FEAR IS NOT AN OPTION

Georgia head coach Mark Richt will take the podium Thursday at SEC Media Days and meet the throngs of media that represent the greatest and most passionate fans in the game. We fans empower those members of the media in attendance to pick, prod and pry for any and every piece of information that we have not somehow already found and devoured during the football information famine that is the time between the end of spring practice and the start of fall camp. Richt will be joined by Aaron Murray, Ben Jones and Brandon Boykin for the event. This seems to be a crucible appropriate to harden Richt, the group of DAWGS at his side and other Georgia men that should be taking notes, for what lies ahead for when it comes to the 2011 season for the men that roam between the hedges…fear is not an option.

The time draws very near for Georgia to begin to reclaim the shine that everyone associated with the program had come to expect during Richt’s tenure in Athens. The shine that only comes from the warm light of the adoring spotlight shone on a program that expects to finish every season with double-digit wins, dominates the in-state wanna-be school and competes for league and national championships. It is not until you fall out of that light that one truly realizes just how cold it is out there in the darkness. That darkness is where the DAWGS find themselves after three seasons of declining win totals culminating in last year’s dismal 6-7 finish.

The amount of work and dedication required to battle your way back into the light (and the collective national college football consciousness) can be intimidating. There is no one person that must work harder than the rest, but rather it requires an overall uplifting of focus and effort for everyone involved with the program to achieve this favored spot once more. And it’s too late to start now. If Richt and his DAWGS have not already made the adjustments to their practices and attitude that are required, then this season will much more like the last few than anything the DAWG Nation witnessed from 2001-2005.

Each and every player, coach and yes…fan…that bleeds red and black must not be afraid to do what is necessary to snatch our beloved program by the collar and change the course of the near future of Georgia football. This will not be done by any singular gesture, but in each and every small one. How you prepare as a player, how you game plan as a coach and how you support your team as a fan will have an impact on the ultimate evolution of the process in Athens. Coach Richt cannot be afraid to take that chance to break a game open or put his boot on the neck of an opponent. Murray, who for my money is the best quarterback in the league, cannot be afraid to make that throw through a key hole when the game is on the line. Jones cannot be afraid to demand perfection from his line mates in this league that requires nothing less. Boykin cannot be afraid to break on that pass with a 50/50 chance to change the course of a drive or a game or a season.

These men are not alone. It will take everyone. Isaiah Crowell cannot be afraid to carry the ball 30 or 40 times because he’s a freshman. Tavarres King cannot be afraid to be a no. 1 receiver. Coaches Grantham and Bobo cannot be afraid the put their players in position to make that key play that could change a season, even when it could cost the game. The DAWG Nation cannot be afraid that we have been left behind by the HATED Gators or the Chickens in Columbia.

Georgia cannot be afraid of any challenge. There is no reason to be. We are GEORGIA! We are the DAWG Nation! We are the breed of All-Americas, Heisman trophies and championships. We are the breed of Herschel, Munson, Greene and Pollack. We must rise to meet every challenge, for our history demands it of us.

The hour is at hand. We must not doubt. We must not be afraid.

Fear is not an option.

Glory, Glory.

DAWGS NEED TO FIND SOME NASTY ON THE ROSTER

Whether any of you have noticed or not, things have not been just rolling off the presses here at the BEAST this spring. There are a myriad of reasons for that (and all of them are justified), but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been paying attention.

There are several reasons that I believe the 2011 football season will be a bright one for the DAWGS, but we can save those for a later date. First things first.

One reality of my time away is that I have been forced to watch and listen as Auburn and its fans have reveled in their MNC glory. And they should. The Tigers earned it on the field with outstanding performances from many, not the least of which those turned in by Nick Fairley.

Fairley was quite possibly the most disruptive single player the Southeastern Conference has seen since David Pollack was unleashed “between the hedges” back in 2002. And that is where the rubber hits the road in this discussion.

Georgia fans probably won’t like any comparison between Fairley and Pollack regardless of the argument, but they should be a little more willing to listen. Both were All-Americans and both changed the game for their opponents every time they stepped on the field. The glaring difference here, especially when viewed through DAWG-red colored glasses, is the association of Fairley with a “less than fair” style of play and the “poster boy” image that has followed Pollack both during and since his time in Athens. Some would go so far as to call the Auburn defensive lineman a dirty player, while most any recollected memory of Pollack sparkles like a shiny penny in the Sanford sun on a brilliant DAWG day afternoon. But those perceptions have absolutely no impact on what made each player a dominant force in the SEC and in college football.

I would argue that along with being very good football players and all of the other attributes that made each player a championship-caliber difference maker on their respective teams, there was one underlying factor that set each player apart from the rest. Nasty. A nasty that falls in the blind spot of adoring fans, draws the ire of the opposition colors and wins games in the fourth quarter. A nasty that defeats an opponent before they step on the field. A nasty that demands a “chew your kneecaps off’ performance from the player and his teammates at the biggest moments in the biggest games. THIS….this is what Fairley and Pollack share.

Now, I’m not saying Fairley has not earned his reputation (at least in the eyes of Georgia fans) on the field. I offer you exhibit A:








The video speaks for itself. However, in the months since the season has ended, while scouring game film and breaking down season stats in my top secret CFB bunker that is dimly lit only by the flickering light of the projector, I have been forced to admit a sobering fact to myself…I want that player on my team. NOT that player that crosses the line and intentionally attempts to injure an opponent, BUT that player that slams right up against that line and then dances back from it wreaking havoc all along the way. Admittedly, this is a dangerous zone in which to live. As for Fairley’s play against Georgia last season, I will just say that if the DAWGS didn’t like the way he was treating our players and namely our franchise quarterback, they should have…wait for it…BLOCKED him. And yes, I feel the Georgia players were absolutely justified when they finally stood up for their teammate late in the game, but I would much rather they had handled business between the whistles. I expect this piece will bring responses from all across the DAWG Nation and they are welcomed.

There have been others that have played with this type of nasty for Coach Richt….Thomas Davis, Kevin Breedlove, Daniel Inman, Sean Jones and Max Jean-Gilles to name a few. What is it that all of these players had in common? They were champions and they would just as soon whip your ass as look at you between the lines.

If Georgia is going to get back to the pinnacle of the SEC under Coach Richt, then the lead DAWG and his staff are going to have to cultivate a few more of these balls-to-the-wall type players that will push the program over the top when the going gets tough in the crucible that is college football in the Southeastern Conference.

Glory, Glory.