Oct 12, 2009

A Bit of Wednesday Optimism

I've found that at times like this, (almost) no one wants to look at the positives. I do, because frankly, that's all we have to feel good about. Most others are too busy crying or finding other teams to pull for, but my Georgia Bulldogs have (at least) 6 more games to play this season. And I'm a Bulldog for life.

Our Other Losses

So first, let's look at the big picture. We've lost 3 games. The first game was terrible for everyone because we lost our opener, something many of us have never seen. It's always hard to lose an opener because it's obviously the most hyped and built up game of the season (as you have the entire offseason to look forward to it). We had a lot of new faces on offense, including a sick quarterback who had only started 1 college game, and we put up a relatively good fight for most of the game. We lost by 14 points on the road to a still top 25 team.

Our second loss (to LSU) was unfortunate, due to the fact that no one expected our offense to stall like it did, and we all were so happy and relieved when we were up with a minute to go. A controversial penalty and bad kick coverage later, and we lost the game. It was heartbreaking, but at least we could all take solace in the fact that against a top-5 team, we were one bad call and a kick return away from winning. We all know we could have won that game easily, so it didn't hurt quite as bad.

The Big Loss

And then Tennessee. We got manhandled and destroyed by a new coach and his ragtag team of Volunteers. It was unexpected (by most) and pathetic. Our coaches and team appeared to give up in the 3rd quarter and let it slip out of hand.

And now the program is "in shambles" and the sky is falling.

Not so fast, my friend.

Yes, it's clear to everyone that we have some major problems. Our coaches seem confused and defensive. Our players are likely doing their best just to figure out what's going on. And on Saturday, our entire team gave up.

Last year we saw similar blowouts, but that Georgia Bulldog squad didn't give up. Against Alabama, after trailing 31-0 at halftime, we sent out our guys and struggled desperately to fight back in it, and we came relatively close, but never gave up. In Jacksonville, even when the game was way out of hand and the Florida players were dancing and taunting, our team kept fighting, and Joe Cox came in to throw our only touchdown with minutes remaining.

But Saturday at Tennessee? We took out AJ Green, put in Logan Gray and ran the ball repeatedly as our coaches stood on the sidelines smirking uneasily. We didn't take shots downfield, we didn't try to score for our dignity, we just ran the ball and wanted the game to end. They gave up.

Surely, our Georgia team is better than what we saw on Saturday. But there's an overwhelming sense that they're being held back by something, and everyone has their own opinions on what that is. We know there need to be changes, but we don't know what will be changed or what effect it will actually have.

The Bright Side

Wondering where the optimism is? What's the bright side?

The bright side is, this season is not yet over. No one will want to even think about it, but we're still technically in the SEC race.

As impossible as it sounds, we need 4 things right now to win the East.

1. We need to win the rest of our SEC games (@Vanderbilt, Florida, Auburn, Kentucky).

2. We need Florida to lose at least one other SEC game (Arkansas, @Miss. State, Vanderbilt, @South Carolina)

3. We need South Carolina to lose one more SEC game (@Alabama, Vanderbilt, @Tennessee, @Arkansas, Florida)

4. We need Tennessee to lose one more SEC game (@Alabama, South Carolina, @Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, @Kentucky)

#'s 3 and 4 seem almost guaranteed, as it's highly unlikely that either South Carolina or Tennessee will win the rest of their SEC games (especially against Alabama).

The miracle part would be #1 and #2, specifically Georgia beating Florida.

But is it possible? Anything's possible, and I'm not ready to give up and say we're losing ahead of schedule.

And like I said before, even if (or when) the SEC East goal is out of reach, our team still has each game to play. Each opponent matters. Although many will say, "Well, our season is done anyway, might as well lose the rest of our games," I'm sure if you're a real fan, you'll want to win any game we can.

And we've got 6 left.

We have half a season to see what happens.

It could be a bumpy ride, so real Dawg fans, buckle your seatbelts and just enjoy the ride. To you fair-weather types, you might just want to get out right now before the trip continues. I believe there's a school in Atlanta that will give you free hotdogs if you go to their games.


6 comments:

  1. TOTALLY IN AGREEMENT...Especially that last paragraph about hot dogs

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  2. That team in Atlanta beat UGA the last time they met and they have a better record than UGA this year. Richt isn't the only one with a smug smirk on his face...

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  3. THWG1974,

    Your facts appear to be correct, but how does that affect my comment about the hotdogs?

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  4. Was the hot dog comment intended as an insult to Tech? I think so. Why? Because it is easier for most UGA fans that I know to make fun of us for being nerds, selling hot dogs, etc., etc., etc. than to take a realistic look at the program in Athens and make an informed and intelligent post/comment about what should be happening.

    My point is that every UGA fan out there can sling snide comments all they want, the fact remains GT has the better program presently. I know that most UGA fans are singing the same song we were a couple of years ago, we feel your pain and know that it is no fun at all. The one thing I don't understand is how UGA fans can throw Richt (and some of the players) under the bus so quickly. Gailey never achieved success that he should have at Tech and lost his job because of it, Richt has achieved some degree of success and people are calling for his head.

    BTW, it has been a few years since they offered that (I'll admit embarrassing) three game package with free hot dogs/drinks. DRad and CPJ have changed things in ATL, it's not the same mentality that was there with Braine and Gailey. All I can offer you is hope, it got better for us fairly quickly and I feel like it will for you guys as well as long as Richt makes the decisions that need to be made.

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  5. THWG1974,

    My main point wasn't to poke fun at Tech (which I do) but to tell bandwagon fans that they can find another team if they feel like giving up (which I'm sure they will). But I did take a look at some things in the program, and I don't know many UGA fans who are ignoring our problems right now. I just chose to focus on the big picture right now, because plenty of others are dissecting our program on their blogs.

    Few are throwing Richt under the bus, and most (including myself) love our head coach and want him here until he retires.

    And you can't really blame me for poking fun at Georgia Tech. It's what I do. Just like I don't blame you for your name (which presumably is an acronym for To Hell With Georgia).

    Thanks for the optimism and the hope. That's really all I was trying to give out with this blog post.

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  6. Listen, I don't read many Georgia blogs but I do yours because it isn't knee-jerk like most. I know that you guys feel the same way about us as we do you...I relish a UGA loss almost as much as a Tech win. I hate UGA but I respect the man that CMR is. I do think he would be perceived in a better light right now if he showed more fire and banged heads some. It's football for God's sake not Sunday School.

    I didn't like the way that Auburn treated Tuberville/Franklin last year or the way Clemson treated Bowden and hope that UGA won't do the same thing to anyone on their staff. I hope that cooler heads prevail and that CMR is allowed to make changes when they are appropriate...at the end of the season. We had to suffer through 7 LONG years of Gailey (not to mention Reggie Ball) and our program is better for it. Our fanbase was torn at the beginning of last season over CPJ and what to expect but you can see a difference in not only the number of people showing up on Saturdays at BDS but also all over the message boards/blogs. We are fired up and love what is happening on The Flats.

    We all just have to remember that it is always better for everyone in the state when we both succeed throughout the season and meet that last weekend in November for an all out fight.

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