Thursday Links (8/20)

Busy day, so straight to the links...

-- I have an article in today's Telegraph on the impact Georgia's tight ends could have this season. It's tough to read the comments from Aron White and Orson Charles and not get excited about what that group can do.

-- I know I probably didn't offer a lot of encouragement for the Okie State game with my post earlier today, but here's two more hopeful notes: 1.) While I'm going to hold off on the predictions until closer to game day, I'll be pretty surprised if Georgia doesn't win in Stillwater despite my concerns about stopping the run. I simply wanted to illustrate that the prevailing wisdom on the game (i.e. Dez Bryant is really good) might not be the main thing to watch. And 2.) as Marc Weiszer points out, the defensive ends could actually be a good bit better this year, thanks in large part to the re-emergence of Rod Battle.

-- The AJC's Jeff Schultz has an excellent interview with Willie Martinez that I'm sure will probably make some fans angry, but I think Willie really has no choice but to remain upbeat and defiant.

-- If fans weren't already excited to see Logan Gray get some playing time, Georgia Sports Blog gives the Gray-led Wildcat set such a great game that they should be now.

-- The Red & Black's Tyler Estep has an article on Baccari Rambo's progress in his second season. What I don't get, however, is why "works with first team" is in quotation marks in the headline. Are they trying to be sarcastic? Oh, yeah, Rambo is "working with the first team" and Fletcher Page is a "real heart-throb." Haha... kidding, Fletcher.

-- Speaking of Fletcher, he accomplished the impressive task of writing a good synopsis of the improvement on the offensive line without actually being able to talk to any of the linemen.

-- Dawg Stephen looks at how some of Georgia's fall problems could actually lead to depth down the road.

-- When I covered Georgia in 2005, you couldn't have convinced me that Leonard Pope wasn't going to be a great tight end in the NFL. But as the Americus Times-Recorder points out, there's a good chance he'll be third string for the Arizona Cardinals this season. Makes you think he probably should have stuck around for his final year at Georgia and maybe things would have been different. (h/t Jim F.)

-- Bobby Bowden says Charlie Ward was a better college quarterback than Tim Tebow. And now we know what story ESPN will shove down our throats during the week leading up to the Florida-FSU game.

-- You know, I throw together a couple of quick stats for a post this morning, and I feel pretty good about my research. Then I click over to the great Team Speed Kills, and I feel like an idiot. Their research of Florida's running game is exceptional.

-- South Carolina's second scrimmage provided some more hope for its offense. Joe Person recaps the biggest developments of the fall so far in Columbia as well.

-- Andy Bitter has lots of tidbits from Auburn's practice, including some changes to the Tigers' linebacking corps.

-- This story was hilarious for many reasons, but I think my favorite was the expert who said testing a runner's gender involved a "very complex, difficult" test. Apparently someone's daddy didn't explain the birds and the bees too well.

-- A "Deadwood" alum will be joining the cast of "Lost" for the final season.

-- And finally, here's your '80s flashback of the day: "Small Wonder" is coming to DVD next year. Maybe it's just me, but we don't see enough Edie McClurg these days.