Thomas Brown

As football fans, we all have our favorite players. One of mine was a 5'8" scatback from Tucker named Thomas Brown. During his UGA career, number 20 ran for 2,646 yards and 23 touchdowns. But, some of his greatest plays went unnoticed by statisticians.

In 2007, Knowshon Moreno burst onto the scene, rushing for 1,334 yards and 13 scores. But, one of my favorite plays transpired with Thomas Brown in the Bulldogs backfield. On a playaction pass with 3:09 left in the first quarter, Brown threw a key block on a blitzing Auburn defender, allowing Matt Stafford to launch a 58 yard six-strike to wide open receiver, Mohamed Massaquoi. The score gave Georgia a 10-3 lead and electrified the sellout crowd at Sanford Stadium on Blackout Saturday.

Bolstered by tremendous efforts from Brown, Moreno, Sean Bailey, and a defense that played with clean, old fashioned junkyard tenacity, the Dawgs finished the drill by defeating Auburn 45-20. The last score of the game was a 1 yard touchdown by Brown with 6:48 left in the fourth quarter.

As a member of the Georgia Bulldogs, the Tucker native led by example in all aspects of his life. Brown was a leader in the classroom, the weight room, and on the field. If you ask Mark Richt about the strongest player, pound for pound in UGA history, I'm sure he'll say, "Thomas did it the right way...as a matter of fact, he did it the Georgia way."

October 1 in the SEC

Vanderbilt has a bye this week. The Commodores will be back in action on October 8 when they travel to Tuscaloosa.

Florida hosts the Crimson Tide. This one could go either way, but I'll roll with the home field advantage. Gators chomp 'em up in O.T.

Arkansas vs Texas A&M at Cowboys Stadium. Hogs over Aggies.

LSU is Home vs Kentucky. #1 LSU wallops the Wildcats in Baton Rouge.

Tennessee is Home vs Buffalo. Dooley's vols improve to 3-1.

Ole Miss At Fresno State. Both teams suck but I'll take the Bulldogs at home.

Georgia is Home vs Mississippi State. Richt's Dawgs avenge last year's loss to Mullen's Dogs with a narrow victory.

South Carolina is Home vs the 2010 National Champs. Click on the title of this post to see my take on this one.

Check This

Chip Towers posted an interesting article on the AJC yesterday. In case you haven't read his post titled "Richt laughs at label of 'Hot Seat Bowl' vs Ole Miss, here's a link. Click on the title of this post.

I'll be back later with some original thoughts and picks for this week in the SEC.

Call off the "Dawgs"

Three years ago, if you would have told me that tonight's Georgia vs Georgia tech game would be the most pivotal moment in Mark Richt's career, I would have laughed at you. Well, I ain't laughin' now. At 5-6, UGA desperately needs to win this one.

Overall, Mark Richt has done a remarkable job as leader of the Dawg Pound in Athens. However, many fans have started directing angry barks in his direction. You see, some of the fan base has become disenchanted with the Richt regime, due to a couple of sub par seasons, including this one. Most of them wish to see a new coaching staff brought into Athens. But, sometimes the best move is the one you don't make.

Legendary coaches Vince Dooley, Bobby Bowden, and Joe Paterno all struggled at some point during their tenures. But, these men were given an opportunity to turn things around and elevated their programs to national prominence. Mark Richt deserves that same chance.

Regardless of tonight's outcome, I hope to see Richt remain in Athens.

Thanks to the talented sports writers at the AJC for giving me and the rest of their readers some valuable insight into this topic.

Go Dawgs...GATA!! Wreck tech countdown: 1 Hour, 48 minutes.

Soapboxin' Bulldog

You may have read the title of this post and started thinking, "Oh Lord, Rob's gonna lose his mind on this one." Not a bad guess. But, to quote Lee Corso, "Not so fast, my friend."

4-5 is what it is... a record. And an ugly one at that. But, what I've recently learned, is that sometimes the intangibles in life matter more than statistics. Have I lost you yet? Well, the lunatic fringe (which I used to resemble) has already checked out, or will call me crazy later...like it matters.

Mark Richt's Georgia Bulldogs don't quit. So, why should we? The 2010 season has been filled with adversity and unkind endings. What matters most, is how we handle it. Week after week, the Dawgs have left their heart on the field. So, this is gut check time for us... the fans. And, regardless of what has transpired, there is no reason to fold our tents. It's time to rally around this team with unrivaled loyalty and support.

With Mark Richt at the helm, better days truly lie ahead. What happened Saturday is history. All things considered, I am still proud to wear a Georgia logo on my cap. It's time for the Bulldog Nation to hunker down and stand firmly behind the Red and Black! Let's show them the strength of our heart. Go Dawgs!!

Click on the title of this post, ya'll.

Dawgs Win, Johnson Downplays Defeat

What's up, ya'll? It's been an interesting week in the state of Georgia. Last Saturday, Mark Richt took his "bad news Bulldogs" over to Craplanta and defeated the then #7 georgia tech yella jackets 30-24. Whooooooooooooo!!!!

Sorry for the lack of professionalism, but that was pretty sweet. I'm also sorry for the lack of class G.I.T. coach Paul Johnson showed on the radio. In an interview that caught the attention of the AJC's Bill King (the Junkyard Blawg), CPJ decided to throw some stones, shortly after his defense appeared to have none. King quotes Johnson referencing Georgia's program with these "sour grape-ish" quotes:
"What have they done to be the mark for georgia tech football? What's the last thing they've won? 1980?"

Oh, the dreaded 1980 line. Didn't think I'd ever hear an opposing coach throw out such irrelevant trash talk. You see, most of them at least pretend to have some class. But, Johnson is a different character.

In case he forgot, the last thing UGA won, was a game the Dawgs were expected to lose. Johnson's Ramblin' Wreckers were ranked #7 in the nation and UGA was a 6-5 team that just lost to Kentucky. But, Georgia flipped the script on 'em. The Dawgs out-rushed gt by 134 yards, en route to a 30-24 victory in that 55,000 seat stadium on the flats.
Paul Johnson, that's what "they've done" and that's the last thing "they've won." Go Dawgs!!

Click on the title of this post, to hear what I'd really like to tell the gt coach.

Richt Must Choose

A 6-5 season ain't sittin' well in Athens, GA. Especially, when the Dawgs have been tremendously slaughtered by their most hated rivals (45-19 Tennessee,
41-17 Florida, and 45-42 Tech in 2008). Something must change between the hedges. A once proud and dominant Bulldog defense has become one of the weakest units in college football. It's time for Mark Richt to make a very difficult decision. Either Willie Martinez must go, or CMR must go with him. Although Richt built a very impressive resume' during his first 8 years on the job, his program is rapidly decaying.

There are many problems with this year's squad, but the weakest link over the last few seasons is on the defensive side of the ball. I'm not sayin' there ain't play makers over there. There are. And that is the source of extreme frustration for Georgia fans all over the country. You could possibly see 3 Georgia DTs selected on the first day of the NFL draft. If ILB Rennie Curran skips his senior season, he could be one of 4 UGA defenders selected highly by the NFL.

Under the tutelage of Willie Martinez, Georgia's defense has done nothing, but freakishly diminish year, after year, after sorry azz defensive year. It's time for Richt to make a decision. Martinez must go, or he must kick rocks as well. As a proud fan of the Georgia Bulldogs, it's a sad day when I have to write an article such as this. But, Georgia fans don't wanna see any more of this: (click on title of post).

Joe Cox is Ready

Just 22 days away from the 2009 college football season, most of the talk coming out of Athens is centered around Joe Cox. There is much speculation about how much of "Matt Stafford's shoes" he can fill. Don't worry about that. More knowledgeable people than myself, (Buck Belue, for one) have compared #14 to a David Greene-like leader. Not because of the number on his back, but because of his leadership both on and off the field. Cox may not have the strongest arm in college football, but he does have a very good grasp on the Georgia offense.

Following a stellar career at Independence H.S. in North Carolina, Joe Cox was rated the #7 QB prospect by Rivals.com. The 5th year senior is poised and able to perform under pressure. For further evidence, one shouldn't look any further than 2006. Trailing Colorado by 13 points in the 3rd quarter, Coach Richt benched some dude named Stafford and sent Cox into the game. Joe took control and calmly led the Bulldog offense to 2 tremendous TDs. The Dawgs were down 13-7, as 50 stingy little seconds began to tick off the 4th quarter clock. Taking command of the moment, Cox threw a 21 yard 6-strike to Martrez Milner. All of a sudden, the game was tied at 13. It seemed surreal, when Brandon Coutu's PAT gave Georgia it's first lead of the day. It was a scrawny, little one point lead. But, that's all it took to defeat the Buffaloes. "If we can't score two times, we don't deserve to wear Gs on our helmets," Cox later told the press.

On that breath taking day in Athens, glory didn't come easily. But, Joe Cox was able to do something Matt Stafford couldn't. He led a previously ineffective Georgia offense into the endzone. More importantly, he delivered his team from a long afternoon of adversity, and drove the Dawgs to victory. Georgia fans, don't worry about Joe Cox. The signal caller from North Carolina will do just fine in 2009.

*Click on the title of this post to see Joe Cox save UGA from a likely defeat.