SouthernDawg

As a new member to your forum and who view himself as a guest, I want to thank you for letting me post here and give some perspective. I want to assure you that I recognize the class and dignity of this forum and I will abide by your rules to that T as a guest amongst (hopefully) friends. I'm a lifelong Georgia fan but also a huge fan of college football in general and watch it analytically as well as anecdotally every year. I hope that I can shed some light and positivity on the direction your program is heading, despite what is certainly a horrible bruising it took yesterday. I knew that as soon as the whistle blew after 60 minutes of ball yesterday, the chirping about buyer's remorse with Dan Lanning would start. That is absolute utter nonsense. Let me first put your minds at ease - ya'll got a serious ball coach with Dan Lanning. And in Lanning, you also got an elite recruiter and most definitely, that was the difference in the ball game yesterday: the players. Oregon ran up against not only a defending National Champion, but a program that is recruiting at the highest level for the last 6 years. There is no way that Lanning come in, wave a magic wand or quack at the right pitch, and bridge the wide gap in player talent in 8 months on the job between a program like Georgia and what he's working with right now at Oregon. It's going to take time for him to recruit the caliber of player it takes to be relevant on the national stage. I'm 100% sure that Lanning wanted to win that game, but knowing him and watching him closely for the last 4 years, I know that he'll use this humbling as a teaching tool and help the team grow from this loss. Lanning is well aware of the caliber of player that is going to take at each position and he's going to go after them. Also, let's talk about Bo Nix. Having a Ph.D as I do in SEC football, I've watched Nix for what seems like an eternity. Why is he the QB at Oregon right now and why didn't Lanning take him out for Thompson? Best I can tell, Nix is at Oregon because despite having a million dollar arm and a 10 cent head, Nix has seen the gambit of what college football can throw at him and his strength is his mobility. Nix is a Jekyll & Hyde QB. Some days you'll get the Bo Nix you saw yesterday (ask any Auburn fan), and next week you'll get the Bo Nix that rushes for 100, throws 3 TDs and makes the highlight reel. I've never seen a QB that sold his stock as high as Nix does. It baffles me. That said, why is he starting? Why didn't Lanning pull him? Because knowing Lanning, he 's made the evaluation of all his QBs and truly believes Nix gives you the best chance to win. That's the school he comes from in the Saban/Smart system. A lot of times, we fans do not see or understand what the coaches see in practice each week, or what struggles a QB has in the film room when the OC & QB coach are grilling the QB on what he sees on film. Nix has seen a truckload of defenses in his time, and that seniority amounts to a lot in football. Why didn't Lanning bench him? That's easy - because that sends a message on week 1 that there is zero confidence in decision the coaching staff made in their starters. One horrible game doesn't make a horrible season, nor does it make a horrible QB. When it's time to pull Nix, he'll pull him. But for the time being, he's going to ride with him until Thompson beats him out in practice. So I'm done with my novel post. That said, hold your bills high. Brighter days are ahead for your program. Everyone wants to win right now, but it does not work that way in college football. It takes a lot of hard work and time to get to the top. Just ask Georgia fans, we know all about it. I'll post periodically on here because I really do want to see Lanning succeed and I know he will. I absolutely hated losing him on UGA's staff.