The trendy thing to do, following Thomas Brown's monster performance against the Rebels, is to tell those of us who've been calling for more Moreno to shush up.

Poll

Against Tennessee I want to see...

0%

More Moreno

0 votes

0%

More Brown

0 votes

100%

An equal portion of Brown and Moreno

12 votes

12 votes | Poll has closed

Continue reading this post »

I like Thomas Brown. Brown is a very good running back.  And he has demonstrated a number of admirable personal characteristics.  But he is not the Bulldogs best running back.  Knowshon Moreno is a more productive running back, and the more touches he gets, the more likely the Dawgs are to win.

With 2 minutes and 9 seconds left in the first half against Alabama, the Dawg's coaching brain trust elected to hand the ball to Thomas Brown on three consecutive  plays.  Unable to run out the clock, the Dawgs punted to Alabama, and the Tide put 3 points on the board to close the half.  Would Knowshon Moreno have gained the extra yard necessary to move the chains and maintain possession?  We can not say with certainty, but the following facts are relevant:

1. Knowshon Moreno averages 1.4 yards more per carry than does Thomas Brown (5.3 to 3.9).
2. Moreno's longest run is 50 yards, while Brown's longest is 17.
3. Moreno averages 6.9 yards more per reception than does Brown (15 to 8.1).

Moreno hasn't fumbled (knock on wood) and he appears to be adequate in pass protection.  Playing your second best running back, especially in key situations against tough conference opponents, is a good way to lose games.  

I do not understand the decision to give Moreno fewer touches than Brown.  The Dawgs managed to pull out the win in overtime, but they could have put the game away much earlier.  The decision to give Moreno fewer touches than Brown was a coaching mistake, and it should not be repeated.

We define only out of despair, we must have a formula.. to give a façade to the void.  Emil Cioran

In ranking teams, our intention should be to observe and record objective information as games are played and to use this information to update our existing perceptions of the ordinal standing of college football teams.  In my opinion:

1.    Teams should be ranked on all available information.
2.    Objective statistical information should be emphasized.  
3.    Preseason and early season rankings should be based on team characteristics such as recent performance, returning starters, depth, recruiting, and coaching staff.  
4.    As the season progresses, ranking should be based less on perceptions of team characteristics and more on actual team performance.  
5.    Teams that are likely to be very good, but that have not been tested in tough games and/or in adverse circumstances should not be ranked above teams with similar characteristics but a superior resume of on-field performance.  
6.    The worthiness of a ranking methodology should be judged by one simple criterion: the number of games correctly predicted.  The best ranking methodology is the one which produces a ranking which most often predicts winners.  Higher ranked teams should beat lower ranked and unranked opponents.  

Continue reading this post »

Knowshon Moreno needs more touches.  

Small differences in performance create large differences in outcomes.  In football an extra inch is the difference between moving the chains and keeping the ball or bringing in the defense.  Over the course of a game it's the difference between winning and losing.

Knowshon Moreno is averaging just over 5 yards per carry, which is one yard better than Thomas Brown.  And as a receiver he's averaging twice as much (16.2) per catch as Brown (8.0), though we only have a few catches to judge from. He has also demonstrated more ability to make "game breaking" plays with longer runs than Brown.

With Moreno in the game, the opposing linebackers will be pulled closer to the line, and will be slower to bail out into pass coverage.  This will create space for receivers to make plays over the middle, and it will help the tight end and fullback contriubte in the passing game as more attention is paid to Moreno.

Certainly Brown deserves to play and has proven to be a more than capable back.  But Moreno needs more touches.  If I were calling the shots, Moreno would get 75% of the touches and Brown 25%.  It isn't fair to Moreno, it isn't fair to the team, and it isn't fair to the Bulldawg nation for the more productive and more dangerous Moreno to be underutilized.

 

Poll

Moreno should get ___ percent of the carries

3%

25

1 votes

37%

50

12 votes

40%

75

13 votes

18%

90

6 votes

32 votes | Poll has closed

Who wins and who loses if Georgia State starts a I-AA football program?  

Georgia Southern will be a big loser.  I-AA caliber football players from Metro Atlanta will likely much prefer Atlanta to Statesboro.  And I'm sure more than a few from below the gnat line will also be tempted by the bright lights of the big city.

Longer term, Georgia Tech will probably also be a loser.  Their location in Hotlanta is one of the few positive things going for the program.  But as Georgia State grows their program, they will compete with Tech for marginal D1 athletes interested in playing in Atlanta.  Tech will not likely lose many highly touted recruits to State, but their depth chart will take a hit.

The direct impact on UGA should be negligible over any reasonable forecasting time horizon.  Of course as Tech's fortunes wane, UGA's strength of schedule will decline.  

Florida has an outstanding athletics program from stem to stern as evidenced by their standing in the Directors' Cup.  And it's not an accident, or statistical anomaly that we can wish away.  

The idea that Florida's performance will revert to a historical norm serves only to obscure why Florida has achieved excellence while our achievements are merely above average.  

Poll

Florida's domination of Georgia...

37%

Is a statistical anamoly that will go away if we close our eyes and wait

3 votes

25%

Will continue until we demand excellence from our Coaches

2 votes

37%

Will end when global warming floods The Swamp

3 votes

8 votes | Poll has closed

Continue reading this post »

I appreciate Kyle's well conceived arguments in favor of a traditional bowl system.  And the part of me that is concerned with the increasing commercialization of college football agrees with him.  However, since the reality is that college football is essentially a professional league, I much prefer a playoff system.  

Continue reading this post »

The commercialization of college athletics is one of my favorite topics of discussion.  

Football and basketball programs are essentially semi-pro leagues.  Coaches and staff are paid in the 7 figures. Elite athletes are paid under the table.  And the atletes are, all too often and perhaps usually, most certainly NOT student-athletes.  This despite the fact that the vast majority of them will never graduate to the professional leagues, and far too many of them will never graduate from college.

Poll

Athletic Scholarships should

7%

be prohibited

1 votes

61%

include a large cash stipend

8 votes

30%

remain the same

4 votes

13 votes | Poll has closed

Continue reading this post »

I know this is way off topic.  In my defense, we are playing UAB this week, and there is not much to say.

Anyway, back to Boo. A Charger's linebacker got shot a few weeks ago.  This guy sums it up pretty well.  

Basic facts: Aaron Mansker, an off duty and out of uniform cop driving a black Mazda sedan follows Charger's linebacker Micheal Foley, for over 25 miles.  Then the officer says he "felt trapped" in Foley's cul de sac and shoots Foley three times.  Foley was unarmed. Foley's companion then tried to run over Mansker.  Mansker claims Foley was driving fast and eratically and that he tried to pull Foley over while stopped at 3 red lights along the 25 mile route. The incident happened between 3 and 4 in the morning.  Recently the prosecutors have  suggested -- without (by their own admission) one bit of evidence -- that Foley may have been suffering from steroid rage.  

Continue reading this post »

Looks like Georgia is a slight favorite over at tradesports.  There are no trades yet but the bid/ask spread  spans 50%.  That's even money folks.  

For those of you who have never experienced the joy of tradesports I definitely recommend it.  You can bet -- trade contracts, that is -- throughout the game.  Look for me to be buying contracts for Georgia to win if Stafford is in the game early.    

Continue reading this post »