Mettenberger's 10:1 TD:INT ratio WON'T LAST

...At least, not for the whole season.

To be sure, Teen Wolf has looked better this year than last. Other than not being the fleetest afoot, he has all the measurables you look for in a QB. LSU has done a good job of getting the ball out of his hands early, and continuing to be a power run-first offense, while taking shots down field as soon as the defense steps up to stop the run.

Having said that, I will go on record as saying that Zach Mettenberger will not finish the season with 20 TDs and 2 Int's, or 30 TDs and 3 Int's...you get the idea. I don't believe he's improved that much that quickly since last year, and I don't believe he's flat-out capable of that, period.

So, my question for you, dear readers, is whether or not the severe dent in his overall passing statistics will begin in Athens this Saturday, or will it solely be reserved for games against Bama and Florida? Not for nothing, but racking up positive stats against the defenses they've gone up against thus far only tell me he's not bad. They don't tell me he's especially good (and that's not to say he isn't, it's just that I can't glean much from what I've seen so far).

Georgia's SECRET WEAPON against the Tigers?

I think it's evident that, against North Texas, Georgia wanted to give the Tigers a little more to think about, by showing the "Rooskie" and the the halfback pass (well, WR pass to be more precise) with WootenDaBallCarrier. I say that, because it's fairly safe to say that the Dawgs were not having any trouble moving the ball against the Mean Green with a more conventional approach, so they didn't NEED to resort to trickery.

So, the question now becomes, has Georgia already emptied its bag of tricks in an effort to spread LSU thin mentally, or do the Bulldogs have more gadgetry up their collective sleeve?

In general, my only suggestion would be to max protect and take some shots downfield early and often. North Texas proved that any running game can be stopped if the defense completely sells out to stop it, and LSU is obviously bigger, faster, and stronger than the Mean Green. I think everyone will be expecting Georgia to get Gurley involved early. Aside from that, what kinds of things would you like to see that Georgia has not yet shown this year.

I can post blogs using CAPITAL LETTERS, too!

Just sayin'. Now, for something Bulldog-related... LSU is a huge favorite at home against Auburn this week, and for good reason. The national story line is whether or not Auburn is on its way back to above averageness, or if most folks are putting waaaaaay too much stock in a last second victory over MSU. I'm going with the latter. But, I am hoping for an all out war Saturday night in Red Stick. The Dawgs are coming off the bye, and should be able to have nothing but 2nd and 3rd stringers in the game at about the 40 minute mark. So, if Auburn can keep it fairly close for most of the game, Then LSU should be the more tired and beat up team (not to mention the traveling team) in Athens in a couple weeks. At the end of the year, in, say, the SEC Championship Game, I'll be more of the "I want 'em at full strength" mentality. But, for now, I just want to see the Dawgs get out of this September gauntlet at no worse than 3-1.

Georgia's Defense, Or...Why We Fans Are A Funny Lot

First, for all you Webster, Jr.'s out there, I am aware that "Fan" is short for "Fanatic," so critical thinking and rational conclusions are not going to be key ingredients in our general mindset. That being said, we knew this was coming.

We knew just about every defensive starter was leaving, and for the NFL at that. We knew that we were going to be starting freshmen, and for that matter, freshmen who'd missed extensive practice time in the fall. We knew that the resulting inexperience would lead not only to 'busted plays,' but also to missed opportunities.

But, here we are after 2 weeks (myself included), throwing beer cans at the TV, and cussing out anyone who misses a tackle, drops a pick, or fails to get pressure on the QB on any play.

Part of this, I know, is that we all try to have a positive outlook when there's a bleak prognosis.

"Hey, the defense was crappy against the run last year anyway, so maybe some new faces will help."

"I heard Brendan Langley and Shaq Wiggins are picking off 3 balls every practice."

I attribute that to the same thing that you'll see with Ben Affleck playing Batman. People will remember that they were pissed off when Heath Ledger was picked to play The Joker, but that turned out great. They'll tell themselves that the studios have too much riding on this to go with someone they weren't sure could pull it off. The bottom line, though, is that no matter how much rationalizing you do, Ben Affleck is going to suck as Batman, so you might as well accept it, and just hope he's at least good enough to not completely ruin the whole movie franchise.

The difference here is that, unlike Affleck, who will suck for the entire movie, the Dawg D has the ability to make improvements over the course of the year. With a bye week and a patsy coming up before mighty LSU, and 120 minutes of game film to pull from, I do expect Georgia's defense to make significant strides.

So, we can continue to be irrational fans, or we can take a deep breath, remember that we knew this would be part of the deal, and just see what happens.

Until the next time a safety gets burned for an 80 yard TD, and we'll go through this all over again.