Dear Senator, thanks and rest in peace

It was Saturday morning before I realized Senator Blutarsky had passed away. In the weeks since he wrote about being sick, like many of you I'm sure, I've been checking Get The Picture for more than updates on college football's comings and goings.

When I joined the Dawg Blog roll in 2008 there was Paul Westerdawg's crew at Georgia Sports Blog, there was Dawg Sports, Groo's DawgsOnline, David Hale's Bulldog Blog, The Grits Tree, Bubba 'n Earl, Bulldawg In Exile, a kid named Mackie over at Blogging Pantsless.

And fittingly, it was Mackie who messaged me Saturday morning to check if I'd heard. I quickly clicked my GTP bookmark and there were the words on my phone. The good Senator had passed away Thursday.

Over the weekend I started this post a few times. I didn't know Michael personally (although I'm still honored he graced my comment section that time Coach Richt admitted he didn't read Blutarsky's blog either), but wanted to share some thoughts of appreciation.  Others have offered their words as consolation and remembrance. Weiszer had interviewed him before, and Tony knew him professionally as well as from UGA fandom. 

Senator Blutarsky's iconic Get the Picture banner

More broadly, his daily readers have long ago formed a community, one that gathered daily to not only discuss college football but also read Brochstein's words, his explanations, his passion. When I needed to better understand the comings and goings of the latest NCAA development, I didn't got to ESPN or Sports Illustrated. I went to Get The Picture. Blutarsky was genuine, loyal, intelligent, passionate. He was prolific! Who else could nudge the ball rolling and see it form out as The Montana Project? He created a reasonable and accurate poll in The Mumme Poll. He put together a lexicon of common terms we use around Georgia football.

Anytime I got a link from his illustrious space to my little corner spot here, I was proud to have earned the Senator's attention. Going forward, I'll miss his words, guidance, explanations, Musical Palate, humor, Monday morning viewpoints...

For years, there's been such comfort in having Michael's experience blended with his history and knowledge of Georgia football. He made the blogosphere a much better place. And for that I am deeply grateful.

The best to ever wear the Collar!

 RIP Que! #DamnGreatDawg

A 2x National Champion
A 2x SEC Champion
A 2x Peach Bowl Champion
A Sugar Bowl Champion
A Rose Bowl Champion
An Orange Bowl Champion

Forever and always, a #DGD.

RIP UGA X 🐶#GoDawgs https://t.co/QJmwx4pDYG pic.twitter.com/nTLFttlznp

— Classic City Collective (@ClassicCityCLTV) January 23, 2024

An appreciative nod to The GOAT

Giddy. Wordless. Surprise. Bewilderment. 

Awestruck.

Yes, I think awestruck is the best way to describe how I felt when the news dropped. Like yours I'm sure, my phone began to buzz incessantly. I tried to keep up with the scrolls of message boards and twitter, and easily resisted logging onto FB where I was sure to find...

Calm down errybody! Already read on FB that Kirby has turned down the falcons to accept job in tuscaloosa 😂😂

— Chris Burnette 🏆🏆 (@BernieDawg) January 10, 2024

Two other thoughts. First, what an amazing career for Coach Saban. He set the standard in the 2010's, one that we strived for even as we rebuked it. Remember "The Georgia Way"? Kirby Smart may very well still be our head coach without Nicholas Lou Saban Jr., but would he be the coach he is today without him? Would he be able to manage his roster with such savvy?

Would two years ago last night have been as sweet? No. So a humble hat tip to the man that set the standard that only our coach could surpass.

Second, now this is the kind of coaching search that should be televised 24/7 until Dan Mullen calls Tuscaloosa home! 😜

Onto Bobo Year 2

 Emerson had me with this:

By the points-per-game metric, Mike Bobo-coordinated offenses now account for two of the three highest-scoring teams in school history. Anybody still criticizing Bobo’s credentials or capabilities is not to be taken seriously on the subject anymore. (LINK $)

In an article that is both a fair and honest assessment of Coach Bobo's first year of his second stint as Georgia's offensive coordinator, as well as thorough look at the depth chart he should have returning for year two, it's hard not to be really excited about the future.

While much of the 2023 offensive production has left Athens in favor of the NFL Draft or the transfer portal, the depth and talent at the RB and WR positions is impressive. Of course, more changes are practically imminent, especially after Spring practices. But Kirby and Co. continue to manage the roster more than effectively.

One of the moves Seth points out that I am also keeping an eye on is Xavier Truss. Searels is the OL's third coach in five seasons, yet we've continued to trot out solid units despite injuries and absolute studs going to the NFL. If Truss decides to return, at best we get another starter. And at worst we get an experienced offensive lineman that can plug into multiple positions.

 - - - - UPDATE - - - -

Ratledge makes his decision official. 

#GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/7dRhU6K2sC

— Tate Ratledge (@tateratledge22) January 5, 2024

Considering Stackhouse did earlier, if Truss is staying as well, I would expect that news to drop soon. 

Looking ahead. And then a little further.

About the new SEC schedule, and particularly, Georgia's. A few quick bullets and then some devil's advocacy.

• I was a big proponent of the SEC moving on to a nine game scheduling format. Ultimately, they stayed at eight. But looking over that gauntlet, hoo boy!
• Here's to hoping Kirby's boys can use that CFA Kickoff as a jumping off point the way they did in 2022 vs. Oregon!
• But even if we do get the best of the Tigers in Atlanta, that SEC slate is tough! 
• The road games look especially daunting, and not just with the trips to Tuscaloosa and Austin. Ole Miss got a thumpin' in Athens and they'll be looking for some home cooking with Jaxson Dart returning for his eighth season.
• But hey! Two off weeks!

A lot has been said since the 2023 CFB Playoff was set, as to whether a 2-3 loss Georgia team would make the new 12 team format in 2024. As Seth Emerson pointed out in last week's mailbag ($$), it would depend on how things were playing out, both regionally and nationally. It's hard to imagine the top three SEC teams not making the bracket. Maybe four if the media deems the conference "tough" enough.

But what if we ran it through and beat them all? I am intrigued by an expanded playoff, and I'm definitely looking forward to experts like Desmond and Kirk not helping a committee form the best (or most deserving) (whichever) (whatever) four team bracket. Twelve feels like what expanded playoff advocates have been saying all along, "Let it play out on the field!"

But to be honest, I'm still concerned. What does the Georgia Tech game look like if we know that we're in? Personally, I've been more than pleased to see the way Kirby and Staff have handled their personnel late in the season. We didn't need Brock Bowers to beat Tech this year, but we knew we needed him the next week.

I trust our coaches to do what is best for the team, short term and long term. It's just all those scenarios where an expanded playoff adversely affects the regular season (and possibly even conference championship games) are not only still there, but now they're looming right around the corner.

In short:

• Tough schedule = 👀
• ESPN personalities' value = 💩
• 🤞 expanded post-season doesn't devalue the regular one!

the Friday Misery is home for the Holidays

“I am at the moment writing a lengthy indictment against our century. When my brain begins to reel from my literary labors, I make an occasional cheese dip.” - Ignatius Reilly

John Kennedy Toole’s protagonist was pretentious, arrogant, and bloated - both by brain as much as stature. But in times like these…I just wish Mr. Toole had more than one novel to delve into.

Crimes by Committee

Because if you replace just a few words in the quote, it explains our state of discontent these last few days. 

century Committee

occasional frequent

cheese dip Old Fashioned

There we go! Because a gluttonous group of glory holes can’t have it both ways. Best or most deserving…? Can we add another subgroup here - cheaters or non-cheaters? How about GOATs or wannabe-GOATs? Oh wait, they actually covered that one pretty well.

No, I’m not going to harp on it too long. Because you’re tired of rehashing it too. But to punish a team that did everything they could do, won every game including their conference, but because their defense wouldn’t be as good without its star injured quarterback…sorry ‘Noles. And to reward one team SO much for beating your week to week #1 as to elevate them fours spots, all while dropping said #1 team five spots??

That’s enough. My brain is reeling again.

I’m just thankful to have one.

On the other hand, pass me a pacifier

We sure got greedy quick didn’t we dear Reader? I seem to recall in the not too distant past, a time when we would’ve given an appendage just to be in last Saturday and Sunday’s discussion. And not like a Mr. Mays’ pinky digit either. Like a full on, non-dominant or dominant, God-given limb!

Sorry momma, but them aughts and such was Hell!

So yeh, I knew when I woke up Sunday and recalled the final SECCG score, that we had about as much chance of making it into the College Football Championship as Bama did of converting a 4th and 31 for a tuddy on the final play of the game on the plains as an internet wanderer has of going surfing for an hour without stumbling on another 7-8 articles about the NFL’s new wonder couple. 

So, like you most likely, I was resigned to stop whining and reflect on the unprecedented 29-0 run. What a time! We brought back a trophy and Bama-Covid from Indy, and just kept rolling! How many games were there the last couple seasons when the team was not playing to their standard, that we thought we’d actually lose? At Missouri, nah. Homecoming for Kentucky, nope. Hell, the regular season closer against Tech with an interim coach had my 1990’s self in awe!

Peach Ball dropped wide short!

It wasn’t until last year’s Peach Bowl that we finally broke a sweat! Whew.

And then this season? Can you imagine being down at half to the gamecocks and not being bent out of shape? Two weeks later on the Plains…okay, had to get on our knees and pray to dear Ol’ Munson’s Ghost that Abuurn’s secondary got a sudden case of dyslexia and thought that was OWBRES lining up in the slot.

Again, whew!

Anyway, all that to say it’s been quite a run Dawg fans! And despite what those kissin’ siblings up on rocky top, and those toothless reptiles down in the swamp might think…hell, throw in the 2023 SEC championship gumps…just like Kirby told ‘em, “We ain’t going NOWHERE!”

Now, please bow your heads…dear layin’ in a manger Baby Jesus, please keep the lights bright this Christmas. For both those with 5 stars and those without. (Don’t let the tithing plate keep passing you by Vandy.)

Enjoy the Army/Navy game ya filthy animals! Go Army! #beatNavy

Epilogue

Yes, I found the keys to this thing somewhere around the intersection of Inspiration Ave. and Got a Lil Time on My Hands Cir. I’d like to keep posting somewhere between frequently and weekly. But most likely we’re coasting into a “let’s see how this goes” time period.

Full disclosure, we have moved to coastal Georgia and I won’t get to as many games as I used to. With the move, a new gig, a rebuilt engine and a cracked tooth, I managed only two this season. But rest assured we watch every game, relish any game we can get in Jacksonville and any opportunity to tailgate with our old crew, as well as see some of y’all OG readers in red and black!

Now I’m off to clean some things up around here. Somehow since I last logged in the spam filter caught tens of thousands of spam comments. Blessing and a curse and all that. So I’ll first try and get commenting figured out, but it’ll be regulated to some degree to start with. 

Until next time, I’m putting the keys in my pocket this time. Then I’ll text the daughters to remind me of how to drop on of those “pins” from my iPhone so I can keep finding that intersection. Go Dawgs!

"Coach, did you hear Bernie may be bloggin again?"
"Oh he is is he!"

the Friday Misery puts down the fork, and picks up the gauntlet

“Aww...look at these poor little Dawg fans,” she said as she came upon our table. Then, as she wiped away fake tears, “Did they get their wittle feewings hurt?” 

There was no logical retort to make, as indeed, we had.

Comfort food in an uncomfortable moment

Paul Dupre' has a cozy little restaurant in Baton Rouge where his staff serves food inspired by his grandmother's home cooked meals. Elsie’s Plate and Pie has everything a southern palate might find comfortable to a hard working fork - okra, tomato pie, red beans & rice, pork chops. And of course, plenty of fried catfish.

It is also true that this is where our crew sought comfort after witnessing Kirby’s Dawgs get spanked harshly and very publicly by Coach O’s bengal bayou tigers last season. It had been quite a day for our hungry appetites already, having been invited into the infamous JR Vendetto’s tailgate. Under the shadow of the campus' Memorial Tower he and his fellow Louisianans had graciously served up gumbo and boudin and jambalaya and enough shrimp to feed Ignatius Reilly for at least a week. 

Nick Offerman as John Kennedy
Toole's sardonic protagonist

Although Ignatius would probably wash em down with a glass of sherry instead of all that cold beer. And given his penchant for grandiose complaints, he’d even find a way to underappreciate and pick nits at anything that graced Miss Elsie’s dinner table. But last October, as our band of dawggone tired travelers gathered around an outside table under the evening sky at her restaurant’s namesake, we needed comfort. To travel and witness a loss is one thing, but to see the team get beat so soundly was even more devastating than humbling.

So we passed around plates and argued over which dish was best (and for the record, it was the seafood pot pie in my humble opinion. But the Natchitoches meat pie will likely be my order the next time I’m there) all while punishing ourselves by reliving this failed play and that bad call and DEAR GOD DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THAT FAKE FIELD GOAL! 

There's something about sharing a table being weighted down as much by great food as good friends' voices. On a day that ended badly on the playing field, it was comforting to find familiarity in conversation and used silverware. Not to mention napkins used beyond their ways and means.

Yes, looking forward to another visit to Elsie's. But next time I hope to not be interrupted by an LSU fan spewing hateful truths and logic.

this offensive echo chamber is offensive

Look. We've all been arguing about it for months. And I know by now I’m not going to convince you one way or the other. I know that. By now you’ve either decided to hate this Georgia offense until you’re blue in the face, or to support it despite it’s awkward and unwelcome visage. 

As a person who is himself very often awkward and also, at times, finds himself unwelcome, it should be no secret I’ve chosen the latter stance. When Jake Fromm turns one way to hand the ball off and the ball carrier of note has moved in an opposite direction, I can relate. Just a few months ago I fell head first into the backyard trying to catch my dog by the collar before he gobbled up his own excrement. (I know right? I was all like “WTF dude! Naw, don’t do...oof.”) Like Fromm, my intentions were true. But the dog zigged when I thought he had committed to the zag.

We all pay a price for our inadequacies. It’s just that mine are less public. And not punishable by a 300lb lineman barreling in on me.

But can we all agree that we’ve said everything that needs to be said at this point? Does it really do any damn good to rip the scab off again just to shove it in a fellow Georgia fans’ face?

Regardless, by tomorrow night around 7:30 you’ll have one of a couple options: 1) keep pissing in your own cheerios and wallowing in your own misery over the fact that this offense hasn’t lived up to its potential despite its 11-2 record and third straight trip to the December Dome, or 2) enjoy another incredible win over LSU on the grand national stage.

Kind of like we did here. And also here. And I especially enjoyed it when we did it here.

I hold true to the lifestyle of being a Georgia Bulldog fan where it means you take the good with the bad. In other words, I’m just as much a Dawg fan now as I was when we lost to Georgia Tech 40-23 my first year at UGA back in 1990. 

Ray Goff wore a UGA conductor cap. I wore a grimace.

People train don't run outta
Wichita huh Coach?

Transitioning stanza

But I won’t wear a grimace tomorrow. Nor a UGA train conductor’s cap for that matter. And not because I’m too proud to be upset over a season like this that we’ve been begging for. For years now we’ve wanted a program that took us to back to back to back SEC Championship contests where we could see how we could stack up against the conference's elite as well as the nation’s best.

During the Richt years we had a taste of it every now and then. His teams took the lid off the cardboard box that held the cake and we got to drag our finger through the icing a bit, During the Donnan years we got close enough to stare at the lid...until Quincy threw yet another interception in Columbia and we just settled for another Little Debbie.

During the Goff years we played with toy trains evidently. I don’t know. I can’t remember anymore. 

No, tomorrow I will not be wearing a grimace because we’re gonna win this damn thing. I’m sick of hearing about this unstoppable LSU Fightin’ Tiger offense and ready for Kirby to change the national narrative to “Hey, maybe this Georgia defense is really THAT good. Garsh!”

Have we faced an offense this good? Nope. Not close. But have they faced a defense as good as Tae and JR and company? I bet not. And I'll take the Dawgs in that fight.

All. Damn. Day!

We're already living rent free in Dabo's head. Tomorrow Fromm and Co. make Coach O drop another F-bomb on his way down to 4th in Sunday’s rankings. Joe Burrows gets next week’s Heisman, but Rodrigo gets carried off the field on Jordan Davis’ shoulder as the red and black confetti reigns down.

Strike your pose Burrows, but #RespectTheSpecs! Always.

Now, if you will, please bow your head...Dear Lord Baby Jesus...gives us one more shot of Herrien barreling downhill with sights set on an LSU defensive back. And then please, please let our defense get after their ass! Go Dawgs!

-------
For reference if you're interested - Elsie's Plate and Pie. You won't go wrong, promise.

Also, if you're unfamiliar with the Ignatius Reilly reference, go buy a copy of Confederacy of Dunces, Toole's only book, may he rest in peace. From his tragic end we must celebrate every incredibly vivid character he gave us.

"Well, I'm not usually one for speeches, so goodbye." - Ron Swanson

It's not you, it's me.

The only Van Halen that truly matters y'all...

Historically, I've long hated change. It has been my standard operating procedure since even before Van Halen transformed into Van Hagar and also well before something called New Coke hit grocery shelves.

Yes, whoever coined the phrase, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" is one of my favorite philosophers.

Sure there were signs of cracks in my exterior; small instances that one could point to and say, "Hey, you're not so scared of doing things differently after all." For instance, as I grew up I liked to rearrange my room at times, move furniture around and see what space opened up. In adulthood I also once had a brief, uneventful, and sublimely lacking affair with something called "decaf" coffee.

But for the most part, I've long enjoyed living each day in comfortable and familiar environs. That said, as I age I've noticed a need developing; a need to appreciate opportunities to stretch my horizon, challenge my own status quo, and take different paths through this jungle of Life.

A large part of that is why this blog has throttled down to a virtual halt. When my girls were young they would be in bed and asleep by 8:00pm most nights. I'm not much for mainstream television, so that left me the better part of two hours to write about my Alma Mater, her athletic developments in particular.

I got a real charge out of prepping a couple posts, scheduling them to publish about the time the ol' Dawgbone.com woke up, and then seeing the stats climb. There's some of you that have had this little blog bookmarked just about since its inception. Others have joined up along the way, some of those have even stuck around. I truly appreciate your visits, your comments, the emails, the criticisms, the laughs, the lows endured together that have made us stronger, and just the camaraderie along what will have been a ten year journey next month.

No, today is not the very end of Bernie's Dawg Blawg. But today is the start of something new for me that will mean...yes, somehow...even less posts here.

You see, one change I've been working on for some time (really ever since this post a few years back when I expected to go on a little hiatus) is broadening my writing into other avenues. And while some of those topics may have been broached here, it just seems a better idea to pivot rather than force content that doesn't always fit into what we've built here.

So no Ron Swanson, this isn't a good bye so much as a chance to introduce you to a new venture. It's something I guess I'd knew I'd always get around to...one of these days...

GDay - what I saw

You win some. You lose some. But only in a spring game can you do both in one afternoon. Here are my casual observations from the Red vs Black scrimmage.


Gameday feeling. Great crowd is what Kirby wants and that is what he gets. The energy gives the young players a taste on what fall Saturdays are like when the games count. And it gives the recruits something more to think about for sure.


Justin Fields is a large dude. I don’t put much weight in spring performances, especially at quarterback. But Fromm sure gets a lot of tipped and batted down balls at the line of scrimmage. Or maybe I’m still just sore over the one that bounced off a Bama’s player’s helmet in Atlanta back in January. 

VIA

Mainly it was nice to see what Fields can eventually bring to the game when he does earn snaps. Lot of zip on the ball and such a fluid runner.


As for Fromm he had a few really nice deep balls. Ridley had one of them ripped out by McGhee on what would’ve been a very nice touchdown. But on a day that saw about 90% of the plays as passes, I thought the best pass came from Fields off his back foot when he lifted a beautiful ball to Landers in the corner of the end zone.


GDay 2018 definitely lived up to Kirby saying it would be a game for the quarterbacks. And since there were so many passes we didn’t get to see much of Holyfield. But I thought he and Herrien looked good in pass protect when they were needed.


Speaking of pass protect, how about Keyon Brown and Brenton Cox showing off that a simple tight end ain’t gonna be able to ward them off. Scary fast dudes with a nose for the quarterback!


Monty Rice definitely eased some of my concerns about losing Roquan. He was adding pressure up the middle and chasing down ball carriers all day.


Ahkil Crumpton had some nice catches, especially the one he caught across the middle in traffic but still snuck around the edge for some more yardage.


That’s some of what I saw. Hope you enjoyed some spring ballin’ as much as we did. Go Dawgs!

GDay - what I'm looking for tomorrow

First of all it will be interesting to see how many folks get turned away. With only 78,ooo seats available tomorrow and record crowds for this event thus far under Kirby’s watch, ain’t everybody gonna get a first hand look at Justin Fields arm and Holyfield’s legs.

Regardless of seating arrangements and availability, I think the first thing I want to see is how well the middle of the field is covered by our defense on passing downs.

VIA

You see, one does not just replace a player like Roquan Smith. It’s impossible. But I have great confidence that the coaches have recruited talent behind him. So I’m confident that we have someone that can blitz through the heart of the offensive protection. Afterall, the name Natrez Patrick comes to mind. And I’m confident we may have someone that can defend the field laterally from sideline to sideline.

But what made Roquan so very special was how well he defended the middle of the field in passing situations. He could cover a tight end. He could take away a slot receiver’s crossing route. And there was nary a team that would dare to throw a middle screen in front of Roquan Smith.

In other words, opposing quarterbacks had a lot to process at the line of scrimmage when they looked across and saw Roquan staring at them. Were Monty Rice and Nate McBride paying close attention? I hope so. And again, I have full confidence that the coaches have recruited the right players.

Because it’s been since before the disgraceful John Jancek linebacker coached era that we could defend that area of the field on any down that effectively. I miss Roquan a lot already. I’ll miss him a lot more if we see a lot of successful seam routes and crossing patterns.

Elijah Holyfield should have himself a day. The fans aren’t the only ones I suspect that want to see how he manages 20 or so touches in a game(like) situation.

Pass protection. Kirby says it is structured to be a quarterback’s game. As nice as it is to have a true sophomore quarterback that lead us within a breath of a National Championship, I think everyone would be thrilled if Justin Fields made some plays. Still, in a spring game it’s hard to gauge things like pass protection. However it will still be something to keep a close eye on.

And not just for the obvious reasons of seeing how the coaches rotate tackles and guards. We lost two absolutely amazing pass protection runnings backs in Chubb and Michel. Holyfield and Herrien have big shoes to fill as (probably) the only scholarship backs available tomorrow. We know Fromm can hurt teams with his arm as well as his legs if need be. And we suspect Fields will eventually be able to do the same to opposing teams’ defense. But we’ll need to have solid pass protection, and that sometimes means a small running back stepping up into the path of a blitzing monster.

Special teams are typically hard to truly evaluate, but Kirby had this to say yesterday:

“Our special teams, we think we’ve got some good competition going on, so we’ll be coming after punts, we’re going to do everything real on kickoff and kickoff return, we’re just not going to tackle live,” he said. “But everything is going to be as real as possible other than that. Same thing with punt and punt return, so we’ll be rushing them and we’ll have punt returners back there trying to return them. We’ve got great competition at punter, great competition at returner. I’d love to see some guys have some pressure on them and have to make kicks and catches.”

So perhaps we can at least see some of these punters under rushed conditions. And those are a few things I’m watching for, in addition to seeing some new guys that have supposedly stepped up big thus far, like Brenton Cox and Cade Mays. What’re you ready to see from some football in April?