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Wednesday, August 29, 2007
***Breaking News***

A source inside told me the Redcoats have altered the pre-game show just a little bit to where it's different in between Battle Hymn and when the Dawgs run out. I don't want to spoil it because I think it's supposed to be a bit of a surprise, but just pay attention to the pre-kickoff ceremonies. I hope to write about the change and how I felt about it on the post-game wrap up. We now return you to your regularly scheduled "he doesn't know what the f*ck he's saying" post.


Oh shit. Here comes the prediction post...

Sept. 1 in Athens is without a doubt the biggest home opener I've ever seen the Dawgs play. Yes, even bigger than the 2005 Boise State contest. Boise State was not the Cinderella it is now and even though their game against Oklahoma last year was an epic one, I still don't believe the two teams were BCS-worthy teams. Anyway, we'll get into that on a later post I'm sure.



So let's get to it.


When OSU has the ball:

The Cowboys are an explosive team and return an offense with physically gifted weapons at QB and WR. They like to spread it out and tend to enjoy offensive sets of 3 or 4 WRs. They lost one of their possible starters in Artell Woods due to a horrible offseason workout injury, but they return both Adarius Bowman (60 rec./1181 yards/19.7 PYR) and D'Juan Woods (41 rec./647 yards/15.8 YPR). Both of those have the ability to break the game open and we will need to guard them closely. Bobby Reid (QB) rushed for 500 yards last year and we all know how poorly we played Vandy and Kentucky's mobile QB's last year. At RB you have two very capable, but not outstanding backs, who could cause havoc for us should our D-line not show up.


The UGA Defense has to watch out for #12 (Bowman).


What UGA needs to do is contain, contain, contain, and put pressure on Bobby Reid. If he gets his rhythm, it could be a very bad day for the Dawgs. Willie Martinez needs to bring some heat with ONE LB just to throw the pace off. I figure with 2 and 3 WR sets (we will see 4, but not as often as some might think, I believe), we'll use a nickel package. IMO, it would be best to rush one LB, use the MLB as a spy, and drift the other into coverage. My preference would be to rush Brandon Miller, use Ellerbe's talent as the MLB to read the play, and use Dewberry's (or whoever else might be in) speed in coverage.

The key is to get solid play from our Secondary so we can effectively stop the run. If we can disrupt Reid with our pass rush and keep the RBs from having a big day with our MLB and D-line play, then the Dawgs should be just fine in stopping a very productive offense.



When UGA has the ball:

As Ally pointed out, OSU has been a doormat to a lot of opponents. You can't finish in the mid-90s in total defense and win a lot of games. A lot of their seniors are on the offensive side of the ball and a lot of their team in general is very young (40 Fr., 25 Soph., 25 Jr., 20 Sr.). This team did not fair well last year against opponents who were worth playing, and they had a horrible road record. Last year alone they went 2-4 on the road and only beat Kansas and the powerhouse of Arkansas State (who Texas is playing for their opening game...get my drift?).

UGA needs to get the ground game going early and then use it to set up the play action pass (somewhere, Hal Mumme said "Amen"). Mike Bobo stepping in as an aggressive play caller will help a bunch. It also doesn't hurt to have Stafford as QB, a talented group of WRs ready to prove people wrong, and a stable of RBs that have power, balance, vision, and speed. If we can get on the board early and often, we win this game easily. Bobo has to use the weapons we have, possibly pull some trickeration, and spread out the offense to give us a chance. If we get one-dimensional, we might struggle, but I think out ground and air game will carry us through. Ally's friend Bill nailed it when he said "first to 30 wins."


Offensive mind and lead singer of R.E.M. Amazing...


Special Teams:

Should OSU make our offense struggle, we might be in for some trouble on the special teams side of things. We have a competition for punter going on between Drew Butler (Fr.) and Brian Mimbs (Jr.). Even with Mimbs recently being named the starter, with a Junior going neck and neck against a Freshman you have to think that either the Freshman is really good or the Junior just isn't that great. I'm not sure if anyone really knows yet, but the video on Butler looks promising and he uses a one-step kick instead of taking the traditional two steps. That will give our rush a little more time to get downfield and force a fair catch.

On the FG side of things we should be fine with Brandon Coutu. He's a clutch kicker with good accuracy and a cannon for a leg. No surprises there, but Ben Wilson or Andy Bailey will be handling the kickoff duties. With the new kickoff from the 30 instead of the 35, the stronger, more accurate kicker needs to do his job so we can keep the Cowboys from gaining good starting field position.

Return wise, we look stable with Mikey Henderson handling the PR duties and a good battle between Thomas Brown and Knowshon Moreno for the KO duties. Tony Ball's imput has really made our returns something to talk about in my opinion.


I don't care who gets the ball. Just do lots of this.



What I think will happen:

OSU is a "team on the rise." They are pointing to this game as a statement that they're ready for attention on a national stage and I think they'll get that attention...just not quite yet. I see them pulling a big upset on a team that is slated to kill them (see: Texas, Oklahoma), but I don't know if they will gel soon enough defensively to pull one off against the *hopefully* high-powered Georgia Offense.

The Dawgs will probably look sloppy on Defense for a few possessions but I would expect the coaching staff to make the necessary changes to keep the bleeding down to a minimum. I expect scores from both teams in this game, but in the end, I just don't see OSU pulling the upset in front of 92,000 Georgia fans that have had all day to "get fired up." That being said, if we play from behind any in this game, there's an opportunity for things to get out of hand.

OSU will be a good team, I just don't think they'll be good enough on Sept. 1. Also, I just saw where Mark May picked them to win. I'll be honest, I've agreed with Senor Asshat on a lot of stuff lately (like how Notre Dame blows ass), but him picking against the Dawgs is always good.

UGA: 30
OSU: 20


Until next time kids.

Be safe (and Go Dawgs!).




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Tuesday, August 28, 2007
It's happened. It's happened to me and if it hasn't happened to you, hopefully it will by the end of this post.

The fever is spreading. You're sweating. You wake up and wonder if our LBs are going to step up. If our Offense is going to be as bad ass as we've thought since Bobo took over the play calling. If our young O-line can handle the pressure and go from young men to grown men before their first snap of football.

However, it's only Wednesday.

You've got it. I've got it. We've all got it. It's that time of year where the talk stops and the heart pounds. You dream of cool autumn days with the leaves changing and the sun setting on a crisp night in Sanford Stadium. Gameday is close.

I'm so excited I can't contain myself. Earlier this week, I was writing about 5 different drafts for posts and it started to overtake me. I couldn't stop thinking about this upcoming Saturday and having old questions answered and new questions emerge. Can this be the beginning of Stafford going down as the greatest QB in Georgia history? Will Knowshon Moreno live up to his hype?

They just keep running through my mind like a freight train. It's non stop and it's on a crash course for 17:45 on 9/1/07. On a national stage surrounded by 92,000 of your closest friends, you will get educated, for better or worse.

The truth is, though, all that doesn't matter. We will win games this year and we will lose them. I didn't have enough time to run down what I figured would happen with the SEC and maybe I'll get to it soon. However, I know that UGA is not an undefeated national champion this year. Contenders for the SEC title? Yes. But I don't expect more than that. Here's what I expect:



I'm expecting the anticipation. The silence that falls upon the crowd as they hear the official beginning of the football season. The idea that now's the time to put your game face on. The talk has ended and we're minutes away from the truth being told. It all begins with one person who has the daunting task of standing in front of thousands and playing to literally millions who call themselves members of the Bulldog Nation.

7 notes on a trumpet might as well be 7 shots across the opposing team's bow.

Get ready, because in 3 days you'll be casting your eyes to the Southwest Corner of the stadium to see one person tell everyone what they've been dying to hear.

It's time...



Preview for the first game goes up on Thursday.

Until next time kids.

Be safe.

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Saturday, August 25, 2007
Well, ok. So you want a Vegas post? I guess I'll just write it then.

WARNING: THIS IS AN EXTREMELY LONG POST.

On August 8th, 2007 I took a much needed break from the "real world" to relax, lose a ton of money, see some old ("new") friends, hang out with Beer Blog Pong This (hereby known as Ru$$) and Stacy G., and drink a whole bunch of free liquor. Here's what happened.


August 8:

Worked all day long and then had a friend take me to the Atlanta airport. I checked in fairly quickly and barely made the standby cutoff to hop on a plane bound for the land of lights. It should be noted that I don't like to fly, and I didn't have time to tie on a good buzz before take off. However, the plane got in the air and I got quasi-comfortable with my surroundings (but didn't sleep a wink).

I landed in a blisteringly hot Las Vegas at 20:45 PST meaning it was already past my bedtime and I was exhausted. I met Stacy G. in the hotel lobby of the Excalibur where we were staying (see: "cheap and with a food court"). A quick trip to the Pizza hut Express followed by dropping $40 in blackjack and I was ready for some sleep.


August 9:

I met Ru$$ at the Sherwood Cafe as he was finishing his meal and then caught up some about his previous activities in The Vegas. He took a much needed nap while I went to go visit The Luxor and buy a present for my 15 year old female cousin, who thinks Criss Angel is the best thing ever. She got a book.

Pictures for proof:

Criss Angel's necklace that confirms "Rock Star" iclonic status.



Criss Angel's first chopper.



Criss Angel's second chopper.


After The Luxor trip it was time to head back to the hotel, eat some lunch, and do some gambling. I played a little video poker, Let it Ride, and Blackjack. $100 was lost, but I was ok with that.

Ru$$ woke up and we formulated a gameplan. He had passes to Moon, Rain (even though Rain was closed), and GhostBar over at The Palms and we were going to do the "Vegas Club Scene." I said "let's do it" and we figured we'd start drinking around 17:00 PST and just see where the night took us.

We headed down to Dick's Last Resort to cash in those "buy one get one" free beers that were presented to us at check in. We watched Warner Robins make the leap into the Little League World Series, talked some politics, and decided it was dinner time.

Sir Gallahad's Prime Rib Eatery Place (not the real name) was the choice for the night. Aside from the incredibly cheesy name of Sir Gallahad's, it was GREAT prime rib. I'm sure there is better to be found in Vegas, but for the modest price, it was a very good cut and flavor of meat. I truly enjoyed it. We stepped outside the restaurant and heard this piece of music lust:



I hope you thoroughly enjoyed that and are supremely jealous, Song Writer.

After eating, the decision was made to get ready and be prepared to go out to the clubs at 22:00 PST. We changed clothes (I did twice because jeans were not a good choice) and took a taxi to The Palms. We decided to hit the Playboy Club first, then bounce over to GhostBar for the view, and finish up at Moon.

Let me start off by saying The Palms is a fantastic hotel. I was very impressed with its simplistic layout, the fact that it's not completely on the strip, and the amount of young people there. It screams "I'm laid back, but young and want to party," which is exactly the way I felt for my vacaction. It's definitely on my "must stay at this hotel" list. So after arriving at The Palms, we went to the Playboy Club. Again, I was VERY impressed by the classiness of the place and the staff (security as well as bartenders) was second to none. Very friendly and very professional.

Pictures for proof:

The entrance to Moon and The Playboy Club.



The Liquor Shelves at the Playboy Club.


After walking around the Playboy Club, we went back downstairs to finish our drinks and go to GhostBar. We played a quick game of Pai Gow Poker (so I could learn) and then caught the elevator to GhostBar for the view. I liked the layout of the place (it was a little too "blue" inside for me lighting wise), but I don't know if anyone goes there for anything but the view out on the balcony. Here's what I'm talking about.

Pictures for proof:

This is a picture of the Rio and the south end of the strip.


*The north end picture turned out pretty bad*



This is the Palms Fantasy Tower. The very top is Moon and just below that is the aforementioned Playboy Club. If you look closely below the "Palms" sign on the front of the tower, you can see the Playboy suites with the pools that go out into the open air. Very cool.


So we left Ghost Bar and headed over to Moon. I was blown away by the club experience there even though I'm not a club person. If I were to be a guy looking to get laid on this trip, this is the place I'd go. It was too dark for pictures inside, but trust me, the place is insane. Everyone was dancing and partying. It was like nothing I'd seen before.


August 10:

We left The Palms around 01:00 and thankfully arrived back at the Excalibur with our lives intact. The cab driver we got was named Steve and he was from Israel...and he damn near killed us 50 times. The dude was out of his mind insane and was zipping in and out of traffic. Thank God I had a buzz at this point.

Once inside the Excalibur, we hit up some Let it Ride and I learned to play Craps. Craps is a very fun game, but you can either win a lot of money or lose a ton of money. I ended up doing both, so I pretty much broke even.

Flash forward to 09:00 PST and I'm hammered and playing Pai Gow Poker while trying desperately to get sober. Ru$$ has wisely gone to bed but I've drank for over 14 hours straight and I need a break. Finally, I take one, go to McDonalds to get some Hotcakes and Sausage, and go to bed.

When I woke up 3 hours later I was too hungover to do anything. I was paying the price for what I'd done. I watched some TV, ate some lunch, blah blah blah and then got ready to go to the Hard Rock Hotel so me and Ru$$ could meet up with Chris H., Aaron, and Mel S. The idea was to hang out, catch up, and watch their new 48 hr. Film Project piece called "9:1." I got to Hard Rock and realized this was probably going to be a short night for me. As soon as we sat down at The Pink Taco, I was told by everyone around me to just take the night off and that they understood.

Picture for proof:

NOT PICTURED: The Delta "puke bag" in my back pocket because I didn't trust myself to make it to the bathroom in time.

So, after leaving the Hard Rock, I went back to the hotel and slept...12 hours.


August 11:

What would seemingly be my last day in Vegas was reserved for sightseeing and other "touristy" type stuff. Ru$$ and I hit the Vegas Outlet Mall and didn't buy anything, and then headed over to the shops at The Venetian.


Two things: 1) I say "outside shops," but they're actually inside. 2) I recorded this for my roomate, Jeb.

I also ran into two famous people:

Being a ladies man myself, I had to get a picture of Jimmy Choo. Adored by women across the world.



Resident site girl Keira Knightley was proud of my choice to hang out at The Venetian.


We walked around, again didn't buy anything, checked out the "Blue Man Group" theatre, and then headed back to the hotel. Being the last night in Vegas, we were going to pack up the hotel room, get ready for the evening, hit the buffet, catch the Bellagio Water Show, and gamble some before bedtime.

After all the packing, eating, blah blah blah stuff was done, we saw this:


For the record, we played it better. PLEASE pay attention to the bassist in the background. That comedy writes itself....and it sounds like I have a lisp, but I don't.


Then, we caught a cab ride to here:



and saw this:



Unfortunately, I still haven't been able to catch the water show when it plays "Claire De Lune" famously known from "Ocean's 11." One day I'm just going to camp out and wait.

We headed back to the Excalibur and I feel in love with the Monopoly slot machine (and I hate slots), then went to bed.

The next morning I woke up, was F*CKING EXHAUSTED, and took this picture for proof:


DAMN...

After getting bumped from the first flight, I caught the 13:00 PST one, FINALLY slept on a plane, and landed safely in Atlanta around 19:30 EST. The one problem? Delta said they had my bag in custody since I flew on a buddy pass and that I needed to go to this shithole to get it:



Please note the people you see sitting down watching television at the end includes the lady WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO HELP ME FIND MY BAG. Was I frustrated? YES. Could I do anything about it? NO.

F*ck Delta.


Anyway, so there's my extremely long Vegas post. I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be back in a few days with some new stuff and expect the first installment of "The List" on Thursday.

Until next time kids.

Be safe (and f*ck Delta).

P.S. -- Special thanks to Ally who kept reminding me that planes don't crash that often.

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Thursday, August 23, 2007
Well, I hate to say it, but there will be no Vegas post. I've taken too long to write it due to work being WAY busier than expected and I'm missing too much UGA Football stuff in the meantime.

So, starting tomorrow, I'm going to be writing new material to post here. I've still got a good draft of the top 5 home games that I'm finishing up and starting next Thursday I want to debut "The List." It'll explain itself, so I won't have to get into it now.

So sorry for being a slack S.O.B. over the past week. Not my intention since there's so much really good shit going on. Please do not hesitate to go visit David Ching, PWD, The King, Doug Gillett, and Dawgbone.net. They are absolutely on fire right now. Be sure to drop them a line and encourage them because they're working overtime trying to bring the best news, analysis, and other goodies to you.

I'll be throwing my hat back in the blogging ring ASAP. Big thanks to everyone who's checked on me to see if I was dead. Thankfully, you were wrong.


Until next time kids.

Be safe.

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Monday, August 13, 2007
Well Vegas 2007 came and went. A full story coming soon, but first a couple of quick hits:

  • David Ching has been on fire lately with his posts regarding practice. If you aren't reading him, you're either paying for that news from one of the other two sites or you're missing out. Either way, check it out soon.

  • To the few folks that's sent me e-mails asking for the Munson Mixes, please know I'll get those to you ASAP. Catching up to daily life after vacation is taking a little longer than planned.

  • Finally, if anyone has any Bulldod videos that are in any format other than "YouTube," PLEASE let me know. I'm working on putting together a video mix now that I've got the Munson Mix thing down. Also, if you have any extra Munson clips lying around that aren't the "major" calls, please pass those along as well. I'm particularly looking for clips from LSU 2004, Arkansas for the SEC Championship, and other blowouts. I've got an idea brewing...

Until next time kids.

Be safe.

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Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Really quickly, I'd like to thank some posters over at the Scout.com message board for giving me a shout out yesterday. Some really nice things were said and if any of you guys want some Munson Mixes, shoot me an e-mail at KitZeus99 [at] gmail.com and I'll get them sent over as soon as I get the chance.

Sorry for not posting anything sooner. Work has been crazier than all of my ex-girlfriends combined and thankfully I don't have to put up with it anymore this week.

That's right, my friends. It's time for me to take a page out of PWD and Dawgnoxious' book and enroll myself in spy school. From this afternoon until sometime on Sunday I am willingly entering into an area where 115 degree heat is "dry" and where Asians jump up to get beat down by boys from Perry, GA.

Last year there was a "to do list." This year we have the exact opposite.

I will not do these things:

1. Miss work.
2. Miss my apartment (no offense, roomies).
3. Miss that damn cat.
4. Miss work (it's worth repeating again).
5. Get into another "almost-fight."

I'll get back in touch with you guys on Sunday.


Open container? This ain't Athens and I don't play football. Kiss my ass.


Until next time kids.

Be safe.

P.S. -- If something happens plane-wise on my way to spy school, Jeb and my parents get to make all the decisions about who gets my stuff.

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