Mudbowl 2009

This weekend is Mudbowl. This will be my third Mudbowl in my career. The first time I went with the B-Team, we capped off our Mudbowl experience with a loss to Birmingham Southern. Saturday night was filled with rookies doing their discs and drunken ultimate culture (BOOOOO). I have never seen a hotel completely taken over by a party.

UGA has 4 teams entered into this weekend's tournament. That's a lot of Bulldawgs in Talladega. When UGA goes to Talladega, the world (or Coach Mark Richt) better watch out.

http://deepsouthsports.blogspot.com/2007/05/talledega-days.html

Splitting our A team into two teams is a great idea. It allows our defense to find its grove on offense, and our offense to continue dominating as they have so far. Because of injuries, our teams will have around 9 guys on each team. Playing almost savage at this tournament will be a great time for players who don't play a lot to get a lot of experience. The teams in our pool aren't pushovers, especially with the lines we will be throwing at them. Every player on our A team will be given a chance to play every role on the field. The guys who don't cut a whole lot in the stack will be forced to cut. The guys who are scared about handling will be throwing breaks. The guys who like to handle a lot will be cutting in order to provide the cutters some rest.

The most critical part of the game I want our defensive team to work on is not turning the disc over. We tend to not appreciate possession. When a team has possession, they control the tempo of the game and don't have to run as much. This weekend, if we don't take care of the disc, we will find ourselves exhausted by the third game. If we huck the disc away, we have to play more defense. If we take care of the disc, we will play less points and gain a valuable skill.

What does valuing possession mean? It means playing with discipline and smarts. Commit to the dump when the stall count hits 5. When you don't get the disc on an incut, clear the lane QUICKLY. During endzone offense, stick with the plays we have. When you get the dump pass, look to swing it immediately. Finish your cut. Also, allow your teammates to get open. A lot of times, 30 yard in cuts don't happen quickly, they take time.

I'm hoping to see UGA v UGA in the finals on Sunday... But then again, it is a party tournament.