Falcons/Dawgs

Just for the record, and for what it is worth, a writer in an article said in the last few weeks(not sure who)that the two top sports teams in this area are 1. University of Georgia Football and 2. everybody else. That kind of gives you an idea about what folks really think of the Bulldogs, all the rest have some catching up to do.

36869, enjoyed reading your post. You don't waver, as always you speak your mind. Can only speak for myself, it does not bother me when you put your plan or feelings forward for us to read whether we agree or disagree. Think most on this board respect you for that. I do.

Being around the program for a while, look back at some of the comments about prior coaches that have been made here. One in particular has a bust on campus, not where he wanted it placed, but it is there.

For all the years that VD ran our program, both on and off of the field, he had one National Championship. That is a good thing, but it leads me to this question . . . . Would VD have won that National Championship without HW? I look at some of the hires that VD made, some of them make me want to crawl into a hole. Not just football, basketball and the appointing of a future Athletic Director.

Then I look at the treatment of Erk, and those of us that were around at that time know that VD did not want Erk to have the leadership role. Look at his choices after that.

Some of the areas that you are not comfortable with concerning Mark Richt, understandable. Facts speak for themselves. Saban openly speaks off winning National Championships, makes me cringe sometimes when Richt talks solely about winning the East. Do however believe Richt has changed his cleats and is "trying" to make the next step. Also believe he has an Athletic Director that will tell him or suggest to him whether the cleats are aluminum, rubber or whatever.

Reason I bring the above up . . . . it was high time that the University of Georgia moved away from the "good old boy" way of doing things and allowed new life to enter UGA. Think that McGarity has a lot to do with the "Richt New Look". Whatever it takes to get the "five yards" is the plan I want.

I feel that Mark Richt fell into that same trap, maybe not the best choice of words, but hiring personal friends for jobs that they were not qualified for did not move our program forward, the way you, myself and others wanted and still want.

Still get real frustrated when I see the continuation of good offense, lesser defense, or the other way around. I would like nothing more than to see both sides of the ball hitting on all cylinders. That is what National Championships are made of. Some folks don't like to see Saban's name brought up, but all we have to do is look at the progress he has made in a short time in Tuscaloosa, on both sides of the ball, does not leave much for the imagination. Much shorter time that Mark Richt has spent in Athens.

The seven points that you make below, honest points. Truth.

One more thought on VD and coaching. He also hired Mark Richt. Where do we go with that hire? Will say this, it has turned out a hell of a lot better than some of his previous attempts. Just saying.

Good observation wlayton! I literally turned to my wife after the Falcons loss & said, this is just like the SECCG...just a tad short in the end. As a lifelong fan of both teams, I am heartbroken twice over now but in both cases I really do believe the better team won. Couldn't have summed up my feelings better or more succinctly than sadlerdawg!

bulldawg36869,

You of course are entilted to your opinion but I will passionately disagree regarding Mike Smith as Falcons head coach & with CMR for that matter but I will defend him another time. As for Coach Smith, I've been closely following Falcons football since the early 1980's (as young as I can remember) & CMS is far & away the BEST head coach we've ever had. Dan Reeves was a good coach & a very kind hearted man, I met him on a few occasions working in the sports bar scene during my college days (1996-2000) but he never took us to the heights that Coach Smith has. We've had a winning record 3 straight years now, in the history of the Falcons (since 1966 I believe) we NEVER had even 2 consecutive winning seasons pre-Smith. We were (like wlayton pointed out about UGA, 5 yards short of playing for the BIG trophy) & likely lost to the eventual SuperBowl champ (ala 2011 NY Giants, 2010 Green Bay Packers). I obviously do not KNOW if either CMS or CMR will ever raise the championship trophy but the facts would tell you that both were extremely close this year & the stats will tell you that both have accomplished more for their respective teams than ANY of their predecessors.

You did a fine job of backing your opinion in regards to CMR in post #6 (and no doubt, so far you are RIGHT, I can acknowledge this), however, I'd be very curious to hear your thoughts regarding CMS in another post if you have the time?

Hoping 2013 is the year of the Red & Black!

wlayton you forgot the Braves.

Dawg With Style wrote: wlayton you forgot the Braves.

Yep... only the colors are different.

Yes... unfortunately it is easy to see the parallels that all end with
"gee we're so close, but we just can't get there"



Tough being a sports fan in the state of Georgia if you care about championships...

Tough indeed