As I notified you a week ago, the Maple Street Press 2011 Georgia Bulldogs preview is available for pre-order. Ordinarily, I would’ve simply left it at that, but, since my SB Nation colleagues at Rocky Top Talk have given the Volunteers’ MSP annual front-page treatment, I thought a similar degree of thoroughness was warranted here, so set aside your Mississippi bacon recipes for a moment and heed the wisdom of Year2, who saved the best for last.
Here’s the deal. If you pick up a copy of this, . . .
. . . you’re going to get this:
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Back On Track: Breaking Down the 2011 Roster
by Kit Kitchens
Kit kicks off the inaugural edition of the Georgia Maple Street Press annual by giving you a position-by-position overview of the 2011 Bulldogs. If you haven’t yet committed the depth chart to memory, this article will bring you up to speed on the areas of strength, weakness, and uncertainty in the Georgia lineup. -
Georgia's Most Wanted: The Bulldogs' 2011 Schedule
by T. Kyle King
Anything you want to know about an opponent on this fall’s slate is here. Each of the twelve teams the Red and Black will face this season receives comprehensive coverage, with extra attention paid to the biggest games on the schedule, complete with key players, returning starters, series records, and 2010 statistics. -
Life After A.J.: Where Does Georgia's Receiving Corps Stand Moving Forward?
by Rob Hinson
A.J. Green may be the first receiver since Lindsay Scott to leave Athens more popular than he was when he arrived in the Classic City. Rob examines the ways in which the Bulldogs will try to compensate for the absence of the player who has been so crucial to the Georgia offense the last three years. -
Attacking The Offense: Take A Look Inside The History of the 3-4 Defense
by Charles Bradley
This detailed breakdown of the X’s and O’s walks you through the intricacies of Todd Grantham’s 3-4 scheme, putting it in its historical context and delving into everything from the minutiae of particular blitzes to the nuances of specific alignments. You will feel smarter after reading this. -
Every Dog Has His Day: Where Will Aaron Murray Fit Among The School's Other QB Greats?
by R. Thomas Layfield
No matter how good you thought Aaron Murray was last year, you weren’t giving him enough credit. Thomas puts Georgia’s rising sophomore signal caller alongside his fellow Red and Black quarterbacks and offers eye-opening comparisons that will leave you feeling more confident about Murray’s excellence. -
Calling All Road Warriors: Hitting The Road With the Dawgs in 2011
by Carol Goldin
If you’re planning on making the trek to any of the Red and Black’s outings away from home and hedge, you need to read Carol’s destination-by-destination evaluation of each city the ‘Dawgs will visit this fall. You won’t be prepared to leave home without it. -
Meet The Dream Team: Another Year, Another Top Flight Recruiting Class for the Bulldogs
by Jeremy Attaway
The highlight of the offseason thus far was, of course, national signing day, when Mark Richt revived Bulldog Nation’s lagging spirits by inking one of the top recruiting classes in the country. Jeremy introduces you to the latest group of program saviors. -
Season Of Our Discontent: Looking Back at 2010
by David Damian
How would you like to re-live the 2010 football season? Yeah, me neither. Fortunately, Dave has retraced his---and the Bulldogs’---steps, so the rest of us don’t have to do so. -
Coming Home: New Offensive Line Coach Will Friend Returns to Athens Where His Coaching Journey First Began
by T. Kyle King
Will Friend took a circuitous route back to Athens, but his homecoming figures to be critical to the Bulldogs’ success this autumn, given the condition of Georgia’s offensive line. Find out more about the assistant coach charged with the responsibility for getting the most out of the Red and Black’s forward wall. -
Richt's Recruiting: A Position-by-Position Breakdown
by Jeremy Attaway
Jeremy offers an unvarnished assessment of recruiting in the Mark Richt era, recalling some familiar (and some forgotten) names from the last decade in an overall evaluation of how Coach Richt has fared in bringing in players to fill each position on the field. -
'Run To The Ball And Hit Something': Get To Know New Linebackers Coach Kirk Olivadotti
by T. Kyle King
Few, if any, Bulldog fans were pleased to see Warren Belin go, but there is a lot to like about his replacement. Kirk Olivadotti’s resume gives Georgia fans cause for hope regarding the linebacker corps. -
Ten Years On: From Jim Donnan to Mark Richt, Take A Look at The Direction The Georgia Football Program Has Taken Over The Past Decade
by Jeremy Attaway
There’s no getting around the fact that this is a critical season for Mark Richt, and, hence, for the future of the Georgia program. Jeremy charts the course of Coach Richt’s ten-year tenure, showing where the Bulldogs have been, where they are now, and where the 2011 campaign is likely to take them. -
Best of Enemies: The Georgia-Tennessee Rivalry Through The Eyes of a Vols Fan
by Will Shelton
Rocky Top Talk senior editor Will Shelton agreed to recap the series between the Big Orange and the Red and Black, offering a balanced perspective from the other side that does justice to a divisional rivalry that makes up in potential what it lacks in history. -
Georgia vs. Florida: Go Inside One of The Most Storied Border Wars On the College Gridiron
by Jason Hortman
There may be no bigger date on the Bulldogs’ football schedule or the Peach State’s social calendar than the annual trek to Jacksonville for the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. Jason traces the twists and turns of a rivalry in which both teams have taken turns dominating the other in one of the most storied settings in the sport. -
Football Meets Family Reunion: 25 Reasons Why Georgia-Auburn Is Among The Best in Sports
by Doug Gillett
I thought about writing this one, but, if I had, it would’ve just been "I hate Auburn" over and over again, not unlike Jack Nicholson’s manuscript in "The Shining." Instead, I called upon Doug, a Columbus native who makes it a point to be present for the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry every single year. You’ll enjoy this informative and entertaining overview of our 119-year-old border battle with the Plainsmen. -
Hate As A Family Value: Few Rivalries Come As Fierce as Georgia-Georgia Tech
by Neil C. Thom
The bad news is that I wasn’t able to sneak Neil’s use of the phrase "raging case of baseball butthurt" by my superiors at Maple Street Press. The good news is that, even without that particular turn of phrase, this marvelously partisan trip down memory lane still does justice to an in-state rivalry that remains infused with Clean Old-Fashioned Hate.
As an extra added bonus, there is the fact that many of the articles were authored by regular Dawg Sports contributors under their own names, so you can read their pieces and try to figure out their secret identities! Please feel free to indulge your consumerist impulses by clicking here.
Go ‘Dawgs!