AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2005 > October > 15
Saturday, October 15, 2005
With these Dogs, expect the unexpected
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
Nashville — They are unbeaten in the SEC, unbeaten in six games and nobody else on their side of the conference has less than two losses.
How does this happen?
Florida loses to LSU and suddenly is on a respirator. Alabama nearly loses to Mississippi and suddenly looks, well, like the team we thought Alabama would look like. Southern Cal needs a last-second touchdown to beat Notre Dame.
Georgia? Another win. It wasn’t four quarters of perfection against Vanderbilt on Saturday night, but it was good enough. The Bulldogs dumped the Commodores to improve to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the SEC.
Suddenly, things are set up for a run.
Remember. This is 2005, the year after the exodus.
How does this happen?
Maybe the pins weren’t necessarily set up for the Bulldogs last season. But they looked to be a team of bowling balls set to knock down everything in their path. They had a guy at quarterback, David Greene, who, like, never lost. They had a guy on defense, David Pollack, who, like, never failed to make the play of the game. They had Thomas Davis and Odell Thurman and Reggie Brown and Fred Gibson. They also had defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder.
Now, they have none of the above. They have only a 6-0 record.
Last season, Georgia stumbled at home against Tennessee the week after playing flawlessly against LSU (the Nick Saban version).
This year, they almost stumbled against South Carolina. They looked disinterested and not completely coordinated for two and a half quarters against Louisiana Monroe. But three weeks later, Georgia went into Knoxville and physically dominated a pretty good football team in pretty intimidating surroundings.
They didn’t have to be dominating against Vanderbilt. They just had to make enough plays to beat a team that sort of lost its mojo with a loss to Middle Tennessee State. (The “home” crowd Saturday was announced as 38,822. Either it was “Wear Red” night, or half the fans were Georgia’s.)
Last year, the season started and we wondered, “Will anything go wrong?”
Now they’re 6-0 and we wonder, “Can anything possibly go wrong?”
They have three home conference games left — against mediocre Arkansas, beatable Auburn and thank-you-sir-may-I-have-another Kentucky. The other games: Florida in Jacksonville and at Georgia Tech.
Suddenly, it would take a relative collapse — basically, losses to both Auburn and Florida — to not make it to the Georgia Dome for the SEC title game.
If you’re looking for a possible parallel to Georgia’s season, consider Tennessee. The Volunteers went 11-2 in 1997. They came back the following season without Peyton Manning. But with Tee Martin at quarterback, they went 13-0, including a win over Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl, to win the national championship.
The Dogs lost Greene. They came back with D.J. Shockley. He was a fifth-year senior with talent, but had never started a game. But any questions about Shockley have gone poof. In Knoxville, he looked in command of the offense and was unfazed by the 108,000 crazies in the stands.
At Vanderbilt, Shockley threw three touchdown passes on third down — and all while on the move to avoid the rush.
Things started slowly against Commodores. Georgia went scoreless on its first two possessions and Shockley didn’t complete a pass until just 27 seconds remained in the first quarter (his fourth attempt). But he completed a 31-yard pass to Kenneth Harris on third-and-10 to set up the Dogs’ first touchdown, a 9-yard run by Kregg Lumpkin.
In the second quarter, the score tied at 7-7, Georgia faced a third-and-goal from the 10. But Shockley changed plays at the line, then scrambled away from pressure and drilled a TD pass to fullback Brannan Southerland.
It was 17-7 early in the third when Shockley did it again. This time, on third-and-4 from Vanderbilt 6, he rolled left to boy time and connected with Mohamed Massaquoi in the end zone.
And, less than a minute into the fourth, with the Commodores still hanging close at 27-17, Shockley again gave the Dogs some breathing room. On third-and-8 from the 18, he rolled and found Bryan McClendon in the middle of the end zone.
Shockley completed seven passes in the first half — all to different receivers. That could not have been expected. But then, neither could 6-0, with an open field in front of them.
Permalink | Comments (55) | Categories: Jeff Schultz, UGA / SEC
Bedeviled at first, Tech takes cure
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
Durham, N.C. — Some people go to Lourdes for the cures. Georgia Tech had a better idea: Go to Duke University. It’s closer than France. It is rather highly regarded in the medical field itself. And right now, the Yellow Jackets were aching and in need of a charge for their morale.
But wait. Wasn’t this place they visited two years ago and came away beaten, battered and in shock? Victims of the most devastating upset since Chan Gailey has been in the coaching chair. One of Georgia Tech’s old linebacking all-stars had just taken over as head coach in the middle of the season, when Duke, too, was groping.
Ted Roof was a quick fix. It was pure irony that the first game he won as a head coach should have been against his old school, and it wasn’t just a win. The Blue Devils left the Yellow Jackets in ruins, 41-17. But, frankly, that had been the highlight of Roof’s career at Duke until something that developed in the first half Saturday afternoon in Wallace Wade Stadium.
That’s when the Blue Devils began to show their belligerent side again. The first quarter hadn’t gone smoothly for Georgia Tech, but the Yellow Jackets did get on the board with a touchdown. Then the Roof began to fall in again. His quarterback, freshman Zack Asack, executed a fake double reverse that sprung loose another freshman, Ronnie Drummer, on a 50-yard sprint that set up Asack’s short touchdown pass to Andy Roland. They were tied.
Then Joe Surgan, still another freshman, kicked a field goal. Duke led 10-7. Surely this couldn’t be happening to Gailey again. Tech had been wiped out in Blacksburg by Virginia Tech, then cruelly taken out by N.C. State in the dimness of the final seconds on its own field in Atlanta. Surely there must be some goodness and mercy somewhere in his future.
The future was the second half in this old concrete horseshoe that has probably seen more history than any football facility in these parts. Tech returned to the field, quickly whipped off two offensive touchdowns, another one by interception, then one more touchdown, three of them on short plunges.
Curiously, the first was scored by Reggie Ball, who would later leave the game injured. Two were scored by Tashard Choice, a sophomore running back filling in for P.J. Daniels, who spent the second half in street clothes. And the other was scored by Darrell Robertson, filling in for Eric Henderson, the preseason All-ACC defensive end who has already missed four games. It was the first touchdown in Robertson’s career, and all told, he had quite a day spreading himself around the field.
So, as you can see, this was just the kind of day and the kind of place for a team looking to heal its wounds. It was not, however, the kind of game that will find its way into the hall of classics. It could have been a statistical feast for Georgia Tech, but the Yellow Jackets kept tripping over their own feet. This is not an accomplished Duke team by any stretch, and the skilled performers that have gone before them, those who brought fame and glory to Duke in the days of Wade, would have been appalled.
As was, the usual kind of crowd came out to watch, 17,451, while on the hill above the closed end of the stadium, casual strollers took their afternoon walk, giving no heed to what was taking place on the field below. And what were all those people were yelping about? What a shame that the game here has settled into such a state of disrepute.
Basketball now rules. Where Wallace Wade was once king, another ruler has built his own kingdom, and its name is Krzyzewskiville.
Permalink | Comments (17) | Categories: Furman Bisher, Tech / ACC
Hard to make sense of a tragic loss
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
Mike Woodson had seen him at practice Friday, not 20 hours before. Jason Collier had been shooting free throws, looking like a professional basketball player is supposed to look. “I thought he was in the best shape since I’d been around him,” the coach said.
Michael Gearon Jr. had seen Collier at the same practice, and what struck the Hawks’ owner was how the center had let his hair grow. “He looked more like a California kid than one from Ohio,” Gearon said.
Around 7 a.m. Saturday, both men got the same incongruous phone call. Jason Collier, age 28, was dead.
Having gotten a similar call, Billy Knight decided he really hadn’t. “I thought I was still sleeping,” the general manager said. Then, having awakened enough to realize what he’d heard, Knight got out of bed and tried to make sense of it. He failed. At such a moment, all human reckoning fails.
“Nothing can explain it,” Knight said. “You just sit around in disbelief for a while. And then you think of his family.”
This was Jason Collier: A big man who shot the ball better than big men customarily do. This also was Jason Collier: A husband and a father of a little girl who likes to ride horses.
Gearon: “He was a really fine person.” Knight: “He was the best.”
Today we Atlantans are thinking we didn’t really get to know Jason Collier the way we should have. He played two seasons at Georgia Tech and had been a Hawk since March 8, 2003, but it was his luck to have been part of aggregations that didn’t hold our attention. He was the best player on Bobby Cremins’ last two Tech teams, neither of which managed a winning record, and the Hawks have lately been a source of civic disinterest.
Today we’re thinking that we didn’t get to know Jason Collier and now we never will. We knew things about him, sure. We knew he was the son of a Tech basketballer - his dad Jeffrey played under Dwane Morrison in the ’70s. We knew he’d grown up in Springfield, Ohio, which is outside Dayton, and part of him wanted to come to Tech all along. But he enrolled at Indiana and became one of the last straws in the dissolution of Bobby Knight’s raging empire.
Collier left Indiana in December 1997, a month into his sophomore season. “I was losing sleep,” he said. “I wasn’t eating. That wasn’t the way I wanted to live my life… . If I’d known exactly what I was going to confront, I’d never have gone there. The biggest mistake I’ve made was going to Indiana.”
Funny how things work out. Collier fled IU because he couldn’t take Knight’s screaming, and he wound up playing for a former Hoosier who regards Knight as the greatest coach the game has ever known. “I never wanted to talk to Jason about leaving IU,” Woodson said Saturday. “I’ve never talked to Knight about it.”
As far as Woodson was concerned, Collier had done what he’d had to do. He’d found a program that better suited him and made himself a first-round NBA draft pick. (Acting for Houston, Milwaukee took him 15th overall in 2000.) He’d made himself a pro. “He’s part of our league,” Woodson said.
Then, shaking his head, Woodson corrected himself. “He was part of our league.”
Pro athletes aren’t supposed to die at 28. Pro athletes are supposed to be invulnerable. Pro athletes aren’t supposed to go home from practice on a Friday and be gone by the time Saturday dawns. “Life’s full of surprises,” Gearon said. “That’s the sad thing.”
Jason Collier’s teammates gathered Saturday morning at Philips Arena and then dispersed, an afternoon scrimmage having been canceled. In a further stroke of incongruity, Philips was being readied for a concert by the Rolling Stones. Not 30 yards from the Hawks’ training room was a suite set aside for Keith Richards, the scarecrow guitarist who has led a life of infamous excess.
Jason Collier died at 28. Keith Richards, against all odds, is 61. Try to make sense of that. Let me know if you ever do.
Permalink | Comments (256) | Categories: Hawks / NBA, Mark Bradley
NFL Predix: Falcons cover (That is, if these are the Falcons)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
Before we get into this week’s possible game between the Falcons and New Orleans, which is on the schedule but will not be confirmed by the team or Jim Paramoira, who may or may not be a coach and says he has no special plans for Sunday and might just walk the dog or plant daisies, though he’s not confirming the existence of the dog species or plant life on Earth, which is not to say he’s an Earthling, if indeed Earth exists, and then there’s that whole Big Bang theory … AAAAGGGH!
Anyway, about this “competitive advantage” thing that Paramoira harps on. I had a conversation with Bill Walsh once during a strike season. I had walked through the locker room and saw a Tom Cousineau jersey hanging in a stall. The conversation went something like this:
Me: “So. I see you’ve signed Cousineau for your strike team.”
Walsh: “Who told you that?”
Me: “Nobody. His jersey’s hanging up.”
Walsh: “Oh, um, no, you’re mistaken. I mean, we thought about signing him but we changed our mind.”
Me: “Excuse me?”
Walsh: “Sorry. I’m late for Mensa. But you wouldn’t know about that.”
Walsh, who also had this thing about competitive advantage, didn’t even want teams to know he signed Cousineau. Of course, this thrilled Cousineau, who was not considered a competitive advantage before.
But there’s no reason to be secretive this week. It’s the Saints. They lost 52-3 last week. Jim Haslett has done less with more than any coach in NFL history during his reign of error. Just give him your playbook. He’ll still tie his shoes together.
Michael Vick was listed as “questionable” early in the week. But as Paramoira said: “What’s questionable tell you? … We’re all questionable. I might die in 30 seconds.”
Ah hah! He’s not on the injury report! LIAR!
With or without Vick. Or Mora. Or life forms. Falcons cover 5 1/2.
4 BAGS
Giants at Cowboys: New York has scored the most points in the NFC (136) and is plus-10 in turnovers the last three weeks. I hate stats. Cowboys win and cover 3 1/2.
Dude, That Was My Skull: It’s not Jeff Spicoli having a pizza delivered to Mr. Hand’s class, but you have to admire Nick Saban for starting a blazed certified yoga instructor (Ricky Williams) in his backfield. Or not. Tampa wins but take Fins and 5.
3 BAGS Patriots at Broncos: Tom Brady has been near perfect. With that defense in New England, he’ll have to be. Take the gift 3 as Pats outgun Denver.
Chargers at Raiders: Oakland is struggling in the Red Zone despite having Randy Moss, which ticks off Al Davis, and he’s not even in a Fantasy League, unless we’re counting every day delusions. San Diego covers 2.
2 BAGS
Men of (Rhymes of Thors): So the Vikings reportedly rode The Lust Boat during a bye week. Police are investigating possible prostitution, drug use and illegal sex acts on a chartered cruise involving at least 20 players. The good news is, the Vikings finally tackled somebody. Bears cover 3.
Panthers at Lions: Roy Williams told Sports Illustrated that the Detroit receivers “don’t have any trust” in QB Joey Harrington. It’s a team-building thing. You wouldn’t understand. Take Carolina and 1.
Redskins at Chiefs: The friendship between Joe Gibbs and Dick Vermeil dates back to when they worked together on the first transcontinental railroad. Chiefs cover 6.
Bengals at Titans: Imagine how good Cincinnati would be if it didn’t lead the NFL in penalties (57). The team ranks second in wins and first in felonies. The 3 is covered.
Jaguars at Steelers: Pittsburgh may be without Ben Roethlisberger and Hines Ward, which would be a problem if Jacksonville didn’t rank 29th against the run. Steelers win, but take Jags and 3.
Jets at Bills: Vinny Testaverde and Kelly Holcomb have steadied their teams. There’s something very disturbing about that. Bills cover 3.
Rams at Colts: St. Louis coach Mike Martz has taken a leave of absence. He joins Marshall Faulk and Isaac Bruce. (I know. No respect.) Indy covers a whopper (13 1/2).
HOW ‘BOUT THAT WILL AND GRACE MARATHON?
Texans at Seahawks: Four games and Houston hasn’t forced a turnover yet. It seems so much easier in practice when they’re going against David Carr. Seattle covers 9 1/2.
Browns at Ravens: Jamal Lewis has averaged 147.6 yards per game against the Browns, a credit to his conditioning and monthly games against the Guards. Baltimore covers 5 1/2.
PROFIT MARGINS
(This has become the No Figuring League. But, hey, it’s not about profits! It’s the thrill of the ride! That’s what we like to say. Come on! Who’s with me!?! Hello? Why are you looking at me like that?)
Straight up: 7-7 last week, 35-24 overall
Against the line: 6-7-1; 29-29-1 overall
Lock of the week: Sunrise, 7:43 a.m.
Permalink | | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Jeff Schultz
NFL Predix: Falcons cover (That is, if these are the Falcons)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
Before we get into this week’s possible game between the Falcons and New Orleans, which is on the schedule but will not be confirmed by the team or Jim Paramoira, who may or may not be a coach and says he has no special plans for Sunday and might just walk the dog or plant daisies, though he’s not confirming the existence of the dog species or plant life on Earth, which is not to say he’s an Earthling, if indeed Earth exists, and then there’s that whole Big Bang theory … AAAAGGGH!
Anyway, about this “competitive advantage” thing that Paramoira harps on. I had a conversation with Bill Walsh once during a strike season. I had walked through the locker room and saw a Tom Cousineau jersey hanging in a stall. The conversation went something like this:
Me: “So. I see you’ve signed Cousineau for your strike team.”
Walsh: “Who told you that?”
Me: “Nobody. His jersey’s hanging up.”
Walsh: “Oh, um, no, you’re mistaken. I mean, we thought about signing him but we changed our mind.”
Me: “Excuse me?”
Walsh: “Sorry. I’m late for Mensa. But you wouldn’t know about that.”
Walsh, who also had this thing about competitive advantage, didn’t even want teams to know he signed Cousineau. Of course, this thrilled Cousineau, who was not considered a competitive advantage before.
But there’s no reason to be secretive this week. It’s the Saints. They lost 52-3 last week. Jim Haslett has done less with more than any coach in NFL history during his reign of error. Just give him your playbook. He’ll still tie his shoes together.
Michael Vick was listed as “questionable” early in the week. But as Paramoira said: “What’s questionable tell you? … We’re all questionable. I might die in 30 seconds.”
Ah hah! He’s not on the injury report! LIAR!
With or without Vick. Or Mora. Or life forms. Falcons cover 5 1/2.
4 BAGS
Giants at Cowboys: New York has scored the most points in the NFC (136) and is plus-10 in turnovers the last three weeks. I hate stats. Cowboys win and cover 3 1/2.
Dude, That Was My Skull: It’s not Jeff Spicoli having a pizza delivered to Mr. Hand’s class, but you have to admire Nick Saban for starting a blazed certified yoga instructor (Ricky Williams) in his backfield. Or not. Tampa wins but take Fins and 5.
3 BAGS Patriots at Broncos: Tom Brady has been near perfect. With that defense in New England, he’ll have to be. Take the gift 3 as Pats outgun Denver.
Chargers at Raiders: Oakland is struggling in the Red Zone despite having Randy Moss, which ticks off Al Davis, and he’s not even in a Fantasy League, unless we’re counting every day delusions. San Diego covers 2.
2 BAGS
Men of (Rhymes of Thors): So the Vikings reportedly rode The Lust Boat during a bye week. Police are investigating possible prostitution, drug use and illegal sex acts on a chartered cruise involving at least 20 players. The good news is, the Vikings finally tackled somebody. Bears cover 3.
Panthers at Lions: Roy Williams told Sports Illustrated that the Detroit receivers “don’t have any trust” in QB Joey Harrington. It’s a team-building thing. You wouldn’t understand. Take Carolina and 1.
Redskins at Chiefs: The friendship between Joe Gibbs and Dick Vermeil dates back to when they worked together on the first transcontinental railroad. Chiefs cover 6.
Bengals at Titans: Imagine how good Cincinnati would be if it didn’t lead the NFL in penalties (57). The team ranks second in wins and first in felonies. The 3 is covered.
Jaguars at Steelers: Pittsburgh may be without Ben Roethlisberger and Hines Ward, which would be a problem if Jacksonville didn’t rank 29th against the run. Steelers win, but take Jags and 3.
Jets at Bills: Vinny Testaverde and Kelly Holcomb have steadied their teams. There’s something very disturbing about that. Bills cover 3.
Rams at Colts: St. Louis coach Mike Martz has taken a leave of absence. He joins Marshall Faulk and Isaac Bruce. (I know. No respect.) Indy covers a whopper (13 1/2).
HOW ‘BOUT THAT WILL AND GRACE MARATHON?
Texans at Seahawks: Four games and Houston hasn’t forced a turnover yet. It seems so much easier in practice when they’re going against David Carr. Seattle covers 9 1/2.
Browns at Ravens: Jamal Lewis has averaged 147.6 yards per game against the Browns, a credit to his conditioning and monthly games against the Guards. Baltimore covers 5 1/2.
PROFIT MARGINS
(This has become the No Figuring League. But, hey, it’s not about profits! It’s the thrill of the ride! That’s what we like to say. Come on! Who’s with me!?! Hello? Why are you looking at me like that?)
Straight up: 7-7 last week, 35-24 overall
Against the line: 6-7-1; 29-29-1 overall
Lock of the week: Sunrise, 7:43 a.m.
Permalink | | Categories: Falcons / NFL
