Sunday ‘Dawg Bites: It’s Game Week, Baby!

There’s news far and wide this morning, including more clarity on the most eagerly watched position battle in Athens, recruiting news, and trouble for Mark Richt down in paradise.

Seth Emerson at the AJC points out that the obvious remains obvious. Jacob Eason has been getting the most reps with the first team, which a week from game day likely means he’s the starter. Kirby Smart is too smart to spend valuable snaps punking Larry Fedora. He and Jim Chaney are getting ready to start a true freshman QB in the Georgia Dome against a top 25 opponent to kick off their time in Athens. Why not?

Marc Weiszer talked to Dominick Sanders about a possibility we raised here back in July: could the junior from Tucker pass Kirby Smart on the UGA all-time interceptions list? What's more, could he leave Athens with the record?

Mark Richt has lost control of Miami. The Miami Hurricanes coach (yup, still weird . . .) dismissed two defensive starters before the season opener as the culmination of a months long investigation into their relationship with a local luxury car dealership. Here’s the thing. Miami is and always will be a challenging NCAA compliance environment. It’s a party town which loves football and love the ‘Canes and has grown accustomed to a certain renegade joie de vivre. That’s not going to change.

Neither is Richt, a guy whose two biggest NCAA transgressions in Athens were butt-dilaing a recruit’s dad and paying staffers out of his own pocket. The two might coexist, but there’s always going to be a certain tension there.

‘Tis the season for sucky injury news and there’s none suckier this morning than the word from Baltimore that former Bulldog Ben Watson tore his achilles last night and is out for the season. Watson, a twelve year NFL vet, remains one of my all-time favorite Bulldogs and was looking to have a big year giving Joe Flacco some security. Alas, it was not to be.

Another former Bulldog tight end will also have a tough road this season. August 30th is the deadline for NFL teams to trim their rosters to 75 players, and the Falcons did so today by cutting (among others) former Bulldog Arthur Lynch. I would have loved to see Artie in Atlanta this year and really am a little surprised that he's not been able to really solidify a spot in the league. But it's a brutal business. Even world-class players find themselves swept aside in the cutthroat competition to land one of those coveted 53 roster spots. Here's hoping Lynch catches on somewhere else this season.

Jake Fromm on record pace. The Bulldogs' quarterback commit continues to put up prolific passing numbers during his senior season. Fromm threw for 444 yards Friday night against Peach County to move closer to Clemson QB Deshaun Watson's all-time Georgia passing yardage record. His 8 touchdowns on the season puts him on pace to challenge Hutson Mason's record of 54 touchdown passes in a single season.

We'll be back with more Bulldog football coverage. Until then . . .

Go 'Dawgs!!!