UGA blog finds new home
Morning all. As I’ve said a couple of times this week, we’re converting this blog over to a WordPress platform and it will be a permanent move the first of next week.
Those of you who are regulars probably know that I’m not what you’d call techno-wizard when it comes to these things. But from what I understand the technology offered in this new format should make the blogging and commenting experience better for all. Of course, I’ll be learning as we go along, too. But I’m hoping to provide more pictures and video and things like that which should bring the blog more to life.
Of course, this blog is nothing without all you guys so I want to heartily invite (read: beg) you to come over to the new site by CLICKING HERE ON THE NEW ADDRESS and save it in your browsers. As of Monday, Feb. 23rd, this will be the permanent home of the UGA blog you so love or, in the case of some of you, love to loathe. If you’d prefer to copy and paste or just memorize, the new address is: http://blogs.ajc.com/uga-sports-blog/.
See at the new place!
AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2009 > February > 13
Friday, February 13, 2009
Positive signs for Georgia football
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s waaaaaay early to start making any kind of predictions regarding Georgia football and I’m not going to attempt that today. But I will say that I have detected some positive signs for the type of team the Bulldogs might be developing for next season.
They’re subtle signs, to be sure, and they might not mean much when it comes to blocking and tackling and scoring points come September. But based on a criteria strength coach Dave Van Halanger enumerated for me a couple of years back I think they bode well for Georgia.
Van Halanger told me in a conversation in July of 2007 that “chemistry and morale” are the two most important ingredients for team success. “Everybody has good players and everybody lifts weights, runs and conditions year round,” he explained. “The difference is how the players truly feel about each other. They have to love each other and care about each other.”
Van Halanger went on to say he felt that 2007 team was very close and scored high in chemistry and morale. That squad went 11-2 and finished with a No. 2 ranking, you may recall. He did not say the same thing about last year’s team.
I haven’t talked to Van Halanger about this latest group but I’ve noticed some things that speak well for fitting into his criteria.
For example, it may not have seemed a big deal to people that UGA signee Branden Smith ended up with the No. 1 jersey he so coveted. After all, Mohamed Massaquoi wore it the last four years and he’s graduating and heading to the NFL. But the reality is, like Smith, A.J. Green had worn No. 1 in high school and wanted to wear it at Georgia. But since Massaquoi already had it, Green agreed to wear No. 8 last season with the understanding he’d be first in line to get it this year.
“A.J. Green said he would let me wear No. 1 and he would keep No. 8,” Smith told the AJC’s Larry Hartstein recently. “He said if I decided to come up there, he’d let me wear No. 1 because he wanted me to be his teammate.”
A small gesture on the surface, yes, but it could be huge in the locker room.
There are other similar signs, such as the work of Jeff Owens. I’ve linked to his blog here a couple of times, Jeff Owens: The Real Deal. If you read the type of posts he’s putting on there, things like “What It Means to Wear the G” and various tributes to his teammates and things like that, you’ll see that he’s not your stereotypical self-absorbed jock. He’s clearly a team-first, love-my-school player and that guy’s a big-time leader on this team.
Quarterback Joe Cox falls into this category, too. As you’ll note between now and his debut next fall, Cox is an excitable, enthusiastic, kind of in-your-face leader. Teammates have pointed out his infectious personality and get-behind-me style. Again, it’s not going to help him pick up a zone blitz but it’s going to help him win over the trust of his teammates.
Like I said, you still better have speed and skill and all the good chemistry and morale in the world is not going to overcome 22 season-ending injuries. But with six months between now and preseason camp it looks like the Bulldogs have some strong intangibles to build on.
Now for some links:
I guess it’s never too early to start looking ahead to the next Georgia football recruiting class. Our recruiting specialist Michael Carvell looks at the Bulldogs’ numbers for next year… .
Matthew Stafford, if you haven’t heard, is projected to be the No. 1 pick in April’s NFL draft in April. Here’s a nice look at Georgia’s other three No. 1 NFL draft picks by those noted bloggers, “Bubba and Earl Sittin’ on the 50.” …
This is a great, awards-style breakdown of Georgia’s 2009 signing class by Macondawg on another dedicated Bulldogs blog called Dawg Sports. And the Freddie goes to …
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