Long Day Already

So I had an interview today. The lady performing the interview just happened to be a UGA grad, which made things interesting since she felt the desire to brag for about 5 minutes. I think I bit a hole in my tongue trying not to say anything back.

I should have something else to say later today. For now, just enjoy The Flight of the Conchords for no reason at all.

SEC Power Poll: Week 4

The sun was able to rise, as expected. I’ve been told that the team is already looking at film of Florida State, which is a good sign of how this team is ready to move on. I have a feeling that we won’t look so sluggish this Saturday. Roll the Noles!!!

I have another interview this morning, so I’ll be behind the gun again in terms of posting. For now, just read my Power Poll ballot for the week.

1. LSU

That trick play with Matt Dam-… Flynn tossing the ball behind his back was just sick.

2. Florida

The battle of the O verses man-baby Tebow was won by the Gator.

3. Kentucky

If Kentucky wins the SEC East this year, the Wildcats should name a street after Rich Brooks.

4. Georgia

Gotta give the Dawgs a ton of credit, they came to play. As an added bonus, Stafford got to cuddle with the rest of his team in the endzone after the win.

5. South Carolina

Tough loss, although they did make the score respectable towards the end. I can’t wait to see how Spurrier sandbags against MSU.

6. Alabama

Tough, tough loss. But, we did seem some solid improvement in the effort. This gift is for you, Matthew.

7. Tennessee

Vols took down Arkansas State, which is solid if you consider how Texas played against them. Still, they really need to show more.

8. Mississippi State

They just won 3 games in a row, not much else should be said. Croomin’ is still my favorite term in college football.

9. Auburn

Brandon Cox is suddenly a hero again after breaking open the game against New Mexico State. The guy has been through a lot, and should have had this kind of support earlier.

10. Arkansas

I just have a bad feeling that the Hogs will be going through a tough 2007 season. The Nutt is about to leave the station.

11. Vanderbilt

Nothing of interest happened in Nashville this weekend.

12. Mississippi

They had a solid game plan against the Gators. Oh well, at least they still have Archie Manning to depend on.

Alabama 23-26 and Other Thoughts

We just lost, and I’m not all that sad about it. There were good and bad moments about this team, which can be expected under a first year head coach trying to fix a program in need of direction. Once again, we are shown that our QB play affects us greater than anything else this season. As John Parker Wilson goes, so does the Tide.

Hats off to UGA and Stafford for playing their guts out. Stafford may not win any Heisman love from his performance tonight, but he flat out won my respect. He made the big passes when he needed too, which is what a winner does. I only saw one or two bad example of Georgia fans, but I felt that their fanbase as a whole is a very respectable bunch who enjoy football just as much as the rest of us.

A message to our student section, namely the fraternity section: Do NOT throw cups at opposing players after a loss. I know they celebrated right in front of our student section, but that is where they had to score in order to win! I know a minority of the section did this, but it still makes me VERY upset. Don’t act like a bunch of classless stereotypes!

As for any disappointment, I’m really not too down about the loss. We all wanted to talk about how showing determination and guts at the end of a game is a sign of positive change last week. Well, our comeback tonight is another example of that. I know that we lost, but we had a second week in a row where we did not give up. It is my opinion that Georgia would’ve had this game won by the end of the 3rd quarter under the previous regime. We were able to get over a bad half of play to make a real game out of it. I just hope we are able to get our heads into the game earlier as the season progresses.

Do I blame the Saban coaching staff for this loss? Well, I would say they should certainly take some credit for it. But I really don’t think their game planning or play calling was so horrible that it held us back from winning. Had JPW been able to get his head in the game earlier and make smart decisions, we would’ve been able to do more. 3 yards passing in the 1st quarter needs to be addressed, as does the intensity in the first half.

Take heart my Crimson brethren, for tomorrow is a new day to continue our due diligence in the process to do what we need to do relative to how we must improve as the season progresses, a’ight?

The Gut and I: Georgia

Hey, I made the New York Times.

Mr. Corso picked Alabama to win, putting on the Big Al head and singing “Sweet Home Alabama”. I know most of us will be hearing about that Corso curse or the Gameday Curse. But don’t let that get you down, I know I’m not. My pessimistic side isn’t controlling my thoughts as much as my post made it appear. Here we go…

Reasons for my gut to say Alabama wins

• Saban’s 3-4 D can change to suit the formation.
• John Parker Wilson is able to get enough protection, giving him and our receivers a chance to burn the UGA corners.
• Javier Arenas is arguably the best punt returner in the conference. Given some decent protection, he can burn you.
• Big time game, big time atmosphere, big time crowd reaction.
• Georgia has some true freshman staring on that O-line. This is their first road game. Possible advantage perhaps?
• There is no cuddling in Bryant-Denny Stadium, Mr. Stafford.

Reasons for my gut to say Alabama losses

• Georgia is man enough. No Auburn man on the Finebaum show should ever say otherwise.
• We didn’t do a great job against the run last weekend. UGA has some solid backs.
• Matt Stafford > Casey Dick
• All of this hype could be too much too soon.
• Mark Richt > Houston Nutt
• Something just isn’t sitting well with me this week

If Alabama is going to lose a game early in the season, this would be the weekend. Georgia has something to prove. But, Alabama still has so much to prove as well. I wouldn’t be surprised by any result in this game. Should be another memorable experience.

What Will Happen After Saturday

If Alabama Loses

Make no mistake about it, other fanbases out there are positioning themselves for a massive “you ain’t payin’ Saban $4 mil to get beat!” week long celebration. I must admit, there are Bama fans out there who’s main goal in life is to brag way too much about anything and everything. They talk a big game, but when something bad happens, most of them disappear, leaving the rest of us to deal with the flamers from opposing teams. Such is life sometimes.

I do find it amazing how some of the anti-Saban crowd have already tried to devalue the wins against Arkansas and Vanderbilt. During the weeks before those games, most of them were telling us how we were probably going to lose to both programs since they were either equal in talent (VU) or had a higher level of talent (Ark.)

If Alabama Wins

If Alabama wins, we will start to get some actual respect. Not hype, respect. We’ve seen the amount of hype ESPN and the rest of the media has been directing towards the Tide. Now, we’re forced into a strange situation since most of them were dogging us in January.

I also expect people to start the “Georgia isn’t very good” barrage, as is the standard. I believe the Dawgs to be a good team no matter the score tomorrow; you should too.

Slight Paranoia Takes Over

This message is brought to you by Tide Druid’s pessimistic side. It has taken over long enough to type a post.

Doomed, doomed, doomed. Our chances in this game are totally shot now thanks to all that has gone on this past week. Have you seen this stuff being set up?

Ugh…. we don’t need this much hype this early in the season. Our players aren’t used to having this much attention. It makes me wonder where their thoughts have been outside of practice. Yes, I will admit that Saban is one of the best in the business in getting his teams to focus on the task at hand. But, this team has absolutely no prior training in this regard. UGA and crew seem hungry; we seem to still be full of BBQ pork.

Then there is John Parker Wilson. Yeah, he and Caddell won the game for us. But, you can’t deny the fact that JPW does better against man-to-man coverage since he doesn’t have to read the schemes as often. Give the guy a little pressure and a mixed bag of defensive packages, and you have yourself a QB throwing off of his back foot all day long. Somebody, please help me bury my head in the sand before I have to witness this horror.

It’s the only way!

Then we have the defense to worry about. Yes, the starters are solid players. After that, there is a bit of a drop off. Thinking about Georgia running the ball is giving me hives….

Finally, there are a few unforgiving trends we need to address. We have a winning percentage of .000 when ESPN College Gameday comes to Tuscaloosa. ZERO! THIS CURSE SHALL ENGULF US ALL, CAUSING A SYSTEMATIC CHAIN OF DESTRUCTION AND FAILURE!!! Why must this Fowl-Herb-So curse be so unkind to the Tide?

Life is divided into the horrible and the miserable.

*cough* Ok…. I’ve calmed down enough to remember that Mark Richt and Georgia have a crazy-good SEC road record. What is it, something like 100,000,000-3? At least that is how daunting it feels to me. I think I just need to sit down and drink enough liquid to cause a rhino to pass out. Maybe that way I’ll miss this emotional torture we call College Football.

This message was brought to you by the Pessimistic (and now manic depressive) side of the Tide Druid. It has now disappeared into the dark regions of the mind. Stay tuned for a complete 180.

Dale Jr. is 88

I understand that most of you probably aren’t NASCAR fans, so that is why I don’t mention it often. However, congrats should be in order for Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans, who just got to see their favorite driver’s new number and paint schemes. This is one of the blandest things on four wheels I’ve seen in a while:

I doubt I’ll ever go to Talladega ever again after this news. Dale Jr. fans hyped up on Amp energy drink + Jeff Gordon winning = Redneck Armageddon. Before you send me any hate mail, please realize I’m just joking.

UGA vs. UA Video Dump

I’ve got some things that need to be handled by the end of today, so I’ll be fairly busy. I’ll try to post something more insightful later, depending on how much I actually get done. Trying to get a real job can be a bit hectic at times.

This first video is from 1994. It is the last time Alabama beat Georgia in Tuscaloosa. Watching Jay Barker run out of the pocket is like watching Nick Saban smile at the media after a press conference; it just doesn’t feel natural.

This next video is from 1985, the year I was born. Shula to Bell baby. Probably the only good memory of Mike Shula most Alabama fans still have left. If I remember correctly, this was Vince Dooley’s last game against Alabama as well.

I have to wonder what is going on with Spencer Tillman and the CBS crew in this last clip. The audio just happens to “cut out” twice. To top it all off, he refers to Alabama as Arkansas (don’t worry Hog fans, he picked you to beat Georgia by 4). Wonderful editing job by CBS.

I also found John Parker Wilson’s total passing yardage to be an uncomfortable number. Bad omen perhaps? I doubt it. But, it is a game, so you know people will be looking for any kind of sign.

I digress. Here is Spencer Tillman discussing this week’s game of Georgia at Alabama. Enjoy.

Phil Steele’s SEC Standings

In the world of pre-season magazines, Phil Steele is viewed as a giant among fatter, lazier writers who can’t stomach studying football for 3 months straight (wussies). Here are his projected SEC standings for 2007. The text in red represents a loss. For the rest of the conferences, Click Here.

EAST

Florida (7-1): Tennessee, at Mississippi, Auburn, at LSU, at Kentucky, n Georgia, Vanderbilt, at S Carolina

Georgia (5-3): S Carolina, at Alabama, Mississippi, at Tennessee, at Vanderbilt, n Florida, Auburn, Kentucky

Tennessee (4-4): at Florida, Georgia, at Miss St, at Alabama, S Carolina, Arkansas, Vanderbilt, at Kentucky

South Carolina (3-5): at Georgia, at LSU, Miss St, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, at Tennessee, at Arkansas, at Florida

Kentucky (3-5): at Arkansas, at S Carolina, LSU, Florida, Miss St, at Vanderbilt, at Georgia, Tennessee

Vanderbilt (1-7): Alabama, Mississippi, at Auburn, Georgia, at S Carolina, at Florida, Kentucky, at Tennessee

WEST

LSU (8-0) at Miss St, S Carolina, Florida, at Kentucky, Auburn, at Alabama, at Miss, at Arkansas

Alabama (7-1): at Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Georgia, at Miss, Tennessee, LSU, at Miss St, at Auburn

Arkansas (6-2): at Alabama, Kentucky, Auburn, at Miss, S Carolina, at Tennessee, Miss St, at LSU

Auburn (2-6): Miss St, at Florida, Vanderbilt, at Arkansas, at LSU, Miss, at Georgia, Alabama

Miss St (1-7): LSU, at Auburn, at S Carolina, Tennessee, at Kentucky, Alabama, at Arkansas, Miss

Misssissippi (0-8): at Vanderbilt, Florida, at Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, at Auburn, LSU, Miss St

Well, he’s still pretty spot on to date. The only game he has missed is the South Carolina @ Georgia game. I not sure why he has both Miss. State and Auburn with a loss after playing each other though. If Alabama goes 7-1 in SEC play this year, expect a massive increase in bandwagon fans.

(HT: Wizard of Odds, Phil Steele)

Picture of Humor

I’ll a little on the busy side today, so enjoy this picture. If you can’t even chuckle at this, well….. you’re not human.

(HT:Flickr caribdis_77)