text:
Georgia Bulldogs: Rantavious Wooten
Vote: Top SEC games of the 2013 season
ESPNU will count down the top 25 games and air all but four of them July 21-Aug. 3. Of course the SEC is well-represented. Game Nos. 6-25 have already been determined. Here's a look.
No. 23 -- Alabama 49, Texas A&M 42
Re-airdate: July 22, 7 p.m. ET
This Week 3 contest was a much-anticipated grudge match after Johnny Manziel and the upstart Aggies had upset the mighty Tide in Tuscaloosa, Ala., in 2012. The return engagement had fireworks from the start, as A&M's 628 yards were the most given up in Alabama's history.
No. 20 -- Georgia 44, LSU 41
Re-airdate: July 23, 10 p.m. ET
Two teams ranked in the top 10 slugged it out to the tune of nearly 1,000 combined yards, as the quarterback performances by Georgia's Aaron Murray and former teammate Zach Mettenberger were among the best of their careers.
Re-airdate: July 25, 7 p.m. ET
Looking back, this huge upset on the road might have fueled Auburn's amazing season. One year after being beaten 63-21 by the Aggies, the Tigers roared back to national prominence behind QB Nick Marshall and RB Tre Mason. The Auburn defense gave up more than 500 yards to Manziel but came through in the end to preserve the win.
Re-airdate: July 28, 7 p.m. ET
Just think of how differently we would have viewed UT's season had the Vols pulled off this upset. Georgia withstood injuries and a determined Tennessee team, and rallied to tie the game with five seconds left when Murray found Rantavious Wooten for a touchdown. UT's Alton Howard fumbled a sure touchdown in overtime, which set up UGA's game-winning field goal.
Re-airdate: July 29, 10 p.m. ET
The opening game of the season set a clear tone for high-scoring offense and thrilling late-game heroics. Vandy raced to a 21-10 halftime lead and then gave up 29 points, including a back-breaking 75-yard touchdown run by Jeff Scott with just over a minute to play.
Re-airdate: July 31, 10 p.m. ET
Gamecocks QB Connor Shaw came off the bench to score 17 fourth-quarter points to send this one into overtime, where the teams traded touchdowns before USC won it with a kick. Missouri was slapped with its first loss of the season, but the Tigers won the rest of their games and the SEC East crown.
Now we need your help choosing a top five, and again the SEC is prominent with four choices available. Voting ends Monday. If you need help deciding, here's how I would rank 'em.
No. 5 -- Texas A&M 52, Duke 48
Manziel penned a memorable swan song in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, as the Aggies and Blue Devils piled up more than 1,200 yards of offense. Manziel passed for 382 yards and four touchdowns, ran for 73 yards and one TD, and led his team back from a 21-point halftime deficit.
No. 4 -- Florida State 34, Auburn 31
The Tigers' miracle season came crashing down when FSU rallied from an 18-point deficit, the largest ever overcome in a BCS championship game. A thrilling fourth quarter closed with Heisman winner Jameis Winston leading the Noles 80 yards in 66 seconds for the win.
No. 2 -- Auburn 43, Georgia 38
Any time a game evokes a nickname it has also earned a place in college football lore. This game got two of them -- "The Prayer at Jordan-Hare" and "The Immaculate Deflection" -- thanks to a 73-yard Hail Mary touchdown that Bulldogs safety Josh Harvey-Clemons tipped to Auburn's Ricardo Louis.
No. 1 -- Auburn 34, Alabama 28
Is there any doubt which game transcended the 2013 season into the history books? With his improbable, last-second, missed field-goal return, Chris Davis' 109-yard touchdown run -- the "Kick Six" -- was forever branded on the sport's collective consciousness.
UGA recruiting classes of the decade: No. 1
Today, we'll look at No. 1: the 2009 group that was built around a couple of stars and a larger group of key contributors on one of the best teams of the Mark Richt era (2012).
The contributors: The strength of this group is its depth. More than half of the signees became at least part-time starters at some point and a dozen were valuable members of the 2012 team that finished fifth in the national rankings. Guards Burnette and Dallas Lee started for most of the past three seasons, Williams was one of the emotional leaders of the 2012 club, linebacker Michael Gilliard was one of the team's leading tacklers in 2011, and Brown and Rantavious Wooten overcame injury-filled careers to enjoy solid senior seasons. Brown was one of the highest-rated players in the class, but his impressive 2012 helped him finally break through and become an undrafted free agent signee with the Baltimore Ravens -- and then one of the top rookie receivers of the 2013 season.
The letdowns: There were some notable departures in this group, starting with quarterback Zach Mettenberger, who eventually became a two-year starter at LSU after getting dismissed before his second season at UGA. Washaun Ealey, who led the team in rushing for two seasons, also parted ways with the Bulldogs before the 2011 season. In addition, ESPN 150 signee Dexter Moody never enrolled and cornerback Jordan Love and defensive linemen Montez Robinson and Derrick Lott left Athens early in their careers. Offensive lineman Austin Long was a huge recruit, but struggled with numerous health issues before finally contributing as a reserve in 2012. He left the team over an academic issue before the 2013 season. The off-field issues that robbed UGA of Ealey, Moody and Mettenberger's services are perhaps the biggest disappointments in this class, although the Bulldogs did just fine with Todd Gurley and Murray instead.
The results: There was more star power in other classes, and perhaps one or two of them will still catch up to this bunch before their time at Georgia is over, but the 2009 group was full of blue-collar players who produced for at least two seasons in Athens. The program was at a low point early in the class' tenure, but the group helped Georgia bounce back with consecutive division titles and seasons with at least 10 wins. Their time at UGA ended in disappointing fashion as injuries crippled a 2013 team that started in the top five. Nonetheless, the program is once again on solid footing thanks in large part to this group's on-field production and leadership.
Turnover common for Ball, McClendon
McClendon, who each season has juggled his lineups because of an assortment of injuries and off-the-field issues, predicted to All-SEC tailback Todd Gurley before the season that his sophomore year would not be all breakaway touchdown runs and soaring dives into the end zone. Those moments came, too, but McClendon's prediction proved to be correct when Gurley injured himself in the opener against Clemson and later missed three-and-a-half games with an ankle injury sustained against LSU.
It's always been something for McClendon's players -- and for fellow UGA assistant Tony Ball's receivers, as well -- but the coaches and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo have proven over time that they are capable of adjusting to the personnel available on a given week.
They've certainly had more than enough practice in that capacity this season.
Gurley and Keith Marshall both missed multiple games at tailback, while freshmen J.J. Green and Brendan Douglas also struggled with minor ailments at points. And Ball's wideout group lost Malcolm Mitchell to a torn ACL on the second possession of the season, Justin Scott-Wesley to an ACL at midseason and Chris Conley, Michael Bennett and Jonathon Rumph for multiple games at points.
The results with a decimated lineup weren't always pretty -- the Bulldogs committed four turnovers in a midseason loss to Missouri and generated just 221 yards of offense in the following week's loss to Vanderbilt -- but Bobo and company found a way to keep Georgia on pace to break the school's scoring record. The Bulldogs are averaging 38.2 ppg this season, just ahead of their record-setting 37.8-ppg average from 2012.
"There was an adjustment period there that we had to go through," Bobo said. "That Missouri game, we pretty much stayed aggressive, but we kind of turned the ball over a little bit [and had] some timing issues. We tried to slow it a little bit down in the Vanderbilt game and didn't have the results that way, either, and had to go back to the drawing board and the guys responded and answered and came back and played well the rest of the year."
That they did. Georgia averaged 45.8 ppg over the final four games, even without key players like Marshall, Mitchell, Scott-Wesley and senior quarterback Aaron Murray, who tore his ACL in the home finale against Kentucky. Even with Rantavious Wooten and Rhett McGowan playing bigger roles at receiver and with the freshmen filling in for Gurley and Marshall in the backfield at midseason, the Bulldogs regularly got production out of less heralded players.
"A lot of people went down and kids had to step up and prove they can play. Even a lot of freshmen had to step up and play," Douglas said. "I just give credit to the coaches for having them ready to go and Coach B-Mac having me and J.J. ready to roll in whenever we needed to."
McClendon turned 30 earlier this month, but since Mark Richt promoted him from his post as a graduate assistant in 2009, he has dealt with as much roster turnover as a considerably older coach.
It was stressful, McClendon admitted, but it also expedited his development within the profession.
"You learn by hard times," McClendon said. "You learn by adversity, you learn by when things are not going just peachy. And obviously that's been the case, and I think I've grown tremendously from it."
His boss agrees.
Richt saw Green rush for 129 yards in an overtime win against Tennessee and witnessed Douglas post 113 yards of offense against Missouri even when they weren't ready to play leading roles just yet. He saw 10 different wideouts make catches over the course of the season, with seven of them finishing with at least 89 yards in a game this fall.
Injuries are of course part of the game, but Georgia's receivers and running backs have dealt with more than their share over the last couple of seasons – and Richt is proud of the way his assistants have coped with those situations.
"[Ball] coaches them all the same and he does a great job of trying to crosstrain players when they're ready for it to make sure if you do have an injury … you've got guys that have got to be moving around. He did a great job," Richt said. "And McClendon did, too. Bryan, I think he's blossomed into one heck of a coach.
"I just don't like bragging too much about these guys because everybody wants to try to snag them," Richt chuckled. "So we don't want that to happen."
Five things: Georgia-Kentucky
ATHENS, Ga. -- Here are five things you need to know leading up to Saturday night's game between Georgia (6-4, 4-3 SEC) and Kentucky (2-8, 0-6).
Last time for the seniors: This is it for Aaron Murray and Georgia's 27 other seniors who will play their final home game at Sanford Stadium. The group enters the Kentucky game with a four-year record of 34-17, having won SEC East titles in 2011 and 2012.
Included in that group are eight players who started last Saturday's game against Auburn: Murray, offensive linemen Chris Burnette, Dallas Lee and Kenarious Gates, tight end Arthur Lynch, receivers Rantavious Wooten and Rhett McGowan and defensive lineman Garrison Smith.
Murray's record chase: Murray is already the only quarterback in SEC history to pass for 3,000-plus yards in three seasons. He needs just 108 yards against Kentucky to make it all four seasons. Having already broken the SEC career records for passing yards, touchdown passes, total offense and completions this season, Murray can still chase down two more records before the season ends. He is 59 pass attempts behind former Kentucky quarterback Jared Lorenzon's career total of 1,514 and needs 12 touchdowns rushing or passing to match Florida great Tim Tebow's mark for touchdown responsibility (145).
League's top tacklers meet: The top three tacklers in the SEC will be on the field tonight: Georgia's Ramik Wilson and Amarlo Herrera and Kentucky's Avery Williamson. Last week against Auburn, Wilson posted Georgia's highest single-game tackles total since 1998 when he recorded 18 stops. That pushed his SEC-leading tackles total to 110 (11 per game). After making 12 tackles against Auburn, Herrera now has 91 tackles this season. Williamson is third with 88 tackles after finishing second in the league with 135 stops last season.
Two Georgia players have led the SEC in tackles: Whit Marshall in 1995 (128) and Rennie Curran in 2009 (130).
Strangely close series: Georgia is regularly a heavy favorite -- and it is again this week, with late-week lines favoring the Bulldogs by 24 points -- but Kentucky has frequently been a tough opponent in the last decade.
Dating back to the Wildcats' upset win in 2006, Georgia is 5-2 against the Wildcats. But included in those five wins are a 42-38 win in 2008, a 19-10 victory where Georgia clinched the 2011 SEC East title after leading just 12-10 entering the final quarter, and last season's 29-24 win in Lexington. Murray torched the Wildcats' secondary for 427 yards and four touchdowns last year, but it took a late onside kick recovery by Connor Norman to disrupt the Wildcats' upset bid.
The news from Thursday that Wildcats coach Mark Stoops had suspended starting cornerback Cody Quinn, third-leading receiver Demarco Robinson and freshman defensive end Jason Hatcher for violating team rules certainly won't help Kentucky's cause.
Turnover troubles: Aside from the score, turnover margin is typically one of the most telling stats in football. Keep an eye on turnovers tonight, as both of these teams have had odd seasons in that regard. Georgia is tied for last in the SEC in turnover margin (minus-eight) although it has taken care of the ball fairly effectively throughout. The Bulldogs' problem is that the defense has intercepted just four passes and recovered five fumbles. They generated 30 turnovers (17 fumble recoveries and 13 interceptions) last season.
Meanwhile, Kentucky is dead even in turnover margin this year, having 11 giveaways and 11 takeaways. The Wildcats have just one interception this season -- by linebacker Josh Forrest -- but they rank second in the SEC with 10 fumble recoveries. Their offense was second nationally for fewest turnovers, but quarterback Jalen Whitlow threw four interceptions last Saturday in a 22-6 loss to Vanderbilt.
One final go-round for UGA seniors
ATHENS, Ga. -- If you're at Sanford Stadium prior to Georgia's game against Kentucky on Saturday, don't be alarmed if you witness a physical altercation between Aaron Murray and one of his fellow quarterbacks.
Should he grow too emotional during the pregame ceremony where UGA will honor its seniors before their final home game, Murray has instructed backup Faton Bauta to snap him back to reality.
"You really have to flip a switch because you want to enjoy that time with your family and get to take a picture with Coach [Mark] Richt and all that, and it is tough," Murray said Tuesday. "But I told Faton yesterday, I said, 'If I'm being a little baby, come slap the crap out of me. Seriously, come knock me and get me going again and get me ticked off.' Because it is tough."
Murray is one of 28 seniors who will be honored Saturday -- a group that has seen its share of ups and downs at UGA.
"It's been a pretty serious roller coaster in my time here for ups and downs for winning and losing," senior left guard Dallas Lee said. "I don't really know, man, I'm proud of everything we've gone through the last couple years, getting as close as we did and this year fighting through all the adversity that we've had with injuries."
Lee is one of a trio of senior starters on Georgia's offensive line along with right guard Chris Burnette and left tackle Kenarious Gates. Together, the three have started exactly 100 games in their college careers.
It's a four-year stretch that saw Georgia post its only losing record under Richt when they were freshmen, bounce back from two losses to open their sophomore season to reach the SEC championship game for the first time since 2005 and then come within a few yards of playing for a BCS championship last year, only to fall just short against eventual BCS champ Alabama in their return trip to Atlanta.
"It's a bond that a lot of people don't have with somebody," Lee said. "I have the fortune of having it with both of them, Chris and Ken, and it's awesome, man. I consider them two of my brothers."
Even this season has been a valuable growing experience for the group, said defensive lineman Garrison Smith, the only senior starter on the team. As in life, Smith said in football "you're going to have sunshine and you're going to have storms."
This season, which opened with the Bulldogs ranked fifth nationally, fell apart as the Bulldogs struggled with too many injuries and defensive miscues. But given the problems that the team faced throughout the season, Smith said he remains proud of the Bulldogs' resilience -- as evidenced by their fourth-quarter comeback Saturday against Auburn, only to suffer a heartbreaking defeat in the final minute.
"It's just a year of a few little thunderstorms. It ain't no monsoons or nothing. Ain't no typhoons. Ain't none of them going on," Smith said. "Unfortunately we've had the injury bug, man. That's tough, not just for this season, for them players that's hurt. That's what's most important. No player wants to deal with injuries and my heart is out for them guys. ... But at the end of the day, I'm proud of everybody. I'm proud of this team and how they've fought. I don't have no complaints."
Smith might change his tune a bit if the Bulldogs lose to Kentucky on Saturday, however. That's what happened on senior night in 2009, when receiver Rantavious Wooten caught the first two touchdown passes of his career but saw the Wildcats rally for a 34-27 victory.
Wooten shared that situation with some of his younger teammates this week.
"I was telling the guys for a little extra motivation that it was the same situation my freshman year as it was now," Wooten said. "Game at night, Kentucky, senior night. We started off good and Kentucky came back and pulled it off. Hell of a game and ended up beating us. This right here is extra motivation. Records don't mean anything. Come out and just prepare like you're playing Alabama."
Of course, the 2-8 Wildcats aren't close to being in top-ranked Alabama's class. As 24-point underdogs on Saturday, they shouldn't be close to Georgia's, either.
So long as the Bulldogs don't come out of the pregame ceremony with Richt and their families as emotional wrecks, they should be able to take care of business -- and Burnette does not expect emotion to be a problem.
"I feel like it's going to give us energy, honestly. For me it is at least, just understanding it's the last time I get to play between the hedges," Burnette said. "I've wanted to play on that field and in that stadium since I was like 10 years old, so for it to be the last shot, the last go-round, it's going to be something special."
Mason could inherit ideal situation at UGA
Following Saturday's date with Kentucky -- the final game at Sanford Stadium this season -- the Bulldogs will look entirely different on offense the next time they take the field before a home crowd. And many of the players who will take over for the likes of Aaron Murray and his fellow seniors next fall also filled their spots in the fourth quarter of Georgia's 45-6 win over the Mountaineers two weekends ago.
Assuming he wins the quarterback job, Mason will be in a convenient position next season. Georgia loses seven seniors -- Murray, tight end Arthur Lynch, receivers Rantavious Wooten and Rhett McGowan and offensive linemen Chris Burnette, Kenarious Gates and Dallas Lee -- who started on offense against Auburn. And yet the returning skill-position talent surrounding the Bulldogs' next quarterback will be as impressive as that of nearly any offense in the country.
Not only will tailback Todd Gurley return for his junior season, the Bulldogs expect to get receivers Malcolm Mitchell and Justin Scott-Wesley and tailback Keith Marshall back from season-ending knee injuries that crippled the offense at points this fall. That's in addition to other returning weapons like receivers Chris Conley, Michael Bennett and Jonathon Rumph, tight end Jay Rome and tailbacks J.J. Green and Brendan Douglas and 2014 commitments Sony Michel and Nick Chubb, both of whom rank among ESPN's top eight prospects at running back.
Not a bad situation for a first-time starting quarterback who must replace the most distinguished passer in SEC history.
"We've got a lot of weapons," redshirt freshman receiver Blake Tibbs said. "And Hutson, he don't care who's open. If they put a dog in a helmet and some equipment out there, if he was open, Hutson would throw it to him. That's one thing about Hutson: He don't care. If you're open, he's going to trust you to make the play and he's going to keep throwing to you."
Mason certainly proved that in his lone opportunity for significant playing time this season. He hit his first eight pass attempts, connecting with the likes of Rumph, Green, freshman Reggie Davis and walk-on Kenneth Towns on his first drive. Then came further completions to Tibbs, Michael Erdman, Douglas and Rumph again before his first incomplete pass.
The common bond there? Those are mostly the players with whom Mason has regularly worked on the Bulldogs' second-team offense, so chemistry was not an issue when they hit the field.
"That group's kind of been playing together -- besides Rumph -- for a long time and a lot of when our twos go against the ones, they always seem to do well and I think there's a chemistry between those guys kind of like Aaron and Bennett and other guys," offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said.
There's a long time between now and the reserves' time to shine. Heck, there are three games remaining this season.
That means there is plenty of time for the stars in waiting to continue to develop before the Bulldogs open the 2014 season against Clemson on Aug. 30 -- which is exactly the mentality Rumph says he's developing.
"That's what young players have got to understand," said Rumph, who has six catches in the last three games after missing the first half of the season with a hamstring ailment. "This is your job, so every time you go to school or go to practice, you've got to work to get better. That's all I'm trying to do is keep adding stuff to my game. I've got the feel for the game, I know what I'm capable of. I'm just trying to keep adding stuff to my game."
Mason echoed those thoughts, pointing out that while even coach Mark Richt has declared Mason as the frontrunner to win the job next season, he still must make good use of this opportunity and not just assume the job is his from the get-go.
He has the opportunity to work with what could be an extremely productive offense next season -- if he stakes a claim on the job.
"I'm not going to be naïve. I hear about that stuff and I read some of it and stuff like that. I've always been the first to say that I believe they're just being nice," Mason said. "I believe that I've done a good job of performing when my opportunity comes, but I've never stepped on the field in front of 90,000 and like I was saying earlier, that's different from playing in practice.
"So I enjoy the comments and I enjoy the people that have faith in me, but really myself, I just take it day-by-day and say, 'You know what, what have I proven?' because in reality I haven't proven a lot. So when that opportunity comes, hopefully I'll show up."
UGA, Kentucky both look to bounce back
Kentucky (2-8, 0-6 SEC) did indeed suffer a difficult defeat, falling 22-6 at Vanderbilt to drop its 14th consecutive conference game. The Wildcats outgained the Commodores 246-172 through three quarters, but Vandy dominated the fourth, enjoying a 141-16 yardage advantage and scoring 13 unanswered points to earn the victory.
But that was just a run-of-the-mill loss compared to the gut-wrenching circumstances by which Georgia lost. The Bulldogs were on the verge of getting blown out early, only to slowly creep back into the game. Then Aaron Murray and the Georgia offense caught fire late, scoring three straight touchdowns and rolling up 216 yards of offense in the fourth quarter alone, only to have Ricardo Louis grab a deflected pass and score the game-winning touchdown on a fourth-down, desperation heave by Nick Marshall.
The loss eliminated Georgia (6-4 overall, 4-3 SEC) from contention in the SEC East and forced the Bulldogs to focus on lesser goals instead of representing the division for a third straight season in the SEC championship game.
"The season isn't over with. We will approach it just like any other game," said Rantavious Wooten, one of seven seniors who started against Auburn, along with fellow receiver Rhett McGowan, Murray, offensive linemen Chris Burnette, Kenarious Gates and Dallas Lee, and tight end Arthur Lynch. "It's going to be my last game in Sanford Stadium, so we will have to talk to the young guys and tell them to keep the faith and keep fighting."
There is also the matter of reaching the best bowl possible. Although Georgia's options aren't particularly promising -- the majority of Sunday's bowl projections favor the Bulldogs to play in either the Gator or Music City bowls -- that possibility was off the table for Kentucky weeks ago.
The Wildcats, however, have given Georgia fits in recent years, so the Bulldogs likely can't afford a flat effort. Georgia is 5-2 against Kentucky dating back to a 24-20 loss in Lexington in 2006 -- one of four times in that seven-game stretch where the outcome has been decided by seven points or less.
Considering how Georgia has struggled to finish off opponents -- Saturday was only the most recent heart-stopper for a Bulldogs team that is setting an historically bad pace on defense -- that has to be a cause for concern.
In fact, Georgia's defensive shortcomings were the subject of multiple questions Richt faced on his Sunday teleconference, as Todd Grantham's defense is on pace to set new program marks for most points allowed and most yards allowed.
The 2009 team surrendered 337 points, which is a program high for a season of 12-plus games. This year's team, which is surrendering 30.2 points per game, has already allowed 302 points with three games to play (Kentucky, Georgia Tech and a bowl game). Likewise, the 2013 Bulldogs are on pace to surrender 5,029.7 yards -- potentially just the second time in school history that Georgia allowed 5,000-plus yards after last season's bunch surrendered 5,009 in 14 games.
"Here's what I say: I say we're a team here at Georgia and we're going to keep coaching and keep trying to make improvements and corrections on everything we do, in all phases of the game," Richt said when asked to rate his level of satisfaction with the defensive coaching staff's performance.
Such a response is common under these circumstances for Richt, who is rarely willing to discuss his concerns publicly. Grantham's defense is preparing to face teams that rank 104th (Kentucky, 349.2 yards per game) and 53rd (Georgia Tech, 432.2) nationally in total offense, so the Bulldogs should have an opportunity to improve their underwhelming defensive stats before the season ends.
It would be much easier to focus on such necessary improvements had safeties Tray Matthews or Josh Harvey-Clemons managed to knock down Auburn's last-gasp touchdown pass to preserve Georgia's comeback win. The Bulldogs would still be alive in the East race and would have a third win against a top-10 opponent this season instead of grasping at less-appealing methods to motivate themselves for their home finale against Kentucky.
That's Richt and company's unique challenge this week after a defeat that could naturally cause lingering dejection -- and the coach said he plans to focus on the positive as best he can.
"We've got to do a good job of, again, pointing out all the positive things that happened and building on those types of things, because there were a lot of tremendous things that happened in the game," Richt said. "And then make sure we learn from whatever mistakes we had, correct them, have a plan for that, and then we have to get the new game plan in."
What we learned: Week 11
Good week for a slow start: Georgia started fast and finished slow last week against Florida. But while the Bulldogs were stumbling out of the gate against Appalachian State on Saturday, next week's opponent, Auburn, was running circles around Tennessee at Neyland Stadium. Georgia turned it into the blowout everyone expected in the second half -- outscoring the Mountaineers 31-0 and outgaining them 353 yards to 59 -- but it's clear that the Bulldogs can't afford such an uneven performance next Saturday on the Plains. The Tigers' offense is likely too explosive for the Bulldogs to wait until the second half to find a rhythm.
Run defense is sound: Georgia's defense struggled a bit in the first quarter, but even then its run defense remained solid. The Bulldogs surrendered 32 rushing yards on 32 attempts, including minus-6 on 18 attempts in the second half. That's one of the few encouraging signs entering next week's visit to Auburn. The Tigers picked up 444 yards on the ground against Tennessee -- 214 by ex-Bulldog Nick Marshall and 117 by running back Tre Mason -- and came into Saturday's games as the SEC's rushing leader at 306.2 yards per game. But the Bulldogs entered the day ranked fourth in the league against the run and lowered their per-game average from 137.8 to 126 yards allowed per game.
Offense is in good hands: Georgia fans were no doubt excited Saturday when they contemplated the Bulldogs' 2014 offense even without Aaron Murray, who broke the SEC's career touchdown passes record against Appalachian State when he hit magic No. 115. Junior Hutson Mason hit his first eight pass attempts and passed for 160 yards in the fourth quarter -- 988 of which came on four completions to juco transfer Jonathon Rumph, who made his first career receptions -- as the Bulldogs poured it on in the second half. With Murray, receiver Rantavious Wooten and tight end Arthur Lynch standing as the top departing senior skill players, Mason and company looked like they can still put up big numbers next fall.
Week 11 helmet stickers
Rantavious Wooten: Although Georgia's offense struggled early, senior receiver Wooten delivered one of the top performances of his career. He opened Georgia's first touchdown drive with a 23-yard grab and capped it with a 35-yard scoring reception, and later added a 33-yard grab on a third-quarter field-goal drive. Wooten finished with four catches for a career-high 104 yards.
Ray Drew: The junior defensive end recorded his team-high sixth sack of the season and recorded two tackles for loss to reach eight for the season and move within one of Jordan Jenkins' team lead. Drew also knocked down a Kameron Bryant pass at the line of scrimmage.
Jordan Jenkins: The sophomore outside linebacker didn't record a sack or a tackle for a loss, but he came up with a couple of big plays on Saturday. Appalachian State drove for field goals on each of its first two drives, and it was looking for three more points to conclude its third possession when Jenkins blocked Drew Stewart's 49-yard kick early in the second quarter. Jenkins also picked up a Marcus Cox fumble and returned it to the Appalachian State 42-yard line, setting up a fourth-quarter touchdown drive. That was one of two takeaways for a Georgia defense that came in with the fewest turnovers gained (seven) in the SEC.
UGA looks toward Marshall matchup
ATHENS, Ga. -- Once his Georgia team took control in the second half of its 45-6 win against Appalachian State on Saturday, coach Mark Richt admittedly had one eye on the score from the Auburn-Tennessee game.
The Bulldogs' next opponent, No. 9 Auburn -- led by former UGA cornerback Nick Marshall, now the Tigers' quarterback -- was thrashing the Volunteers for 444 rushing yards in a 55-23 win. Marshall accounted for 214 of those rushing yards, running for two touchdowns and passing for another.
That adds more intrigue to the matchup next weekend in Auburn, with the Tigers (9-1, 5-1 SEC) and Georgia (6-3, 4-2) both battling to stay alive in their respective division races -- and Marshall needing a win against his former teammates to keep his team's hopes alive.
"It's a little weird, but I knew whenever he was here that he was a player, and now someone that could have been helping, you're having to try to stop him," said UGA defensive end Ray Drew, who was a member of Marshall's 2011 signing class at Georgia. "He's having a heck of a year over there, so hopefully he'll have a soft spot seeing that Georgia was the place he signed initially."
Entering Saturday's games, Auburn led the SEC in rushing at 306.2 yards per game, with Marshall serving as the trigger man for an offense that has regained its bite with Gus Malzahn back on the Plains.
Marshall -- whom Richt dismissed after the 2011 season for breaking team rules -- elected to join Malzahn as a transfer from Garden City Community College.
Just like that, Auburn is once again among the nation's most productive offenses and should provide a major test for a Georgia defense that has made progress since a troubling start to the season.
"It's going to be a challenge, I don't know about fun. As coaches you always like challenges," Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said. "They're believing and they're playing with confidence right now. Their personnel probably fits better what they do now relative to what they did last year. And I think that's a good example of how it's important to get the right people in your system."
As for Saturday's win, Grantham's defense got off to a slow start, allowing Appalachian State to convert 4 of 6 third down opportunities and control the clock for over 11 minutes. The Mountaineers (2-8) were able to turn those early drives into just two field goals, however, before Grantham's defense awakened.
Georgia limited the Mountaineers to 3-of-12 on third down the rest of the way and 59 total yards (including minus-6 rushing on 18 attempts) in the second half.
Georgia has not allowed an opponent to drive from its own territory to score a touchdown since the second quarter of the Vanderbilt game, a streak that spans 159 minutes of game time.
"The bottom line is once we got through the script, so to speak, of those gadget [plays] and kind of got a feel for how they were running their routes relative to the formations, we pretty much shut them down -- and we didn't give up a touchdown before we did it," Grantham said. "So anytime you hold a team out of the end zone, I'm going to be happy."
Georgia led just 14-6 at halftime, with both touchdowns coming on Aaron Murray touchdown passes -- one to Rantavious Wooten, who had a career-high 104 receiving yards, and the other to Michael Bennett.
The second-quarter pass to Bennett gave Murray 115 career touchdown passes, breaking Florida great Danny Wuerffel's SEC career record.
"It definitely is a huge honor to be up there," said Murray, who passed for 281 yards in his 50th career start. "I'm lucky enough to have played four years here. I think that's the biggest thing: you have to be able to go somewhere and play for a significant amount of time, and I've had that opportunity here to play for now my fourth straight year in a great offense that really allows me to throw the ball around and make plays."
The Bulldogs poured it on with 31 second-half points -- Todd Gurley, J.J. Green and Brendan Douglas all scored on 2-yard runs and Hutson Mason hit Kenneth Towns for a 3-yard touchdown pass -- but it was the defense's play that is the bigger area of interest with Auburn's explosive offense on deck next week.
The glimmer of hope for Georgia's defense is that the Bulldogs might have struggled overall, but Auburn's strength -- running the ball -- is also the area where Grantham's defense has been the most stout. They came in ranked fourth in the SEC, allowing 137.8 rushing yards per game before limiting Appalachian State to 32 yards on 32 attempts.
Now they know their chances of victory likely hinge on containing a player that Grantham initially recruited to help his defense.
"He's big, he's physical. We thought he would be a good player and felt like he could contribute to us being an SEC competitive team defensively," Grantham said of Marshall. "So we'll obviously get ready for him come Sunday."
Bennett's return sparks UGA receivers
"I was kind of bummed because I feel like every time in early October, I'm out," Bennett said after making five catches for 59 yards in Saturday's 23-20 win against Florida. "But it was good to come back in this November game. Freshman year when I was here, it was awesome to get a win, to come back and beat them. There's no better feeling than beating the Gators."
For his injury-depleted position group, it was awesome to get one of its most important players back on the field. The Bulldogs passed for a season-low 114 yards in their previous game, a loss to Vanderbilt, with Bennett sidelined temporarily and Justin Scott-Wesley and Malcolm Mitchell out for the season with ACL tears.
Things weren't completely back to normal against Florida. Chris Conley was still out with an ankle sprain suffered in the Vandy game and Scott-Wesley and Mitchell obviously won't be back until 2014, but Bennett and returning tailback Todd Gurley both contributed heavily in the passing game and junior college transfer Jonathon Rumph played for the first time after a hamstring ailment forced him to miss the first half of the season.
Regaining some of their weapons, with Conley still expected to return this season, has the Bulldogs thinking that things are looking up.
"We're going to improve every week, improve every day, really," said senior receiver Rantavious Wooten. "We're going to exceed everybody's expectations, because some people have said whatever about us because we lost some guys, but in this locker room, we know what we're capable of."
Conley's return won't occur this Saturday against Appalachian State, according to Bulldogs coach Mark Richt. The following week's game against Auburn might be a long shot.
"I would say it's very doubtful for him to be playing this week," Richt said on his Monday call-in show. "I would hope that he'll be able to play against Auburn, but even that's kind of hard to say right now. He's still on crutches and has got a long ways to go. Certainly he won't be ready this week."
Regardless, the Bulldogs moved the ball much more effectively through the air against the Gators – even though Richt said Florida's secondary features "the best cover corners in the league and maybe in the country."
Bennett played a major role in that improvement, as did senior Rhett McGowan, who made a 23-yard catch in the final seconds of the second quarter to set up a Marshall Morgan field goal at the end of the first half.
McGowan made just as big a play in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter, when he caught a third-and-7 pass from Aaron Murray and squirted between a group of Florida defenders for a 7-yard gain that extended the Bulldogs' game-ending drive.
"That last play where he threw it to me, it was just my number was called and it's a play that we'd been practicing all week and we were able to execute it," said McGowan, who had three catches for 43 yards. "I'm so thankful we got the first down and we were able to get one more first down and finish the game out."
With Conley still out and Rumph finally able to play, Richt said the Bulldogs hope he can make a long-awaited impact. Rumph was the top receiver and No. 7 overall prospect on ESPN's Junior College 100 when he enrolled in January, but is still waiting to make his first career catch.
If he can establish himself before Conley returns, Georgia's receiving corps can still finish the season as a productive group despite the injuries that created some extremely lean times for a couple weeks in October.
"Hopefully we can get some balls thrown his direction just so he can get excited about catching some balls again," Richt said of Rumph. "It's been a while for him and you catch a bunch in practice and you hope to have a shot to catch a few in the games.
"He was here in the spring and had a really good spring game and I'm sure he's anxious to get a chance to catch a ball. So we've still got to keep working on assignments and blocking and all that kind of thing, but hopefully there'll be an opportunity to get a ball thrown his way, or two or three or whatever. Hopefully he'll have a big day."
Explosive plays missing in Georgia offense
There was one problem: over time, that became an impossible proposition.
Tailback: Todd Gurley (1,385 rushing yards, 17 TDs in 2012), Keith Marshall (759-8).
Receiver: Malcolm Mitchell (40 catches for 572 yards last season), Michael Bennett (24-345 in five games last fall), Chris Conley (20-342), Justin Scott-Wesley (made win-clinching touchdown catches against South Carolina and LSU early this season).
After season-ending injuries to Mitchell, Marshall and Scott-Wesley and ailments that kept Gurley and Bennett out for three and two games, respectively, here's the travel roster Bobo was working with on Saturday against Vanderbilt, when he called an ultra-conservative game in hopes of slipping out of Nashville with a win:
Tailback: Freshmen J.J. Green (313 rushing yards, 6.7 yards per carry this season) and Brendan Douglas (218, 4.2), walk-ons Brandon Harton and Kyle Karempelis (no carries between them), Gurley (who is still injured and watched from the sideline).
Receiver: Conley (team-high 30-418 this season), Rantavious Wooten (14-174), true freshman Reggie Davis (7-189), Rhett McGowan (7-70), Jonathon Rumph (who just returned from a hamstring injury that has sidelined him for nearly the entire season, but did not play against Vandy), walk-ons Kenneth Towns (no catches) and Michael Erdman (1-6).
That's everybody.
With a full complement of skill players, Bobo has certainly never been afraid to call for the deep ball, and quarterback Aaron Murray hasn't been afraid to throw it. Georgia was actually one of the nation's most successful teams at generating big plays last season when Gurley and Marshall were breaking long runs and the Bulldogs' assortment of wideouts was getting behind the secondary for long completions.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Georgia led the nation last season with 31 touchdowns that covered 20 yards or more and ranked fifth with 63 completions of at least 20-plus yards. And this season initially looked to be more of the same, with 37 plays of 20-plus, six touchdowns of 20-plus and 27 completions of 20-plus through the first five games.
It has been a completely different story over the last two weeks, however. The explosive play did not exist in the 31-27 loss to Vandy -- Georgia's longest play of the game was a 17-yard completion to Green -- and the offense mustered only a paltry 221 yards against a Commodores defense that gave up 51 points to Missouri its last time out.
Murray completed 16 passes for 114 yards, just five more completions than his career low, and attempted only two throws that covered at least 15 yards. Both were incompletions.
The previous week's loss against Missouri was not as underwhelming. The Bulldogs finished with 454 total yards and Murray was 25-for-45 for 290 yards, but nearly half of his completions (11) came on dump-off passes to Green and Douglas, as Bobo and his quarterback elected to dink and dunk to their checkdown receiving options against Missouri's zone defense.
Green broke a 57-yard run and Wooten made a 48-yard reception, but explosive play and aggression was largely lacking in that loss, as well.
The long ball was a key element in the offense in the first five games, with Murray going 21 for 37 on throws of 15 yards or more, averaging 17.8 yards per attempt and connecting for five touchdowns versus no interceptions. He was 4-for-11 on such throws against Vandy (0-2) and Missouri (4-9), but averaged just 8.7 yards per attempt with no touchdowns and two picks.
Georgia still has only six touchdowns that covered 20 yards or more, leaving the Bulldogs in a tie for 74th nationally after leading in that category last fall.
The good news for Georgia is that Gurley and Bennett are expected back for the Bulldogs' next game, Nov. 2 against Florida. Perhaps more than any other player on the roster, even Murray, Gurley is the linchpin in Georgia's offensive explosiveness -- and his presence allows Bobo to call a completely different game than what we just witnessed in Nashville.
The sophomore back's ability to run physically between the tackles forces opponents to funnel defenders into the box to slow him down. And his formidable speed makes Gurley a threat to break a run for a big gain at any time.
The sophomore already has seven touchdowns of 20 yards or more in 18 career games.
Aside from their occasional case of fumble-itis, Green and Douglas have done a fine job in Gurley and Marshall's absence, but they can't replace what Gurley brings to the lineup. If another running back anywhere in the country is capable of that, he's on a mighty short list.
Now will Gurley make a big enough difference against Florida? We shall see. He has been on the shelf since Sept. 28 and hasn't been able to practice for three weeks. But if he returns with fresh legs and his injured ankle has healed to the point that the Gurley of old takes the field in Jacksonville, Georgia's chances of victory -- and its chances of generating big plays on offense -- will increase exponentially.
Five things: Georgia-Vanderbilt
But the Bulldogs have to win today first, and that has been more difficult for recent Georgia teams than one might expect. In two of Georgia's last three trips to Vandy, the outcome hung in the balance up to the very last play of the game. Considering how every Georgia game this season was up for grabs well into the second half, today's contest in Nashville could very possibly give Bulldogs fans further heart palpitations.
Record watch: Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray and Vanderbilt receiver Jordan Matthews could both claim SEC career records before today's game is over. Murray will almost certainly break former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow's career record for total offense, as Murray's career total of 12,203 yards is just 29 behind Tebow's mark. Murray is also two touchdown passes behind ex-Gators quarterback Danny Wuerffel's SEC-high mark of 114. Meanwhile, Matthews trails former Georgia wideout Terrence Edwards' SEC career record of 3,093 receiving yards by 97. He had 119 receiving yards in the Commodores' blowout loss to Georgia last season.
Offense losing power: It's no secret that Georgia's offense lost some of its effectiveness when tailbacks Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall and receivers Malcolm Mitchell, Justin Scott-Wesley and Michael Bennett dropped out of the lineup with an array of injuries. Georgia might get Gurley and Bennett back for the Florida game, but the rest are out for the season, forcing the Bulldogs to identify new skill players to fill their spots. But it's still a work in progress. Georgia has 37 touchdowns of at least 20 yards since the start of last season -- the most in the SEC and third most in the FBS. The Bulldogs had at least one such touchdown in each of the first four games this season, but none in the last two since the injuries hit the lineup. Among the candidates to pick up the big-play slack: tailback J.J. Green, who had a 57-yard run last week against Missouri; wideout Rantavious Wooten -- who had a 48-yard catch last week -- receiver Reggie Davis, who hauled in a program-record 98-yard touchdown pass against North Texas, and Chris Conley, who has five career touchdown catches that covered 25 yards or more.
Matthews going long: Matthews leads the SEC in receptions per game (7.8) and trails only Texas A&M's Mike Evans with his average of 118.2 receiving yards per game. Most troubling for a Georgia secondary that is 12th in the league in pass defense (259.3 ypg) and 13th in yards allowed per pass attempt (8.0) is Matthews' ability to haul in catches for big gains. Since the start of last season, the Vandy receiver has 51 receptions that covered at least 15 yards -- the most for any wideout in the FBS.
Third-down trouble: It's no secret among Georgia fans that the Bulldogs' young defense has struggled on third down this season. The Bulldogs rank 13th in the SEC and 97th nationally, allowing opponents to convert 43.7 percent (38 of 87) of such opportunities. Georgia has forced a three-and-out 30.1 percent of the time (22 in 73 opponent drives), which ranks 94th nationally. What might make the issue seem even worse among Georgia fans is that the Bulldogs had been so effective in that department over the previous two seasons. Between 2011 and 2012, Georgia forced three-and-outs on 43.9 percent of opponent drives (161 of 367), which ranked fourth nationally. Unfortunately for Vanderbilt, the Commodores haven't been much better. They're 10th in the SEC and 82nd nationally in third-down defense, allowing opponents to convert 41.4 percent (36 of 87). Making matters even worse for both teams is that their offenses haven't been particularly effective on third down, either. Georgia is 12th in the league in third-down conversions (37.3 percent) and Vandy is eighth (42.1 percent). Whichever team finds a way to be more efficient in those situations today might very well wind up as the winner.
Fun with QBR: Here's a somewhat bizarre stat for Georgia's maligned secondary. It has actually held the last four opposing quarterbacks below their season average in ESPN's new Total Quarterback Rating metric. Last week, Missouri's James Franklin posted a 70.6 adjusted QBR, his lowest in any game this season. In previous weeks, Tennessee's Justin Worley scored a 59.0, LSU's Zach Mettenberger a 90.2 and North Texas' Derek Thompson a 36.3. QBR rates quarterbacks on a 0-100 scale where 50 is average. Top quarterbacks are in the upper 80s and 90s, and the adjusted QBR accounts for the strength of opposing defenses faced. Vanderbilt's Austyn Carta-Samuels ranks 88th nationally with a 50.2 adjusted QBR. He has struggled over the last four games, with his 48.1 adjusted QBR in a loss to Missouri ranking as his highest score in that stretch. Murray posted his lowest adjusted QBR of the season (82.9) last week against Missouri. He ranks third nationally with a 93.3 adjusted QBR this season.
Winning matters more for UGA's frosh RBs
"People will be like, 'Yo, if Todd was there, we probably would have won the game. He probably would have had 200 rushing yards my himself,' " Green said. "I'm like, 'That don't matter at all.' "
Such confidence is a necessity in order for the freshmen to be productive players, but they also accept that their contributions will be measured by the final results -- and Georgia's offense simply hasn't clicked like it did earlier in the season before numerous injuries hampered the Bulldogs in recent weeks.
"We've still got to win" Green said. "It doesn't matter what we do. We just want to win, man."
By and large, the freshmen did enough to help Georgia win both games where they've carried the load in the running game. Green rushed for 129 yards against Tennessee, while Douglas scored a touchdown and made a key reception on the Bulldogs' game-tying drive at the end of regulation. Then Green added 87 rushing yards and 42 receiving and Douglas had 70 rushing and 43 receiving against Mizzou, although Douglas also had a critical second-quarter fumble at the Tigers' 6-yard line.
"I'm disappointed," Douglas said. "I had that turnover right before the half. I tried to go out and make up for it in the second half, but you really can't make up for something like that. It was disappointing and I'm disappointed in myself."
That's the one obvious mistake the two freshmen have made, but they have otherwise helped Georgia's running game remain productive, even if they can't fully replace a back like Gurley, who surely ranks among the nation's absolute best runners.
"We're not paralyzed or handcuffed with those guys in there," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "They do a good job. I'm very proud of them."
They have reason to be proud of themselves, as well.
Green was an early enrollee who was initially slated to play receiver, although injury issues during spring practice led Richt's staff to try him out in the backfield. Sure enough, the 5-foot-9 back's tough running and slippery moves impressed his coaches and teammates, and he seems to have found a home at running back. Douglas didn't arrive until the summer, but his battering-ram running style instantly turned heads, as well.
"We were out there even before Todd and Keith got hurt thinking, 'Hey man, any time could be our chance. We prepared for this. When we get out there, just ball, and that's all we could do,' " Green said.
Gurley has missed two full games, plus most of the Sept. 28 game against LSU when he sprained his left ankle at the end of a second-quarter run. He was listed as limited on Monday's injury report, with Richt saying afterward on his call-in show that, "I'd be surprised if he could practice full speed tomorrow. It truly is day-to-day and he's getting closer. Can I sit here and say he's going to play in the game? I really don't know and can't predict that right now."
If Gurley can't go in Saturday's visit to Vanderbilt, the two freshmen once again must carry the running game against a Commodores defense that ranks 10th in the SEC against the run by allowing 168.5 yards per game.
Obviously a healthy Gurley would provide a lift to Georgia's offense, but the Bulldogs don't seem to be afraid of the prospect of more Green and Douglas until Gurley returns.
"They've been preparing for their whole life," senior receiver Rantavious Wooten said. "Even in practice, they've been put in position to make plays and do what they need to do for the offense. At the end of the day, you never know when your number's going to be called. I definitely feel like some young guys are ready for that role whenever their number's called, but it didn't turn out in our favor [against Missouri]."
Week 7 helmet stickers
J.J. Green: The freshman running back earned his first start Saturday with Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall unavailable, and Green earned his keep. He ran 12 times for 87 yards -- good for an average of 7.2 yards per carry -- and caught five passes for 42 yards. In the last two games, Green has accounted for 262 yards of total offense.
Ray Drew: Saturday was far from a banner day for Georgia's defense, but the junior defensive end continued his recent emergence with two more sacks against Missouri. Both Drew sacks came during Georgia's third-quarter comeback -- a third-down stop when the Tigers needed one yard to pick up a first down and another on second down for an 11-yard loss that led to a Missouri punt. Drew now has a team-high five sacks, all of which came in the last three games.
Rantavious Wooten: The fifth-year senior receiver is also playing a bigger role because of teammates' injuries, and he also delivered on Saturday. Wooten caught a 48-yard pass in a second-quarter field goal drive and hauled in a third-quarter touchdown pass that trimmed Missouri's lead to 28-20. Wooten finished with a career-high 83 yards on four catches, a week after catching two touchdowns -- including one that helped tie the game with 5 seconds to play -- against Tennessee.
Peach State: Top Tier Recruiting Ground?
Thursday, 9/3
Saturday, 9/5
TBD Bowling Green Tennessee TBD Wisconsin Alabama TBD UTEP Arkansas TBD Louisville Auburn TBD New Mexico State Florida TBD Louisiana-Monroe Georgia TBD Louisiana-Lafayette Kentucky TBD McNeese State LSU TBD Southeast Missouri State Missouri TBD Tennessee-Martin Ole Miss TBD Mississippi State Southern Miss TBD Arizona State Texas A&M TBD Western Kentucky Vanderbilt


text:
tag: purple heart
showing 1 - 1 of 1 posts matching banding [X]
Sort By:
Subscribe to RSS feed
Joliet Jewelry Box in Maple and Purple Heart
This jewelry box is titled "Joliet" for Joliet, Illinois and is constructed from Maple and Purple Heart. All 12 edges are banded with hand cut Purple Heart. In addition, the the top is a...view details
showing 1 - 1 of 1 posts
Advertise here for as little as $50. Learn how
Save up to 51% on Fine Woodworking
Become a Better Woodworker
New in The Gallery
Home Office Bookcase Wall Cbraunheim
Hilo Heritage TAW6
a Tavola - a dining table Eboniste
Iris Cabinet FWW_Gallery
Inlayed table Top fat418
Join Woodworkers Like You
370658 woodworkers have joined Fine Woodworking. Create your profile and join the Fine Woodworking community!
joined Mar 11
joined Mar 11
joined Nov 11
joined Nov 11
joined Mar 28
joined Mar 28
joined Jan 20
joined Jan 20
joined Nov 2
joined Nov 2
joined Oct 21
joined Oct 21
Create your profile now!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Member Since 2012
"Very good, as expected"
Who thinks they can pitch a tent in the middle of a field and think they're safe during a zombie apocalypse!?
Apart from one or two quibbles, this book is otherwise very good, a must read if you are into zombie literature. I think the previous book, "Rise of the Governor" is better, or at least even more gut wrenching and dramatic. Both books are pretty sad and depressing, although that's the style of the series, I wish it had at least some upbeat parts.
But at least in this book there is a character to like, Lilly. Tragic things keep happening to her and she is just trying to survive. Lilly is someone you can relate to and keep hoping that she pulls through each time.
There are a whole bunch of complex gray morality issues going on throughout the book and all of it well handled by the author. In times like these, what are you supposed to do? Survive.
"It's not all about Lee Hardin"
A lot is going on in this book, breaking up into many stories of other groups and characters. Usually I don't like this and get easily lost :). Unusually, this book worked fine for me and all the stories were good and I like all characters and their depth. This book isn't like the others with just constant action and Lee getting beat up. So it's slower. But still good.
The climax was very interesting. And scary. You think one thing is gonna happen but something else totally happens. Had me shouting and thumping my fist into the mattress because it was rather suspenseful and I hate stupid kids.
"Nothing much happened"
Actually a couple of major things happened, but they seemed a bit shrugged off. Was expecting a big climax somewhere, but the story kinda meandered along, putting pieces in place for big things for the next book.
For example, there's a group of bad people somewhere, but they are never dealt with. Didn't Adrian learn anything from the last book with the preacher? Adrian just keeps scavenging and building and scavenging...hum dee dum dum...
The super natural element is in plain view now. What I don't like about this stuff, is that they don't make sense and there shouldn't be anything you can do about it if a super being has plans for you. Why doesn't the devil just get all the zombies on the planet to attack or why not just make a tree fall on him? Oh, too simple, so the plot has to make all these nonsensical "rules" that bind all powerful gods and limit their power. Like if people sleep in Adrian's presence, the devil can't visit (Gilbert from the last book). What happens if Adrian's out and they take a nap during the day and the devil has all their wives soul? It gets complicated trying to fix all these plot holes dealing with the "all powerful".
"Good story, good recording!"
And suddenly the poor recording issues are gone when the author reads himself. The author is actually quite good at narrating and got better the more he read. It was only in the beginning prologue that he breathed into the microphone. The female voices weren't the greatest, but they were good enough.
The most important aspect of this series is the character depth and relations between the main characters.
I prefer my zombies stories to be grittier and darker and I'm not a keen fan of supernatural stuff, like talking babies. But the storyline held up for the most part. Good book in the end!
"Good story, good narration, still lousy recording"
Coming from listening to other stories, the quality of the recording is jarring. But you get used to it, so maybe if you don't listen to other books, you think everything's normal. The narrator himself is pretty good I think, nice trick when everyone says "when".
As usual there is alot of background into what the zombies are and how they behave and evolve, no identifiable plot holes regarding the science behind the zombies.
The "ratz" play hardly a noticeable role in this story, its all about the evolving smart zombies. And its not even over, wonder where the next book will take us.
"Not bad for a military focused zombie story"
Story is all military style and the first part reminded me of colonial marines in claustrophobic space ship being hunted. Zombies are actually infected, so no need for headshots. No trying to gather supplies or driving from place to place surviving. They fly helicopters land, shoot, and fly back. Felt a bit contrived about how they kept moaning about losing their fellow comrades in arms, just kept going on and on about it. It was ok.
"Simple easy listening"
Think the author must have read my review about plot holes because he was very clear about them this time, which was pretty good because I had forgotten about things between the books.
Storyline in this book isn't very complicated with few surprises but enough to be engaging. Pity the stories are so short though.
I don't recall the last time I gave 5 stars for everything and if I could give more for this book, I would. 16 hours of incredible, can't-put-down, gripping and brutal story telling.
There was nothing predictable in this book. Many times I thought of a plot event that would be a very satisfying sense of justice and revenge, but nope, not too many things work out for Gus. You thought he took a beating in the other stories? This book is just gruesome.
I was a bit worried in the beginning because the zombies and rats were dying out and being hunted in a zombie filled house wasn't really what I was interested in reading about. But that was just the warm up.
This book is more about human raiders than zombies, which I usually don't like, but the story is just incredible, as is the narration, absolutely perfect.
"Simple, easy reading. Except the begining!"
I think the narrator must have confused the first few chapters of the book with his DIY instruction manual for a technical product.
In the first few chapters every other word seemed to actually be a number, followed by a long series of words, and then a unhelpful abbreviation for those words, just to be less clear.
Once you get past that, the story starts to flow, but you will have wished you listened to the book "The Jakarta Pandemic" first, because, while its not an official a part of this series, is referenced everywhere.
And then, after that, in order to start enjoying the book, you have to accept the basic premise that society will just go nuts within one day of having no electricity and usable cars.
Now we can finally pay attention to super ex-soldier dad Alex who is the greatest prepper alive (its his business). He plans meticulously and knows everything about surviving the end of the world. Yet the first thing he does is send his wife and kids off in one direction on bicycles while he goes in another to find one of his sons.
The story isn't emotionally complex, there aren't any internal divisions and no moral angst over killing people who seem a bit suspicious. Just follow him and his entire family who think the same way while they complete meticulous plans for everything.
Despite all the problems with the story, its still an enjoyable read and the narrator was really good. I'm on the second book now because the first just ended. Yeah, just like that, wth; end, full stop.
"Easy and enjoyable read"
Found the story easy to digest. We meet up with another group of survivors and whats cool about that is that we hear about their story from the start of the apocalypse, so its like a whole new book and story. The new group and our old friends do meet up and start doing what they have to do.
A lot of gore, killing and dying. We get to know the people who die just enough to pity them. The bad guys are portrayed in a shade of grey, manage to get depth in almost all the characters.
The narrator is just so comfortable to listen to, not over acting, just enough to sound interesting.
Good story, ending felt like an ending, but maybe more will be coming anyways? Hope so.
"Pretty good in perspective"
I had to start rolling my eyes again as Xander was acting all childish like in the last book, but he actually goes through character development and starts maturing. Much of this book has a teen tint over it, you have to put it in the perspective of younger readers to accept many of the pretenses it has. I mean, Xander is the military commander of a base? What is he, 16 or something? Yeah, you have to swallow some unrealistic scenarios.
So yeah, good book once you realize the target audience of the story.
Report Inappropriate Content
If you find this review inappropriate and think it should be removed from our site, let us know. This report will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.


text:
Scape watch 2013 has begun in the GH!
A couple of weeks ago I started checking all of my bulbs to look for signs of scapes starting to peak out. I didn't see anything but there were several leaves that were starting to grow. Last weekend I decided to give the bulbs that had leaves starting to grow a bit of water. Since I don't have saucers under each pot there was no way to in sure that plants beneath weren't watered from drainage.
So today, just four days later I started poking around and found a scape. Well then I really started looking around and found a total of 11 bulbs that have the tips of scapes just starting to peek out between the layers of the bulb.
The excitement has started with these bulbs, some of which are many years old reblooming. My oldest bulb goes back 21 years!! Now I need to be sure not to check every day but only check maybe two times a week otherwise I'll drive myself crazy looking for scapes!!
Devon, it is part of the fun, but it can make you crazy looking for them!! It's fun and exciting when you discover a scape, but looking and not finding scapes can make you crazy!!
So out of the 200+ pots in the greenhouse, the first 11 have scapes. You would think there should be more, but these are the "scouts"! The first ones that are a bit early. If I look every day (and I have) I have found no additional scapes. If I would just wait and look in a week I would find a few more. Looking everyday is the way to make you crazy!! I should know...
This is the 4th year with a greenhouse. Before that, it was just, "... Hey look... A scape!"
The ones in beds that are mulched during the winter (we do get freezing nights and the rare snow) bloom in April - June. These were "put to bed" in late November and so they have rested for a couple of months and are waking up.
Devon, the greenhouse is just 9' x 9'
15 shelves that are 2'x 3' and lots of floor space.
There was a post about me putting it up by myself!!


text:
Written on: 20/08/2001 by Simon. (1 review written)
Good Points
Great Product All Round.
Bad Points
Make sure you get the phone software upgraded to version 3.54 otherwise you may have some problems.
General Comments
The Nokia 9210 is a great product for people on the move....
As rated by real users
" I got this phone more then 8 years " Read More
Written by davidsilva746
" Best phone I've ever had " Read More
Written by AliceWayte
" This Nokia 9210 mobile phone can be a real boon as it can give you ... " Read More
Written by stuart63
" Johnk777 " Read More
" I bought this nice looking phone in Nairobi-Kenya in July 2003 from... " Read More
Written by Peter Njoroge Mwangi


text:
Mabelvale is a populated place LOCATED WITHIN the City of Little Rock. In turn, the City of Little Rock is located within Pulaski County.
Mabelvale is located at latitude 34.655 and longitude -92.387. The elevation of Mabelvale is 318 feet above mean sea level.
Since Mabelvale is located within the City of Little Rock, all of the census and demographic data for residents of Mabelvale are included as part of the information reported for City of Little Rock in the "Data" tab above.
In similar fashion, ALL OF THE NAVIGATION TABS ABOVE ARE FOR THE City of Little Rock Community Profile.
Pulaski County: Cities & Towns | ZIP Codes | Schools | Features (airports, churches, hospitals, etc.)
BIG Map |
Driving Directions |
Data Source - USGS GNIS FID: 77568
BOUNDARY MAPS: City of Little Rock | Township of Big Rock | Pulaski County


text:
Facts On Claps The Std
Here's a taste of what TheBody.com has to offer on this topic:
Get the Facts
The Role of STD Detection and Treatment in HIV Prevention...link between STDs and HIV infection? How can STD treatment slow the spread of HIV infection? What are the implications for HIV prevention? Where can I get more information? References Testing and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can be an effective tool in preventing the spread of HIV , the virus that causes AIDS. An understanding of the relationship between STDs and HIV infection can help in the development...
Ask the Experts
STD/HIV (QTND: HIV TRANSMISSION BETWEEN TWO HIV NEGATIVES, 2008)Yes, my name is Marklyn and after viewing this site & looking around i couldn't seem to find my answer if full so I figure i would write you Dr. Robert. I just wanted to ask a couple questions, 1. Can two people who DON'T have ANY STD/HIV infections...
Response from Robert J. Frascino, M.D.
The Robert James Frascino AIDS Foundation...certainly don't understand! Can you contract HIV from having sex with multiple negative people? No, of course not. HIV is a sexually transmitted disease in which an HIV-infected person can transmit the virus to an uninfected person (HIV negative)... Read more »
HIV between two hiv-negative people?(HIV TRANSMISSION BETWEEN TWO HIV NEGATIVES)is there a way hiv can develop through a hiv-negative person's vaginal fluid on a hiv-negative's small cut(ripped hang nail) through clothed mutual masturbation?
Response from Robert J. Frascino, M.D.
The Robert James Frascino AIDS Foundation..."abstinence-only" sex education program. Right? Yeah, I suspected as much. Now please think this through rationally, OK? HIV is an STD, a sexually transmitted disease, caused by a germ, a virus called human immunodeficiency virus. If neither you... Read more »
anal sex and HIV exposure if your hetrosexuali was once told by my genecologist that having anal sex with my husband expossing me and him to hiv even if we are both neg.
Response from Robert J. Frascino, M.D.
The Robert James Frascino AIDS Foundation...license suspended for purposefully spreading misinformation. Common sense and scientific fact reveal that you can not spread sexually transmitted diseases from one person to another if neither partner is infected! (See below.) By the way this... Read more »
what is unsafe sexI am just curious about knowing what exactly unsafe sex is.If two healthy persons (without HIV) have sex, then is there any possibility getting infected.Using condoms is a prevention from HIV infection, but what if you want a child.So my main...
Response from Robert J. Frascino, M.D.
The Robert James Frascino AIDS Foundation...Hello,Unsafe sex is having unprotected (no latex condom) penetrative sex with someone who may be infected with HIV or another sexually transmitted disease.As for two healthy HIV-negative people, there is obviously no way HIV can be transmitted,... Read more »
Cook County, Ill., Ranks High in Sexually Transmitted Disease: STD Treatment Costs U.S. Health Care System $16.4 Billion a Year...than half the people who should be screened receive the recommended STD tests, CDC said. If left undiagnosed and untreated, STDs raise the risk of HIV infection. The report found large racial disparities in STD rates, reflecting a range of... Read more »
How Do You Talk To Your Partners About HIV/AIDS and Other Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)?...There is no easy answer concerning how to talk to a partner about HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Although many people find it easy tohave sex, they find it extremely difficult to talk about it. So how does onebegin? The Read more »
Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Diagnoses and Mental Health Disparities Among Women Who Have Sex With Women Screened at an Urban Community Health Center, Boston, Mass., 2007...have sex with men only (WSM)," the authors wrote. However, there is limited research on these indicators in conjunction with STDs and WSW sexual health. From July to December 2007, a retrospective chart review was performed on all female... Read more »
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) -- Overview... What Is a Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD)? How Many People Have STDs? How Do You Get an STD? What Are the Symptoms of STDs? How Do You Get Tested for STDs? Read more »
Connect With Others
should i tell her
Posted by Anonymous, 3 Replies...in here but i just needed a women opinoin because it is some i love.Now today i am going to get std checked but i know i have claps or gonerreha.Now this is my true question should i tell my wife of three years that she has given me an std and... Read more »
Im back and Im confused
Posted by rufenough, 1 Reply...Earlier in the year I went thru the hell Im sure many of you are familiar with. I had a high risk expos' Mar 7th 2006 contract GN (Clap) got that treated but shortly after finishing first course of antibiotics a persistant fever, rash and return... Read more »
Posted by Anonymous, 2 Replies...or gonnerhea show up 5 months after a possible exposure? Also I know that there are window periods for Hiv, what about these STDS? I was tested for chlymydia and gonn 2 weeks after possible exposure, would they have been positive then? Read more »
Posted by rufenough, 1 Reply...someone might get maybe a triple, or even quadrouple infection from a single exposure??? Its looking increasingly like I got The Clap, and Syph from 2 minutes of a single exposure....so what are my chances of having got everything else as... Read more »
Resource Centers
Guides for People With HIV


text:
Latest Sony Ericsson Stories
YORK, England, June 29, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Google Android is the mobile phone operating system produced by Google which aims to compete with the likes of Windows Phone 7, iPhone OS 4 (iOS 4) and Symbian3, amongst others. The latest iteration, 'Android 2.2 Froyo', follows on from a line of dessert-based OS names: Cupcake, Donut and Eclair to name a few. Being open-source, Google Android OS is open to third-party development, meaning that third-party applications can be downloaded and...
LONDON, June 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Unified Testing Initiative (UTI), home to the Java Verified program, announced that UTI has become an independent organization.
TAIPEI, Taiwan, June 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- COMPUTEX -- RealNetworks®, Inc. (Nasdaq: RNWK), the digital entertainment services company, today announced that RealVideo has been shipped on more than 600 million mobile and consumer electronic devices worldwide.
YORK, England, May 28, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- 2010 is proving to be the year to usher in the smartphone as the leading device within the mobile phone industry.
ATLANTA, May 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Ericsson today announced that it has officially signed the new lease for its new Americas headquarters in Atlanta.
LONDON, May 13, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Saffron Digital, the leading video delivery platform company, has been included as one of the GP Bullhound Media Momentum Awards Top 50 companies for 2010.
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., April 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Overall satisfaction among smartphone and traditional handset owners whose phones are equipped with touch screens is considerably higher than satisfaction of owners of phones that have other input mechanisms, according to the J.D.
NEWBURY, England, March 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The Android action is building for Vodafone UK customers with pre-order now open for the Sony Ericsson X10 on the UK's best network. In addition to full access to the thousands of apps available through the Android Marketplace and the Android 1.6 operating system, the X10 will also be pre-loaded with Vodafone 360 apps for MyWeb and Vodafone Music. The Android-powered X10 can be easily integrated with Google services, such as Google Mail and Picasa as...
PALM DESERT, Calif., and LONDON, March 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The Symbian Foundation and mobile software developer, VISIARC today announced the launch of Mobile Documents, a unique subscription-based, streaming email app for Symbian OS-based devices at DEMO 2010.
NEWBURY, England, March 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sony Ericsson Vivaz is now available to buy from Vodafone UK, the UK's best network. Vodafone customers can select the stylish, curved handset packed full of high-end features in either Venus Ruby (exclusive to Vodafone) or Moon Silver.
Latest Sony Ericsson Reference Libraries
Image Caption: The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Model. Credit: Espen Irwin Swang/Wikipedia (CC BY 3.0) The Xperia is a smartphone that has been manufactured by Sony since 2008 and accounts for half of the company's mobile phone sales. The name was originated from the word experience with the first model the Xperia X1 and its motto "I Xperia the best." The X1 was manufactured to close the gap on other smart devices produced by the competition. It was released in October 2008, and used...
- One who brings meat to the table; hence, in some countries, the official title of the grand master or steward of the king's or a nobleman's household.


text:
Next Steps for Newly Accepted Day Students
Congratulations on your acceptance to NHTI!
Steps You Must Take Before Attending NHTI
Pay $100 Tuition Deposit within 30 days of acceptance in order to reserve your seat in your desired academic program. Your deposit should be payable to NHTI and sent to: NHTI Bursar's Office
31 College Drive
Concord, NH 03301
(603) 230-4012
Complete Placement Testing
You must do this before registering for classes.
- Sign up for Orientation/Register for Classes
Plan to Pay Your Tuition and Fees
Tuition, fees and housing for the upcoming semester are due three weeks before the first class day of the semester. For information about how to pay your tuition and fees, or set up an online Installment Payment Plan, visit the Bursar's home page. Use the Payment Due Worksheet to determine how much you will need to pay or how much your "estimated" refund will be.
- Submit a Health Report Form (for students in health programs, athletes and residence hall students)
- Apply for a Residence Hall if you want to live on campus
Other Important Information
Admissions Office
31 College Drive
Concord, NH 03301
(603) 230-4011
(800) 247-0179
Fax: (603) 230-9302


text:
Could I substitute light brown sugar for the raw sugar/demerera sugar this recipe calls for? Or a combination of white and light brown sugar? If so, would it be a 1:1 substitution? I don't want the pie to be overly sweet. Thanks!
hardlikearmour is a trusted home cook.
I think you could use light brown sugar, which in my mind is pretty equivalent to demerera sugar. I probably wouldn't pack it much, or else measure it with a scale and use 3.5 oz.
Merrill is a co-founder of Food52.
I agree with hardlikeearmour -- I'd use a weight equivalent if you're going to substitute brown sugar.
|Please enter a quantity larger than 0.
Sorry, this item is currently out of stock.
Notify me when it's back. Submit Thanks! We'll email you when it's available again.
|Secure Transaction


text:
Non-GAAP MeasuresThe Company presents Adjusted EBITDA to better illustrate ongoing operational results. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as income (loss) before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, and also excludes development, pre-opening and start-up expenses related to new and pending hospitals and clinics, equity in earnings (loss) income of unconsolidated affiliate, non-recurring charges for Chindex Medical Limited (CML) joint venture formation and effect of change in corporate cost allocations. The Company anticipates recurring development, pre-opening and start-up expense and notes that such expense is a basic element of the long term growth plan. Management believes that providing an Adjusted EBIDTA analysis to investors is a helpful metric to better illustrate the Company's operations, including development plans, and changes in presentation from historical periods. The Company uses Adjusted EBITDA for business planning and other purposes. Other companies may calculate Adjusted EBITDA differently, and therefore Chindex's Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of financial performance under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), and should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to net income (loss), cash flows from operating activities and other measures determined in accordance with GAAP. Items excluded from Adjusted EBITDA are significant and necessary components to the operations of the Company's business, and, therefore, Adjusted EBITDA should only be used as a supplemental measure of operating performance.
Chindex Medical LimitedThe Chindex Medical Limited joint venture (CML) between FosunPharma and Chindex International began operations on January 1, 2011. The strategic ventu
|SOURCE Chindex International, Inc.
Copyright©2010 PR Newswire.
All rights reserved


text:
Spyder Women's Winner Athletic Fit Pants
$99.97 $165.00*
Save $65.03 (39%)
Product Information:
A winning combination of insulation, waterproof fabrics and a great fit. The Winner Athletic Fit Pants will keep you dry and comfortable on the slopes this season. Insulated with 3M™ Thinsulate™, these pants are a great option for bitter cold days. Other features include inner snow gaiters, back pockets and belt loops. Turn heads in the Spyder® Women's Winner Athletic Fit Pants.
- Critically seam taped
- Inner snow gaiters with gripper elastic and cuff anchors
- Front coin pocket with Velcro® closure
- Back pockets with Velcro® closure
- Belt loops
- Fabric: stretch polyester with Spylon+™ DWR
- Insulation: 3M™ Thinsulate™ (60g)
- Style: 134224
- Spyder
Country of Origin: VietnamWeb ID: 21444696