‘Twas the night before football

You know, I considered doing the whole silly poetry schtick. But then I remembered that I can barely string together a comprehensible sentence, much less one that rhymes. Besides, the only rhymes I know are of an amphibrachic nature, if you know what I mean. And, honestly, we’re all the better for not having to go through that limerical experience.

So… Football! Tomorrow! Just hours away! Y’all ready? I’ve just had a sign that, I think, bodes well for our future. Long story short, I was poised to help a friend move into a new place this weekend. But then I received a text from her telling me that “I’m off the hook : )” because movers have been hired.

I realize that some things are vastly more important than other things. I do. I realize that. Really. And so I say, I’m very proud of my friend for what she has accomplished through a difficult time. She has done many good things that will help important people. Very well done, Liz.

(And I get to watch football!)

Dominant Jon Jenkins

http://twitter.com/#!/marcweiszer/status/108692235020800000

Coach Richt and players’ press conference transcript

Check out the transcript of the press conference held earlier today, which includes a ton of quotes from Coach Richt as well as a few from Tavarres King, Aaron Murray, Abry Jones and Sanders Commings. Here’s one from Coach Richt that caught my eye:

On what other opposing coaches have said about Boise State…

“I’d say opposing coaches say ‘get ready.’ They say ‘these guys know how to play the game of football.’ They’re going to get after you. You better be prepared. They are relentless in their play. They are well coached. They believe. Lately, they’ve started fast and furious on both sides of the ball.”

You know, that’s what folks used to say about them Dawgs.

And then there’s this:

On if there are any players other than Carlton Thomas who would not play vs. Boise State for reason other than injuries…

“Nothing to report on that. Nothing to report at this point anyway.”

Look, he’s totally messing with us. He knows we’re all wondering. Why announce one suspended player and then be coy about the possibility of another? Why? I ain’t never “been in the arena” so maybe this is that sort of deal: something I wouldn’t understand or be able to handle. Typing that out, I feel like Jack Nicholson just yelled at me or something.

Moving onward, it seems that Aaron Murray has started talking like a pirate:

“The coaches don’t always love it when I run, but sometimes they do. If no one is open and your options are to get four or five yards or to throw the ball out of bounds, you might as well get something positive out of the play. The fans love it, besides me parents probably.”

I just hope Aaron spent a bit of time this off season learning the finer points of sliding down with the ball from his brother Josh, who was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers back in the day and also walked-on as a safety to join his younger brother at UGA. Nothing against Hutson Mason or possibly Christian LeMay, but one thing for sure I know I wouldn’t be able to handle is seeing Aaron Murray injured and knocked out of a game.

John Kasay signs with Saints

http://twitter.com/#!/Official_Saints/status/108625726936317952

Glad to see this. If you’ll recall, Kasay penned a farewell letter to Panthers’ fans after he was released by the organization after serving as its kicker for 15 seasons. By all accounts, John Kasay is a stand up guy. He’s also a former Dawg and an alum of Clarke Central High School, same as me!

Go Gladiators and Go Dawgs!

Say which?

What the hell is going on here? Coach Richt “won’t address” whether Bacarri Rambo is suspended for the opener. He’ll comment at “the appropriate time“, which is as yet undetermined because “he has to figure that out“.

Dang, Bacarri, what did you (allegedly) do? Eradicate a colony of innocent meerkats using a grotesque weapon made of rainbows and lightning bugs? What did you, prank call the Catholic Center on Lumpkin? Or is this some, like, super secret Operation “Fortitude”-type stuff? Is cagey ol’ Coach Richt spreading out both misinformation and disinformation?

I don’t know, guys. This whole Rambo saga has been sitting on the back burner the whole off season, just kind of bubbling along. We knew it was there but we were busy with other things and, besides, we were told not to lift the lid off for a peek. And all the while, Bacarri Rambo hasn’t been made available to the media since I don’t know when. His name hasn’t been mentioned except when answering a direct question about him. He’s been seemingly supplanted on the starting roster. And now, more obfuscation regarding his situation.

Interesting times, folks. We do indeed live in them.

Update:

http://twitter.com/#!/ZachKleinWSB/status/108346363598745600

Lost for the season

Boise State has lost a player for the season in running back Malcolm Johnson, who tore his ACL during the Bronco’s practice yesterday.

Johnson, who returned to the program this fall after leaving for a year, was extremely impressive during fall practice. He was considered the No. 3 running back after Doug Martin and D.J. Harper.

OK, so it’s not a huge loss for them. But it does affect their depth at running back a bit. And, who knows, maybe… Alright, I’m just kind of rambling on because I’m trying to ignore this thought in the back of my head that is showing a little persistence. Maybe if I were to look at it from another angle… Thank the Gods this wasn’t us. Yeah, that’s a much more palatable way of looking at it. Because “What if it had been us?”, frankly, scares the hell out of me.

Mean Sumbitches

I don’t just consider myself a fan of the University of Georgia Bulldogs. I think of myself as a sort of ambassador as well. When I’m out and about and I’ve got my Dawgs hat on, I always try to comport myself in a manner befitting a Southern gentleman. I hold doors open for folks, say “Yes, Sir”or “No, Ma’am” and exhibit all kinds of common courtesy, even whilst driving. And as ambassador for the Dawgs, I feel I have been granted plenipotentiary powers and as such, it is well within my rights to state that our position on the matter of trash-talking is, essentially, “Don’t start non’, won’t be non'”.

That said, I’m sure you’ve all seen the tweet by corner back and kick returner Brandon Boykin, daring Coach Chris Petersen and the Boise State Broncos to kick him the ball. Brandon, as I’m sure you’ll recall, holds all kinds of Dawgs’ records for kick off returns, including three of the hundred-yard variety, returned for touchdowns.

There are some in the Dawg Nation who feel that perhaps Mr. Boykin should keep these thoughts to himself. That maybe he should speak with his actions during the game rather than Tweet with his fingers the week before. I can understand this line of thinking. After all, I consider myself a fairly humble and soft-spoken guy. But what I’m not is an 18-20 year-old football player who’s just spent most of the year preparing for a moment that is less than a week away. I don’t want players, especially on defense, who are, like me, humble and soft-spoken. I want napalm-pissing, concertina wire-chewing, mean sumbitches who say what they mean and then show everyone how much they mean it.

It’s on you, Brandon. You go, Boy(kin)!

“We’re going to be here all night”

We’ve talked a lot about Alec Ogletree during this off season. But, man, I liked this quote about him from Jarvis Jones so much, I just had to put it on the blog:

“We’ve got somebody at middle linebacker that can run and can hit. Most definitely you’re going to want to run away from him, because he’s going to lay that wood. He’s going to give you a reality check, you know. And that’s what we need in the middle. We need one of those players that can step in a gap and give the running back or quarterback or a lineman a reality check that, ‘We’re going to be here all night.’”

A reality check. That’s what I’m talking about. I’m scared of Tree and I’m on his side! Today would be a lot better if it were next Saturday.

Put in Coach Fox!

http://twitter.com/#!/coachmarkfox/status/107526715173109760

Have I ever mentioned what a big fan of Coach Mark Fox I am? Firstly,  he’s a great coach who has begun the journey of bringing our basketball team back to prominence. Secondly, he loves UGA. And now there’s this Tweet.

I’m proud to have coaches on our staff who genuinely love doing what they do where they do it. Only good things can come of that sort of attitude and passion.

How ‘Bout Them Dawgs!

Mettenberger’s chance redux

http://twitter.com/#!/RandyRosetta/status/107258548270006272

Zah Mettenberger ist zah mensch!

Looking forward to seeing what Zach can do. I remember being quite impressed by his performance at the Spring Game last year. The more I think about it and the timing of how everything went down with Zach, I wonder if that G-Day game was a sort of live action résumé for him to shop around? Whatever the case, after transferring, he led his team to an appearance at the Juco national championship game and then later signed with LSU, bringing him back to the SEC. Good on him, I say.