Favorite ones are #8 and #2.

Three former Georgia Bulldogs had the good fortune of being selected on the opening day of this year’s NFL Draft.

QB Matthew Stafford, to noone’s surprise, went at No. 1 to the woeful Detroit Lions. Knowshon Moreno went higher than most predicted at No. 12 to the Denver Broncos and WR Mohammed Massaquoi was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the 50th overall pick.

All three are DGDs who will be sorely missed. Personally, I think back to the two signature wins of their careers, 2007 Auburn and 2007 Florida, and how instrumental each were in those wins. It’s then that I realize what a tremendous loss it will be for the offensive unit next year. There is nothing to do but savor their time here. How long will it be before a Dawg QB and RB go in the top 12 picks?

Knowshon talks with Colbert on ESPN.

ESPN NFL crew discuss the Stafford pick. Cameo by Herbstreit near the end.

More video of Stafford being selected No. 1 overall.

Kevin Seifert explains the Lions’ infatuation with Stafford.

And since there isn’t much punditry happening on the 50th overall pick, I’ll go with one of my favorite Massaquoi moments.

After that throw and catch I thought, “We can do this.” They did.

So what Dogs to look out for during the draft’s second day? CB Asher Allen and FB Brannon Southerland are the Dog’s highest rated prospects. Then there is DE Jarius Wynn, LB Dannell Ellerbe and S CJ Byrd.

This is Erin Andrews interview with Stafford after being selected number one.

Image: AP

It seems like today is a day Matthew Stafford has known was coming since he was a 16 year old junior at Highland Park High School in Texas. The day he’d go in the first round of the NFL Draft. Did he have the swagger to think he’d be the first overall pick? Maybe. Likely even.

Well, his day is here. Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions reached a deal worth 41.7 million guaranteed, ensuring that he will be the first player taken in this year’s NFL Draft.

There will not be a holdout with the top pick in the 2009 NFL draft. The Detroit Lions and agents for Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford reached an agreement on a record-setting contract that will pay Stafford a guaranteed $41.7 million.

Stafford becomes only the third Georgia Bulldog selected first overall in the NFL draft. Following the all-time greats Charlie Trippi and Frank Sinkwich.

UPDATE: NFL.com has disabled embedding for this video. You have to go watch it here.

It looks like Stafford to Detroit is becoming more of a certainty every day. The Lions are still negotiating with Wake Forest LB Aaron Curry for leverage during the negotations.

Interesting comments from the talking heads comparing Stafford to Ryan. The consensus being Ryan was better prepared for the NFL. Hard to disagree with that considering Matt Ryan was a fifth year senior compared to Stafford who is entering the draft as a true junior.

More from the AJC.

Matthew Stafford is everywhere. Here is a great clip of him doing some damage to the fine china on Jimmy Fallon last night. This time last year he was winding down from spring practice at UGA. What a difference a year makes.

The weather couldn’t have been more perfect and it looks like some DGDs guys made themselves some extra bank today. Members of the Dawg Nation were fortunate to have a Georgia blogger and the top UGA beat writer on the scene sending out tweets as the action was happening.

Of course everyone wanted to see Stafford throw since he passed on the opportunity at the combine. Preferring to throw to the UGA seniors he’s gotten comfortable with over the last three years.

Stafford didn’t disappoint.

Another scout told Mark Richt he saw Stafford make throws he had never seen another quarterback at make at that level, and while officials from all 32 NFL teams took in the show, it will be up to the Detroit Lions to decide if Stafford will be at the top of this year’s draft class.

Chris Low thought something else stood out about Stafford.

The thing that’s most impressive to me about Stafford is how he’s totally reshaped his body. Remember how he almost looked pudgy when he first came to Georgia? Not anymore. He looks like a different guy and said he’s in the best shape of his life. Stafford said he really hasn’t lost that much weight. He played at 228 pounds last season and said he’s now 225, but he’s totally redistributed that weight.

Unfortunately, Knowshon Moreno didn’t improve on his 40 time from the combine. That’s too bad for him because I’m sure he poured his heart into improving it but anyone with a single cell of football knowledge know he’s the top running back, by a mile, in this draft.

Asher Allen did what Knowshon couldn’t; improved his 40 time.

“First thing on my mind was my 40,” Allen said. “I wanted to run a 4.35 or under, and I did that. A lot of teams just questioned the speed – something that people who know me have no question about – but I think I did a good job with that.”

That’s great for Asher and I hope he moves up into the second round to get the serious money. Fortunately for him and the other Dogs showing off, it was a true who’s who of the NFL world in Athens today.

Representatives of all 32 NFL teams — and in some cases three or four from each team — will be on hand as the Bulldogs’ two offensive stars from this past season, along with 12 other UGA players, show off their wares for NFL scouts.

To get the live recaps of the action on the ground don’t forget to check out the twitter pages of @bulldogsblog and @BD_Illustrated. Both provided excellent live coverage to their twitter followers.

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In an effort to manufacture drama about the first pick of this year’s NFL draft, Sporting News publishes an article examining just how far Stafford and Sanchez (pffft) would fall if the Lions got cold feet and went with a safer pick like Aaron Curry (LB, Wake Forest) with the number one overall selection.

The Chiefs’ decision raises the stakes for Stafford and Sanchez. If the Lions do not take Stafford with the No. 1 pick, he could take a long tumble. Consider that the Rams (No. 2), Chiefs (No. 3), Seahawks (No. 4), Browns (No. 5), Bengals (No. 6) and Raiders (No. 7) do not consider quarterback a top priority. Perhaps the Jaguars will take a quarterback at No. 8, especially if Stafford drops that far. But it’s not inconceivable for Stafford to fall to the 49ers at No. 10.

First off, Stafford will be the first QB taken. Another lame way to try and drum up false suspense is create anticipation over finding out “Who will be the first QB taken?”. Cue McShay-Kiper pissing match. Fact is, Stafford would have to crap himself at Pro day to fall below Sanchez.

A more appropriate topic for the article may be “Mark Sanchez could slide into the second round”. But naaahh, they like banging on Stafford too much.

Matt Ryan and Jo Flacco have shown how the right QB can elevate your franchise. Will selecting Stafford guarantee the Lions the kind of turnaround the Falcons enjoyed this year? Nope, but no one, I mean no one, realistically expects the Lions to be in the playoffs next year. Stafford will be spared the high expectations for at least a season.

Like it or not, Stafford will be the first name called when draft day come around.

Image: AP

Davis Hale gives a nice summation of the leadership issues that plagued the 2008 football team.

The Road To Copacetic has an in-depth look at the Bulldogs making appearances at this week’s NFL Combine.

Jon Gruden loves him some Georgia Bulldogs and Matthew Stafford. (Video)

Gruden’s NFL.com crew doesn’t gush quite as much over Moreno, but they still call him the best RB in the draft. (Video)

Matthew Stafford is getting wined and dined by the NFL’s worst team ever. He says he welcomes the challenge.

Knowshon has been working to improve his speed in prepartion for the NFL Combine.

The Georgia Bulldogs are volunteering to improve the community around them.

David Ching’s take on Georgia Baseball’s opening day.

Andre Smith went AWOL from the NFL Combine.

Kiffin and his recruiting dream team have extended a scholarship offer to Sophomore LB A.J. Johnson. Will Kiffin still be the UT head coach by the time he could actually take advantage of the offer?

Image:rivals.com

The Georgia Tennis Dogs continue to saw through the competition at the ITA National Indoors in Chicago. Georgia defeated Stanford 4-2 to advance to the finals vs. Virginia.

The Women’s Tennis team is matching the success of their male counterparts. They defeated second-ranked California to advance to the finals of the ITA Women’s National Team Indoors in Madison, Wisconsin. They’ll play undefeated and top-ranked Northwestern in the final.

The Tennessean provides a fresh look at the misadventures of young Lane Kiffin.

Rivals lists ten things it loves about College Football.

Take a look at this great video of the last moments of Georgia’s unlikely win over Florida on Saturday. It’s shot from seats very close to the floor and gives you a great feel for how jubilant the crowd was after the much needed victory.

The Road to Copacetic notices a lot of love being directed toward one Matthew Stafford from ESPN. Complete with all the Stafford video from it’s draft coverage.

Great recap and insight from the most recent LOST episode at The Stuff of Legend.

Rodney Garner explains why it may seem like Georgia is slow to offer in-state kids.

Oh, and this is a couple days old, but Josh Fields reached a deal with the Seattle Mariners. Some believe that Fields may get called up by the All-Star break.

Furman Bisher doesn’t know why in the heck Georgia has enlisted the help of a search firm. I mean, really! Why doesn’t Damon Evans just fly out to Norman and knock on Jeff Capel’s office door? Yeah, that’d go well. Furman is pretty out of touch with the modern goings on of these fancy pants athletic departments with their keyboard phones and all.