The Junkyard Blawg has moved!
Along with the other ajc.com blogs, the Junkyard Blawg has moved over to WordPress, where the blogging and commenting experience promises to be better. Join us over at the new WordPress version of the Junkyard Blawg by clicking on the link below.
AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2006 > September > 03
Sunday, September 3, 2006
A tantalizing taste of the future
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We have seen the future of Georgia football. And it wears #7.
But the future isn’t now. Not quite yet.
Yes, Matthew Stafford showed on his last drive Saturday that he’s going to be something special. His on-field confidence and heady play, a nice 19-yard run on a scramble, and his really threading the needle with his precision passing on a couple of his throws all gave notice that he is as talented as billed. But keep in mind that he wasn’t just going against a 1-AA defense at that point, but a TIRED 1-AA defense in the fourth quarter on a hot day. We can only hope he’ll look half that good in his first appearance against an SEC defense.
And despite what fans would wish for, that probably won’t come against South Carolina unless: a) Joe T. really stinks up the joint and we’re behind and b) Mark Richt decides to move Stafford ahead of Joe Cox as the backup.
All of that could happen, but the odds don’t favor it. In big games, Richt has shown a tendency to stick with his starter. Given his druthers, I’m guessing he’d rather win unspectacularly against the Cocks with Joe T. and let Joe C. and Stafford continue to fight it out for No. 2 in practice and against lesser opponents, letting them get some game experience. Bottom line: Richt has already said Joe T. will start against South Carolina. If Georgia wins, the status quo probably won’t change for some time.
But if we’re down by a score in the fourth quarter in Columbia, time’s running out and Joe T. has been ineffectual … I wouldn’t be surprised for Richt to say, “Let’s give the kid a shot” and put Stafford in ahead of Cox. Then, if Stafford pulls out a win, Richt faces the decision of whether to start him the next week or continue to ease him in. If the Dawgs still lose despite Stafford coming in, Joe T. probably hangs on to his starting job.
Joe T. didn’t look terrible Saturday. He was adequate. But no more. True, he had at least three passes dropped — including one in the end zone by the still-inconsistent Martrez Milner — and threw one really pretty one on his last scoring drive, but he also looked hesitant, throwing some balls late and scrambling around in vain on one play while a couple of open receivers waved their arms at him. Watching his slow, slightly wobbly passes brought to mind a couple of other modestly talented Athens boys who briefly were starting QB before getting supplanted: Jeff Pyburn and David Dukes.
As for Cox, he looked comfortable running the offense, moved the team well and had more zip on his passes than Joe T. (though not as much as Stafford). Unfortunately for Joe C., he made the mistake again of forcing a pass where it shouldn’t have gone and notched himself another interception. But then we all recall that D.J. Shockley had that tendency when he was backup, too …
MORE FIRST-GAME OBSERVATIONS: Saturday’s other highlight was Mikey Henderson returning punts. I think this kid could win a game or two for us down the road. After fumbling the ball just before crossing the goal line while trying to showboat on his first return, he came back with an even more impressive return for a TD on the next try. Let’s hope that hamstring heals up soon, though Asher Allen showed some promise, too. The suspended Thomas Flowers may have a hard time getting his old job back. … When judging what the Dawgs did offensively, keep in mind that Richt used a reduced, vanilla offensive playbook Saturday, not wanting to show S.C. too much. … The offensive line didn’t look that good against a 1-AA opponent, either in blocking for our running backs or in protecting the QB. I have a feeling we’re going to really need the special teams and defense to score some points this season. … The defense looked pretty awesome for most of the first half, but substitutions and sloppy play allowed the Hilltoppers to eat up way too much of the clock in the second half. And that touchdown pass WK threw to a wide open receiver in yet another case of “blown coverage”? Not a good sign. … The NCAA rules changes may have cut back on the number of offensive plays, but they didn’t shorten the game any. Seems they just made room for LONGER TV timeouts. … Be warned: The Athletic Association isn’t granting any wiggle room in enforcing its new parking rules. My brother asked an orange-vested parking lot attendant on Cedar Street if he could park on the abandoned railroad tracks that run through campus and was told, “Yeah, as long as it’s not on the sidewalk or the grass, it’s OK.” Wrong. His car was towed at the request of the athletic office. On the other hand, having the sidewalks clear of SUVs and vans did make for a nicer walk to the stadium.
