reports are true, then it's not happening, which definitely is a boost to our chances. Kansas: Have the atmosphere, and if Withey goes pro, the playing time available. Bill Self has done a good job producing players, and their atmosphere is a huge draw. Another huge draw was Danny Manning, who's gone to Tulsa. While this may not hurt Kansas, it can't help, and Parker delaying his announcement may be a sign that he wants to see how the Jayhawks replace Manning before making a decision. UCLA: Has the Wear twins, and Josh Smith, among others occupying his playing time. It's way on the other side of the country, and the coaching staff is in a make or break year so you may not ever start for them. The distance from home, uncertainty around the coaches after repeated disappointing seasons, and their lack of producing anything of note since Love and Westbrook left town, in addition to a loaded depth chart, make them seem very unlikely. Memphis: Not the flashy name of the top 4, but a big time program. Pastner can recruit with the best of them, and they have the talent to make a run, but not so much it impacts playing time. They are a sneaky possibility, with negatives being Pastner hasn't exactly proven himself as a floor coach or developer of players, and then there's the violence and Lorenzen Wright thing that got a lot of play in the Atlanta area over the past year. Parker delayed an expected announcement yesterday, and appears to be smartly waiting things out. He's had more than long enough to compile info on all his contenders, so why the delay? Could it be he's waiting on a Manning replacement? Or seeing what happens with some players debating going pro? The longer this thing drags on, the longer those other programs can have some negatives pop up and let us make a late push past them. We may actually land Tony Parker! Now if we can just add a perimeter weapon to help utilize him. KCP is a good one, but we've got plenty of bodies for the front court, and a huge question mark on the outside. As much as landing Parker would be a huge deal, in part because of his immense talent, and in part because of the sign to Atlanta area talent that Fox is ready to get this party started, I want a perimeter threat as much if not more so.

In Arkansas, head football coach tops the Governor

while that's probably true for most Southern states, you'd think a future President of a Governor might raise the standards a bit. But let's see, Petrino has A and B. Ol' Billy Clint has C and D. I'll let you pick the winner yourself. A

B

C

D

You Could Be Greatness Arkansas.....You Could Lock-Up the SEC and National Title IF YOU.....

Bring in a Coach that can tap into the tremendous offensive talent that you currently have.

Malzahn......please, son! 

Holgorsen.....why cheat yourself?

An Interim Coach.....those always work out don't they....Clampsun?

Come on Arkansas just do the dang thang!  Get this one right.  Put in a call to the man you know you want........the man you know you need.

All the single piggies, all the single piggies, all the single piggies, all the single piggies

So you're saying there's a chance?

I still feel we need another perimeter weapon to properly space the floor and get the most use out of him, but scout.com has a feeling Georgia fans will enjoy. He said he wanted to shock the world, and that'd do it.

Who is laughing now? Gus Malzahn.....that's who.

"Oh?  Bobby Petrino self-destructed?  You have the most talented offensive team in Arkansas history?  You don't want to just call this season a total loss?  You don't want to get into a bidding war with West Virginia for their coach?  You don't want to go with Smart or Patterson because it will take them at least a year to implement their defensive schemes?  You want someone familiar with the State?  You want someone familiar with SEC West recruiting?  You want.................ME?  Good thing I strategically positioned myself just down the road at a program that no one expects me to stay at."

MUUUHHHUUUUHHHUUUUUHUUUUUUHAAAHAAHAAAHAAAHAAAH!

Arkansas Has Bobby P's Replacement on Campus Today.

WHOOAHHH...... INCOMPETENT OFFENSE-SOOIE!

A boy can dream can't he?

Richt on ESPNU....Aloof and Overly Moral as Ever.

The Beloved was on some Spring preview on the World Wide leader of douchery yesterday.  If you missed it here is how it went.

Chris Fowler: Is Malcom Mitchell good?
CMR: Yes he is and his farts have a fruity aroma on account of all those Jellybeans.
Chris Fowler: So you have a bunch of guys in trouble?
CMR: Yes.  You see we play in the toughest, most cut-throat, most do or die conference in the world so we figured we would handicap ourselves with a bunch of additional rules.
Chris Fowler:   Ah I see and I approve of this because in doing so you prevent Georgia from ever being truly great.  I like that because I, like all my colleagues here, loath the SEC and do not want yet another program in the SEC finding the ultimate success.  So do you think that other SEC programs should hinder themselves with these absurd rules?
CMR: Well I am far too weak to actually say that but I will give you some broad sweeping answer all about how it would be nice if everyone created these mythical moral boundaries.

Awkward is spelled awkwardly

BUBBA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bubba is from the South.
South Africa is not the South.
Bubba is from the land of Spanish Moss and Magnolias.
The only thing Africa has is AIDS.
Bubba's name is Bubba and not with all that fancy spellin' like Buh-Buh but just good Ol' Bubba.
You cannot have three vowels in a row in your name and they certainly can't be all the same letter "O"
Bubba drives the above car
Ooompaloompah drives the below car.

Bubba was a Dawg.
Georgia is in the SEC
Bubba just won the only golf tournament that matters
Does that mean the SEC just sorta won at something else?

Way to put the stink on that pink Bubba!!!!

Can We Get An Overall 20% Impairment Rating?

Personal Injury Legal Work (Ambulance Chasing) is considered "sleazy" by most people's standards.  Of course that is until your car is totaled and you get offered 70% of what it actually costs and then you can only access $25,000 from the the person who hit you and you have $350,000 in medical bills.  Then the ambulance chaser becomes Matlock as far as you are concerned.
So as we sat in the Ol' Curiosity Shop this afternoon we had a personal injury walk in client.  Needless to say we were somewhat surprised when that client was Slutty Bobby-P.  Here is how the consultation went:

CC: Obviously you were hurt....do you have an accident report.
BP: Sure do.
CC: Well I see the other party was charged with the accident.
BP: Let me axe you a question.  How much money you think Ima get?
CC: Well I can't really say because I'm not sure what your injuries are. 
BP: Well you know I mean like......I be in....you know ugscrutiatin' pain....it be like the whole left side of my body just be hurtin.  Oh, and like my neck and my back is like it ain't never gone be the same.
CC: Hmmmmm.....I think we may need to send you over to Ken Nugent.

(alright you got me this is not a conversation that we had with Petrino it is however a conversation we have at least five times a week with all sorts of pillars of the community.)

Morris Claiborne R Smarute!

Morris Claiborne scored a 4 on the Wonderlic Test according to ESPN.

Now if Morris was a QB from the Big XII me telling you that would be racist and it would have never been on ESPN.  Alas, Claiborne is an instinct position player in the SEC so feel free to have at this kid.  Hopefully he will be torn down and then Mel Kiper Jr. can slide a Notre Dame corner onto his Big Board.  Morris knows all he needs to know and all he needs to know is:

a) how to cover a receiver like a blanket; and

b) there had best to be six zeros behind whatever number he is offered after he is drafted in the top 10.

Keep voting for Herschel

He's in the finals vs. Barry Sanders. We bested that pretty boy special teamer, now it's time for the greatest college football player of all time to defeat Thurman Thomas' backup that excelled for a single season (before becoming my favorite NFL player).

#34 vs. #20, go you Herschel Walker! On our last check, Herschel was losing, so pick it up Dawgs!

Mark Richt doesn't want to win

We could point out how Marc Deas transferring and Derrick Lott transfering leaves us short handed, and the hand wringing involved with, as of now, just 73 scholarshipped players who signed letters of intent. But we've had this stance for a long time,that we are a program that loves to take the moral high ground and shoot ourselves in the foot. We can enjoy the moral victory of "we don't oversign", and rewarding hard working walk ons, but our signing day numbers have been hurting this program. We said on signing day this year, we needed more DBs and OL. We had the room, we just didn't use it. We could have been signing towards 88 or 89 for years, instead of to 85 or less, and let the inevitable annual attrition take care of itself. But we don't, and that leaves us short handed. It also keeps us from taking chances on a couple kids that just may pan out in to big time contributors (like last second signees Kenarious Gates and Tim Jennings, among others, have become). Georgia football voluntarily puts itself in a worse position time and time again. And this rumor of having a drug test when kids returned from spring break only adds to it. Whether weed should be illegal or not (it shouldn't), is another debate. Whether we should suspend kids for the first failure is another debate. But picking a time where kids may have been idiots? That's shooting yourself in the foot. If we did that, without a big red flag team meeting before they left informing each and every one YOU WILL BE TESTED AFTER SPRING BREAK, then we're idiots. People love to tell us that you can't judge Mark Richt on championships, because he's a good coach without them. Maybe so, but the reason he doesn't have rings, while Saban and Meyer and Miles do, is his own damn fault. They look for ways to win, while Georgia keeps on looking for ways to lose. It's sad but true, we will not win a national title under Mark Richt. And we won't win one, because he won't allow it to happen.

Spring Game Superstars!

Apparently Zach Mettenberger lit it up in LSU's spring game. YEAH for him, and let the "he woulda started over Murray" begin. It's stupid to make these claims, because OMG he was so great on G Day 3 years ago!!!! Spring games are little more than glorified practices with fan masterbation attached. Defenses don't play their best schemes, rarely hit QBs, and who knows who actually plays or for how much. So before everyone goes aall crazy because this guy or that guy shows out in G Day, remember former TB Ronnie Powell, the damn good Dawg that he was, probably had as many, if not more, yards in G Day games as he did in the regular season over his career.