Georgia Bulldogs Are Transferring, Revising the Media Guide, and Eschewing Two-a-Days
by T Kyle King on Jul 16, 2010 1:15 AM EDT
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PrintMaconDawg already mentioned the fact that Dontavius Jackson has elected to transfer out rather than remain in Athens and suffer the consequences of his dubious decisionmaking. I am disappointed, but I wish Jackson well.
In other Bulldog-related news, Georgia will be reprinting the 2010 media guide to reflect the resignation of Damon Evans. While this will set the athletic association back about $50,000, accusations of Orwellian revisionism are misplaced. We’re talking about changing approximately one per cent of the pages in the media guide in order to ensure that it is up to date about such significant matters as the identity of the athletic director; it’s not like we’re airbrushing Leon Trotsky out of the history books. It’s a good move, even if it is a little pricey.
Although the practice has been in decline in recent years, two-a-days finally will bite the dust in the Classic City this season. When the ‘Dawgs begin their preparations for the 2010 campaign on July 31, Mark Richt will not double up on the team’s allotted practice sessions. The move drew this praise from Ivan Maisel:
Georgia coach Mark Richt’s decision to drop two-a-days is a victory for practicality over tradition. Richt believes that he can accomplish more by practicing and teaching than by instilling the toughness that two-a-days instill. Whether two-a-days make players tough or are just done because they’ve always been done is a question for others to answer. If Georgia stays healthier and plays well this season, two-a-days may go the way of the I formation.
Coach Richt has made some good moves this offseason, so I will trust him on this one, and, closer to home, I will defer to those who actually played the game, but I would offer three observations, for whatever they might be worth.
First of all, I like the I formation, so I don’t care for Maisel’s analogy. Secondly, the reverse is also true; if the Bulldogs fold in the fourth quarter or frequently find themselves physically outmanned, the abandonment of two-a-days may be viewed in a very negative light. Finally, I’m somewhat suspicious of any practice regimen that lessens the emphasis on toughness. Still, Georgia conducted two-a-days only thrice in last year’s 29 practice sessions, so this isn’t a dramatic departure from recent summer schedules. I’m giving Coach Richt the benefit of the doubt on this one.
On an unrelated note, SB Nation CEO Jim Bankoff recently gave an interview on the latest upgrades at the network. It’s a good read for anyone interested in how the blogosphere operates.
Go ‘Dawgs!
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I like the "I" formation, too.
Call me crazy, but I like things like “toughness” and “shoving the football down the other team’s throat.” I’m also willing to give Coach Richt the benefit of the doubt, at least until the results are seen. I don’t think the toughness of last year’s team, especially the defensive squad, reflects positively on the reduced number of two-a-days.
Football in the SEC is like running a marathon, except instead of offering you GatorPowerade every few miles, people are trying to hit you with baseball bats. To quote one of my favorite motivational speakers, “You gotta eat lighting, and you gotta crap thunder.”
I think increasing our team’s toughness in any way possible can only help. Of course, not having played football myself, either, I have to see reason and defer to the guy who, you know, gets paid millions to do something I don’t really know anything about.
Were this any other blog, I would say, “We can only hope.” Since this is Dawg Sports, however, I have to say, “We can only wait for the inevitable despair when Coach Richt is proven wrong and the new AD unceremoniously and prematurely dumps him to the curb as a result.”
more days for practice
If I understand the policy correctly, they still have the same number of hours of practice, but it is spread over more days. One advantage of spread practice out and extending it, is that it is less time with the players unsupervised and hopefully, less idle time for them to get in trouble.
How is that less time with the players unsupervised?
You are correct that it spreads the same number of practice hours (29) over more days. More and shorter days means more and longer nights, hence, more opportunities to get into trouble, doesn’t it?
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on Jul 16, 2010 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions
True, but...
If they know they have to be up the next day for practice, maybe they pass on going out to the bars the night before. Maybe the difference is negligible.
Fair enough.
I just have absolute faith in the ability of (a) young men, (b) elite athletes, and © people in Athens to figure out a way to go crazy, and our players are (d) all of the above.
Go 'Dawgs!
With the modern practice of year-round conditioning...
it seems possible, if not probable, that two-a-days are outdated and unnecessarily dangerous.
As for the Jackson transfer, it makes perfect sense. He wasn’t going to get many carries the next two seasons (barring catastrophe) even if he hadn’t had his off-the-field problem. With that, it’s smart to leave to go somewhere he can get a fresh start and have the potential for playing time. Hopefully, he learned his lesson and will succeed in the future.
I saw the team running over by Carlton Street the other day.
It was about four o’clock in the afternoon and the bank thermometer sign said it was 104 degrees out. They were booking it, and a scary looking dude with a cowboy hat was chasing them. Who is it that wears the cowboy hat again?
Anyway, it doesn’t look like summer conditioning is suffering.
Two-a-days not a big deal
I like Richt is dropping two-a-days. I agree with those thinking it will give more time to study film and study the new defensive scheme. Murray and the D need more mental prep than conditioning prep this pre-season in my opinion.
The extra amount of conditioning that practicing twice a day may have provided has minimal impact in my opinion. Maybe it helps for the first game or two but to either the players are in shape or they are not. One week or few days of two-a-days is not going to magically make them more fit for a 4th quarter battle. Especially two months later in say Jacksonville. The team get’s in shape in the off season and volunteer summer workouts. If it isn’t then two-a-days are going to fix it.
My football career ended once I graduated high school so I don’t have a ton of experience with this but I think it at least gets me one toe in the arena at least. We had a week of three-a-days and then a week of two-a-days when I played. I will admit it got me in shape but that was more because I was chasing girls at the beach all summer instead of working out prior to summer practices. I would think athletes playing Div-I college football in the best conference wanting to win a title would be a little more self motivated to get in shape than I was.
by sanford222view on Jul 16, 2010 10:23 AM EDT reply actions
I'll add my two cents
For 20 years, I’ve been an endurance athlete — lacrosse, triathlons, marathons, adventure races, and various other endeavors in which participants must exert themselves for more than 11 minutes out of three hours. Don’t know if that puts me in the arena and I don’t care.
Since people keep comparing a football season to marathons, then I’m left to assume that when football people say “toughness,” they’re talking in large part about endurance in a broad sense. If so, I’ll just posit that endurance isn’t something you build over three days, regardless of how grueling they are. 90-120 days is more like it, assuming you were in good shape to begin with. So the window is halfway past for the kinds of investments that yield returns in the 4th quarter in Jacksonville or Auburn.
What separated the 2009 Dawgs from greatness was defense and QB play. Closing that gap is mostly about managing complexity — adjusting to the 3-4 and our redshirt QB mastering the playbook and film study. Dropping two-a-days costs us relatively little in conditioning (given what’s required), but it cuts time in bars, lengthens the practice calendar and creates more much-needed film study time. I think it’s a good call.
Very true.
Especially (and apropodenada knows this given his background) when we’re talking about the type of endurance football players need. They are required to go all out for 4-6 seconds, then “rest” for 30 seconds, then do it all again. And again and again and again. Physically, that’s about training your body to use oxygen as efficiently as possible. That takes months and even years. It’s not something that happens in a couple of weeks, even for college football players who are already in the top 1/5th of 1% of the general population in terms of cardiovascular fitness.
Mentally, two-a-days are about pushing through a player’s perceived barriers of endurance. But when one of those practices is already in shorts and helmets, there’s not much barrier-breaking going on. Instead, the same type of mental toughness can be gained by hitting the ground running every day. And then spending that night learning the complexities of a new defense.
That makes sense, aproposdenada.
Well said. Thanks.
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on Jul 16, 2010 12:58 PM EDT up reply actions
Coach O disapproves.
He’s wrong, but he still disapproves. It makes him upset. And he is yelling something incoherent as a result.
YAW YAW YAW YAW YAW YAW YAW YAW FOOTBALL! YAW YAW YAW YAW YAW YAW YAW YAW 2-a-days!
by first and thom on Jul 16, 2010 4:39 PM EDT up reply actions
I hear your arguments, I really do...
… and they are very well-stated, but my pessimistic nature prevents me from buying any of it.
Of course, whatever the hell Willie Two-Thumbs was doing wasn’t working, so if one were to sell it to me as “We’re changing it from what Willie did,” I’d be far more likely to like it.
To tell you the truth, right now I’m just ready to have the S. Carolina game tomorrow, so I can find out if I even have a chance to be pleasantly surprised or not this year. All this negative anticipation is screwing with my normally cheery disposition.
by vineyarddawg on Jul 16, 2010 4:57 PM EDT up reply actions
The solution to that, of course, . . .
. . . is to avoid being cheery and go straight to glum and dour 24/7! You get used to it after a while, really.
Go 'Dawgs!
Well, here's another tack: Consider this a tradeoff
We’ve added a nutrition program and dropped three two-a-days. I can’t begin to describe how outrageously outsized that tradeoff is in our favor. Three all-day puke-a-thons, in which bodies are thoroughly drained of electrolytes, hydration and nutrients, only to be “replenished” by nightly Waffle House runs is a tragically pointless cycle.
Plus, try watching film (or doing anything remotely cerebral) after 6-8 hours of exertion. When your cardiovascular system is desperately distributing oxygen and water to your muscles, the plot of Toy Story might as well be that of Syriana. Those three two-a-days are a near-total loss in terms of mental retention.
Being meatheads for the sake of meatheadedness is the M.O. of George O’Leary and Ron Zook, not Saban and Meyer.
by aproposdenada on Jul 16, 2010 9:06 PM EDT up reply actions
All right, you've convinced me, aproposdenada.
That last sentence was the kicker. Well done.
Go 'Dawgs!
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