Final Feelings: Dawgs Should Roll; Getting Ready for the Irish
Matt’s Final Feelings:
Friday is here and the Bulldogs have another cupcake game tomorrow against Arkansas State. (Don’t tell Kirby Smart that…)
But first I have to talk about my Las Vegas trip. The trip was great, and I was very impressed with the two prospects I saw in 5-star TE Darnell Washington and 5-star CB Kelee Ringo.
Darnell Washington is a badass. He’s an absolute freak and proved it on the field. The dude is pushing 6-foot-8 at 260-pounds and runs like a deer. He’s athletic, can catch the ball and delivered some vicious blocks throughout the game. He played against a bunch of smaller kids from Utah, but his play was still incredibly impressive. I’ve seen a ton of great prospects over the years and Washington is one of the best.
Kelee Ringo is right there with him. He didn’t get many opportunities to make plays, but he did take one carry on offense 61 yards for a touchdown. He’s one of the fastest players in the 2020 class and looks the part at 6-foot-2 203-pounds.
As far as their recruitment, I still believe Georgia has a big lead for both prospects right now. They’ll both be in town for the Notre Dame game, and while both say a commitment won’t come until after the season, I do think Georgia would be the pick if either one made a decision today.
As far as Las Vegas itself, it was very hot. It was about 104 outside all weekend, but it was nothing compared to a summer day in Georgia. I stayed at Silver Sevens, a trashy hotel about a mile away from the strip. Instead of taking a $15 Uber to the Las Vegas strip, I decided to make the long walk over there instead. One homeless man yelled and screamed at me for not giving him some money as I walked by. I miss the homeless in Georgia that stay quiet and just sit there with their sign. I have no problem giving them a couple bucks here and there because I do have a heart. Homeless people make me sad, but the homeless in Vegas are loud and angry.
I finally made it over to the Paris hotel and that place was insanely nice. I pretended to gamble a little to score some free beers, then found some Nationals fans to watch the Braves game with. That was a good time. Later I found some Nebraska football fans to talk football with for a little bit. They told me to put all my money on Colorado as they just knew Nebraska was going to lose that game. Those particular Nebraska fans are not pleased at all with Scott Frost and admitted that the program will never be what it once was. It got a little depressing so I walked across the street to the Bellagio. After a couple more beers and more people watching, I made my way over to Caesar’s Palace. Between the Palace and Bellagio, those might be the two nicest hotels I’ve ever seen. Everything was classy except for the woman smoking TWO cigarettes at the same time. I was looking for a Tennessee logo on her shirt but couldn’t find one. It was disgusting but impressive at the same time.
I started walking back to the nasty Silver Sevens but had to make a stop at In-n-Out for dinner. Maybe it was because I was six beers in, but that burger was delicious. It was basically a cheaper 5 Guys. Totally cool with it.
So that was Friday night.
The next morning, I met up with Ringo and Washington before their games and then watched them both play at Bishop Gorman for the next six hours. Both games were over at halftime and had a running clock in the second half. Made it back to my hotel, ate at the buffet, watched USC-Stanford, then passed out.
On Sunday morning, I made it back over to the Bellagio to watch my Falcons. Here we go…
The Falcons are absolute trash. While I expected a 7-9 season, they looked even worse than I thought they were. They let a completely average Vikings team kick the crap out of them pretty much the entire game. Yes, they have a good defense, but it’s still the VIKINGS. Unacceptable. Matt Ryan is scared for his life every time he drops back, and I don’t blame him. The offensive line might be the worst in the NFL. The defense is completely average. Vic Beasley might be the worst player in all of football. He had a great regular season in 2016, but right now he’s a terrible football player and only getting worse. Keanu Neal has forgotten how to play safety. Dion Jones is getting run over. Tak McKinley is a nut-job. Grady Jarrett is the only Falcons defender right now who knows how to get off a block and make a play.
Dan Quinn needs to go. Everyone in the front office needs to go. Shut it down and start over. The front office thinks they’re smarter than everyone when it comes to the NFL Draft and has made some really poor draft picks in recent years. Those guys TRADED UP to draft a right tackle with no length and a heart issue. What a bunch of clowns. I love my Falcons and always will, but they need to shut it down and start over. Matt Ryan is obviously past his prime, but he still has some years left if he has an offensive line he can trust. I know it’s only been one week, but the Falcons looked terrible. I’m expecting a 5-11 season the way they looked on Sunday.
On another note, I saw way too many dudes wearing jerseys on Sunday. If you’re older than 30, you shouldn’t be wearing another man’s jersey. Wear a polo or a t-shirt, but get rid of the jersey. Even today’s frat guys look stupid wearing old-school jerseys of an athlete they never saw play. Jerseys are for kids. There were way too many 30- and 40-year old men wearing NFL jerseys in Vegas. It’s an epidemic at this point.
The Braves have been kicking ass. I’m not expecting them to play in the World Series, but it’s been fun watching them destroy the Nationals, Mets and Phillies over the last few weeks. NOBODY outside of Georgia thought the Braves would win the division in March. None of those “experts” gave the Braves a shot. The Braves own the Mets, they own the Phillies, and they own the Nats. I love it. I expect them to finally make it out of the first round and push the Dodgers hard in the second round. We’ll see what happens. Either way, it’s been a great summer.
As for the Bulldogs, I’m expecting them to dominate on Saturday. Kirby Smart praised Arkansas State for a long time during his press conference on Monday, and they do look like a pretty decent team, but there’s no excuse not to blow them out by 40. This is the tune-up game before Notre Dame and they should be playing hard. The offense will still be vanilla, and it might be a boring game, but it’s important that they start playing at the top of their game. I’m expecting a 51-10 type of game on Saturday.
Those are my feelings. Vegas was fun, the Falcons are trash, the Braves are awesome and the Bulldogs should win by over 40 on Saturday.
Dylan’s Final Feelings
I’m sorry I couldn’t provide my final feelings for y’all last week. But fear not, I am here and ready to spill my heart into this week's edition.
As many of you know, I spent last Thursday running around Houston trying to figure out what in the world was going on with Zach Evans. It required a couple of hours of sitting at his high school bothering the lady at the front desk to please let me speak to someone - anyone - who could talk to me about Evans.
I didn’t get her name, but she was the real MVP of that trip. She put up with me as I asked her over and over again to see if she could get in touch with the athletic office. I’m sorry, ma’am, but thank you for being so patient with me. Most people aren’t.
As for college football, we’re getting a pretty dry week. I’m scrolling through trying to figure out what the best game is, and I’m honestly not sure. They’re all pretty meh. I guess it would be Iowa-Iowa State, but the battle for the state of Iowa has never much appealed to me.
Regardless, I’ll be watching it—at least the second half. I’m not sold on Iowa by any means, but Iowa State just won in a shootout with the University of Northern Iowa. Even though it’s in Ames, give me Iowa to cover (-2.5).
The Aggies this week are taking on a tough opponent against Lamar. A&M has the game in College Station, but after a loss last week, a snowball effect could be coming in here. Don’t expect Lamar to go out without swinging… Jokes aside, Jimbo and the boys are going clap Lamar.
The Horns are in the same boat. They have Rice this week (in NRG Stadium for some reason). It should be a beatdown - should be. Even Garrett Gilbert was able to beat Rice to a pulp. I’m sure Sam Ehlinger can too. Give me Texas to cover (-32.5).
As for this week for me, there wasn’t much going on. I’m finally putting on the finishing touches to a D’Andre Swift story that has long been in the works. Too long, honestly. We’re still unsure exactly how it’s going to be split up and shared, but it’s coming soon. It’s not going to be nearly as strong as a Woj Bomb, but it deserves some sort of title. Maybe a Web Bomb, if you will.
I kid, I kid. It would be sacrilegious to put me in the same stratosphere as Woj.
As Dean Legge though? Well, I don’t think that’s wrong at all. As I said on Riding Home last week after Murray State, I think Webber’s Thoughts could get some serious traction if (when) we start it up on Dawg Post. Let’s make it happen.
Dean’s Final Feelings
As I write this I am getting ready for a photo shoot with 5-star RB Kendall Milton, who may or may not play tonight (turns out he’s not playing). My guess is that he won’t play in these pre-conference games. Buchannan, where he plays, has an off week here coming up in the next two weeks.
So even if he does play tonight, I don’t expect it will be for long.
(Side note… sitting here eating and didn’t anticipate the burrito to be quite this large. Also, folks out here are not married to Coke, and that gives me some issues. Pepsi makes me want to vomit. I have to roll with either Diet Dr. Pepper (which is not a Pepsi product, but isn’t widespread), or Mountain Dew, which has some real calories in it.)
This is the second weekend in the last three that I have missed the Georgia game. People that sort of know how I make a living usually ask me: “So do you go to all of the away games?”
Yes. I go to all of the games. Every. Single. One. Of. Them.
This century I have missed the following UGA games:
2006 vs. Vanderbilt - Wedding (ended in divorce)
2006 vs. Gators - Bat Mitzvah (Only one I’ve attended)
2009 vs. LSU - Responsibilities at Coker (Listened to Scott Howard’s call on the radio)
2010 at Colorado - Responsibilities at Coker (I watched the ending in a bar)
2010 at Kentucky - Weekend date with wife (I’m not sure I remember the details)
2019 at Vandy - Wedding in NYC
Other than those game I have been at each game. Think about how many times I’ve heard the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Think about all of those blowouts and boring games. Crazy endings have happened with teams from Alabama more than anyone else that I can remeber.
Auburn 2001, Auburn 2002, Alabama 2002, Alabama 2007, Alabama 2012, Auburn 2013, Alabama 2018, Alabama 2019.
Lots of wild endings there.
I don’t anticipate a wild ending this weekend in Athens. I expect the Dawgs to get up, cover and get off the field. In fact, the cover is going to have a lot to do with how Stetson Bennett and the offense perform. This program has become so deep.
(Side note: This burrito has potatoes in it, which is great, but they are cut too large. I don’t need to fight the burrito - I need to eat it.)
The program will get even deeper when Milton gets there. And I’ve seen enough to know already - the kid is legit. Nice eyes. Can sidestep and then explode. He’s for real. And how this works is that you need as many ball carriers as possible. Backs still have egos, but they also have brains. They know that an appropriate about of carries in college is the key to getting paid twice in the NFL. And getting paid twice or more in the NFL is how you get wealth.
That Milton going to Georgia speaks to the power of the program as well as the power of national television. How likely was something like this to happen in the past? In the 1980s could you really put the top back in California to a place like Georgia? There was no frame of reference. There were two national TV games a year back then, and one of the two UGA would play in (Florida) kicked off during breakfast out here.
Still, places like Georgia don’t have to recruit nationally - they “get” to recruit nationally. This isn’t going to stop. Georgia’s football program is recruiting the way Duke and UNC recruit in basketball. Yes, the local guys are great, but you are just as likely to have a guy from Portland or your team as you are someone from Porterdale - probably more likely if you know anything about Porterdale.
These potatoes are not going eat themselves, so I should wrap this up. This is a terrible weekend of college football. No ranked matchups. Teams like Texas are playing on CBS Sports Network against Rice. Gross. The ABC night game is Clemson trying to avoid an upset coming from a team that just lost by 100 to Maryland. Gross.
The most intriguing game to monitor this weekend is the Gators traveling to Kentucky. Florida will win because the Cats just lost their starting QB for the season. But what are we really seeing here from Florida? Have they gotten it together more than a few weeks ago? Vols-Gators is next weekend… did you ever think you would see that game be the (at best) No. 3 SEC game of the weekend? That used to be the game of the year.
While the Gators had a huge first weekend on TV - about 5M viewers - they didn’t even have 1M for their game last week. Tennessee is a disaster. No need to wonder how bad its ratings are. Its team is atrocious.
Georgia rolls this weekend, and the season starts next week. That game is do-or-die for the Irish. It’s pretty close to that for UGA, too.