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AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2006 > September
September 2006
A Bulldog fan wonders …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ON OFFENSE: As Georgia prepares for the late late show in Oxford Saturday, I’m wondering whether Coach Richt will follow his usual game plan of splitting the offense just about evenly between run and pass, or if he’ll come to the same conclusion as Wake Forest last week: that the Rebels’ defensive front is particularly vulnerable to the run. The Demon Deacons ran the ball 53 times against Ole Miss, throwing only five passes. End result: a big win on the road for Wake Forest. Considering the Dawgs’ running game could use some work, this might be the perfect opportunity to let a back (preferably Kregg Lumpkin) get 20 to 30 carries in a game and try and establish a rhythm.
A side benefit would be getting the late-starting game over faster. Ole Miss and Wake’s game lasted just 2 hours and 35 minutes, the fastest in Division 1-A this year. Worst case scenario would be going into overtime after midnight.
ON DEFENSE: I’ve expressed skepticism in the past about the job Defensive Coordinator Willie Martinez is doing, and Georgia’s first half against Colorado raised those doubts again. What is it with the Dawgs’ D in the first half of games? Are they not mentally ready or motivated? Is their some flaw in their game preparation? Are Martinez’s game plans lacking? Colorado quite obviously had watched film of Georgia (probably the Sugar Bowl), but our players looked as if they didn’t have the slightest clue what the Buffs were gonna do. Usually, the Dawgs adjust well at halftime, but you’ve got to wonder why it takes that long. Whatever the problem is, it needs to be rectified.
NO HARD FEELINGS: The feedback I’ve heard and read from Colorado fans about their experience in Athens last weekend was overwhelmingly positive across the board. They praised everything about gameday at Georgia, including the warmth, generosity and hospitality of the UGA fans (and, not surprisingly, how pretty the women were). One Buffalo fan posting on the NetBuffs site said that after the game Georgia fans sought out CU fans to congratulate them on how their team had played. (I saw this happening and, in fact, did it myself.) You can read the CU fan’s post at http://www.netbuffs.com/message_board/football/2006/September/26/399574 .php. Intense rivalries like we have with the Vols, Gators and Jackets are great, but, frankly, I’d rather have the sort of friendly atmosphere we had at the Colorado game any time. (Unfortunately, the obnoxiousness of our rivals’ fans plays a big part in why that won’t happen.)
TAILGATING UPDATE: Graham Coffey is a senior at New Hanover High School in Wilmington, NC, who hopes to go to UGA next year (following in the footsteps of his sister and both his parents). As part of a school project on sports and the Internet, Graham has volunteered to file reports to the Blawg on various aspects of the gameday experience this season. After hearing that the South Campus alcohol-free Family Friendly Zone had been “condensed” for lack of use, I suggested Graham check out the more heavily used North Campus family zone. He did last Saturday, and reports that two hours before kickoff (prime tailgating time), there were six tailgate groups totaling 47 people in the zone. Those 47 people were being guarded by seven police officers. Says Graham: “Most of the people there had small children and were glad to have a place to provide them with some recreation. In the zone was a giant blowup slide and a popcorn vendor. People that were inside the zone all said that they liked the idea. However, every person interviewed outside the zone thought it was a waste of valuable tailgating space.” Maybe the Family Friendly Zone idea will catch on, but so far it seems to be off to a slow start.
ONE MORE THOUGHT: A Blawg poster noted earlier this week what a classy, confident kid Joe Cox appeared to be in post-game interviews. Listening to him on the locker room show Saturday, my son and I had the same thought: He’s unusually articulate for a college football player. Joe T. is also a very intelligent kid but tends to talk in coachspeak, which isn’t surprising considering he practically grew up at Butts-Mehre. Matthew Stafford, what I’ve heard of him, sounds pretty much like your typical 18-year-old — not particularly articulate. Of course, speaking isn’t what they’re on the team to do, but you want your quarterback to be smart, and Cox shows every sign of being a thoughtful young man. He makes a good impression.
An ugly win raises questions
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia played some pretty bad football at times Saturday, and yet still came away with a victory. That’s what depth at skill positions will do for you. With one quarterback injured and one ineffectual all day, aren’t we glad we had a talent like Joe Cox ready to come in and pull one out?
But as usual when a heavily favored team barely survives against a winless team, the win over Colorado left the Dawgs with a bunch of questions that need to be answered and areas that need to be improved if Georgia is going to continue winning.
Are those of us who say that Cox’s efforts Saturday earned him the right to start at QB against Ole Miss skittish bandwagon jumpers? No, we’re simply fans who want our team to win and think that RIGHT NOW Cox gives us the best chance to do that. Down the road, Matthew Stafford is going to have some great games and have his time in the hero’s spotlight. But the way he’s played the last couple of games, it’s obvious he’s not there yet. He looked not just like a freshman, but like a freshman who hasn’t yet mastered what to do if Plan A doesn’t work.
Yes, there was plenty of blame to go around with the Dawgs’ performance Saturday. The team, particularly the defense, didn’t look well prepared (whereas Colorado obviously had studied film of Georgia quite a bit). The players showed little fire or enthusiasm in the first half especially. Coach Richt didn’t have one of his better days calling plays. The receivers dropped four passes. The Dawgs played better defense in the second half but never did figure out how to cover the Buffs’ tight end (who wound up with seven catches). Tony Taylor played well, but generally our linebackers looked slow and were badly positioned much of the time (as in the Sugar Bowl debacle). Our pass rush seemed a step show all day. The offensive line generally blocked poorly, especially on running plays. And it wasn’t until Kregg Lumpkin came into the game that we showed any spark at running back. Thomas Brown actually ended up the day with NEGATIVE yardage. And while Danny Ware looked OK at times, he also fumbled the ball away. Our special teams, so good the previous week, also had an off day, with too many penalties on kick returns.
And Richt continued to have sideline management and time management problems. It’s a good thing we didn’t end up needing that time out that he burned on the PAT play when the Dawgs were caught short a man. As kicking legend Kevin Butler pointed out on the “Fifth Quarter Show” after the game, with a kicker like Brandon Coutu, the thing to do in that case is simply take the delay-of-game penalty and kick the extra point from 5 yards farther back. Calling a time out in that situation is just inexcusable.
Top all that off with the fact that Stafford had a bad day, even by inexperienced freshman standards, and you get the Dawgs held scoreless for three quarters.
I don’t blame Stafford for all the dropped passes (though he obviously hasn’t yet learned how to dial his howitzer back a notch and put some touch on the ball, and he sometimes was throwing just behind the receiver or a little too high). But all that indecision back there, holding on to the ball too long and then fumbling, trying to improvise and losing track off the line of scrimmage … that gets pinned on him.
And the bottom line: Before Cox entered the game, Georgia had just 89 yards of offense and no points. With Cox at the helm, the Dawgs wound up with 284 yards and 14 points.
What, besides Cox and Lumpkin, looked good?
The scoreboard at the end.
And Martrez Milner, a frequent whipping boy in this corner, came up big with four catches (including the winning TD) and no drops. (OK, he was the player who forgot to run out on the field for the PAT, but that one still should get pinned on the coaching staff.)
A FEW MORE THOUGHTS: While I thought Richt made some awful calls Saturday, I don’t fault him at all in going for it on fourth down in the red zone instead of kicking a field goal. Like he said, if we didn’t convert, we’d need two scores and if we kicked a field goal, we’d still need to two scores. Going for the first down was the right thing to do. … Let’s hope the pundits are wrong and Cox doesn’t transfer after the season if Stafford winds up as the starter. With the offensive line we’ve got, the chances of making it through a season without the starting QB getting hurt are slim. And, frankly, I’d much rather have Cox still around to take over next year than have to rely on completely untested Blake Barnes or another true freshman. … Like a lot of Georgia fans, I absolutely HATE that sprint-draw delayed handoff in the shotgun that Richt apparently grew enamored of in his ACC days. Unless you’ve got a terrific line, it usually gets stuffed, as it did Saturday when he used it on fourth-and-four. If you want to run the ball in a spot like that, for heaven’s sake get in the I-formation and give your back a leading blocker. … To the pantheon of favorite Bulldog quotes like Hershel’s “Ball ain’t heavy,” add what Cox said to his teammates after he entered the game: “If we can’t score two touchdowns, we don’t deserve to have a G on our helmets.” … Let’s hope we don’t again see that mediocre Bon Jovi show that the Redcoats trotted out for the second time this season. … Many UGA fans at Sanford Stadium seemed to get a kick out of Ralphie the bison leading the Buffs onto the field Saturday, even if it did likely help fire up their players. Just another reason college football is special.
Too close for comfort …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If Joe Cox and Kregg Lumpkin don’t start next week, Mark Richt needs to have his head examined! Let’s face it, Matthew Stafford just isn’t ready. And with Georgia’s line blocking as poorly has they did Saturday, Thomas Brown’s place is on the sideline.
More tomorrow.
On the run
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s obvious now that, for whatever reason, Coach Richt is reluctant to replace Thomas Brown with Danny Ware as the Dawgs’ official starter at tailback despite three straight weeks of Ware being the top back and Brown lagging behind both Ware and Kregg Lumpkin in production. This week, Richt said he viewed all three backs as “co-No. 1s.”
Perhaps Richt thinks keeping Ware hungry will pay off since there were complaints the back grew complacent toward the end of last season. Maybe the coach really does think, as he said this week, that it’s just “the luck of the drawâ€? that Brown has been getting tackled in the backfield and producing fewer yards per carry than Ware and Lumpkin.
While the number of carries per back evened out somewhat last week (10 each for Brown and Lumpkin, eight for Ware), the production didn’t. Ware averaged 6 yards per carry, Lumpkin averaged 5.4 and Brown averaged only 2.6 yards.
It wasn’t for lack of trying. You could see Brown was giving extra effort, to no avail. The fact is that the way Georgia’s line is blocking so far this year, a smaller back like Brown is at a disadvantage. That fourth-and-one last week where he got stuffed for a loss unfortunately summed it up.
Georgia shouldn’t be trying to run Brown between the tackles, but for some reason Richt is kinda stubborn that way, as he was in the past with Tyson Browning. Brown should be a situational back, as Browning eventually became — used on outside runs, where his speed will help and his size will be less of a factor. Throw it to him on screens or in the flat. But don’t try to use him as a power runner, because he’s not.
Georgia should give the bulk of the carries to Ware and Lumpkin. They’ve earned it.
SCHEDULE BUFFALOED: Who would have thought a couple of years ago that there’d be a real danger of the Dawgs not taking Colorado seriously as the Buffs’ visit to Sanford Stadium approaches. Georgia a four-touchdown favorite over Colorado. Wow. It wasn’t that long ago Colorado was one of the top programs in the country, and even during the decline in recent years they’ve still been a perennial in the Big 12 championship game (thanks to playing in the weaker northern division with the Nebraska program in eclipse). Back in the Buffs’ Bill McCartney heyday, this would have been a major intersectional match-up. Now we just have to hope the novelty of playing a team led on the field by a bison will keep the Dawgs’ heads in the game so we don’t slip up and end Colorado’s losing streak.
UNIFORM THINKING: While a number of teams, including the Trade School, are doing special games where they wear throwback uniforms, that’s not likely to happen with the Dawgs. Let’s face it, what would we throw back to? Aside from minor tweaks with the piping and sleeve stripes, both the home and away jerseys have pretty much stayed the same. Vince Dooley already went retro before retro was cool when he brought back the silver britches in 1980, replacing the white pants that wouldn’t get anyone excited as a throwback. (Remember those awful white pants Jim Donnan used for a couple of games?) And a throwback Georgia helmet would be plain silver, which would make the team look a bit like Ohio State but probably wouldn’t do much in the way of replica sales (which is what this throwback business is all about). So this is one gimmick UGA can pass up.
On the subject of uniforms, I was amused to read recently that Nike U. (aka the University of Oregon) has instituted its fourth full uniform redesign in 10 years with four different jerseys and pants and two (soon to be three) color helmets. That gives them 384 possible combinations — every one of them absolutely butt-ugly. As I’ve said before, while Oregon is hands-down the winner of the ugliest uniform in college football sweepstakes, the Dawgs have one of the best-looking. But I still wouldn’t mind reviving the black road britches from time to time, and I think a special black “home” jersey for Jacksonville or a bowl game would be cool on an occasional basis. (If you haven’t seen the black Georgia jersey Nike started making a couple of years ago, it’s really nice.) Just as long as we never get into that awful dark jerseys and dark pants combo that so many schools use. I’m sorry, but that still looks like a high school or, worse, San Jose State to me.
GAMEDAY: I see that for the upcoming game UGA has quietly reduced the size of the South Campus alcohol-free Family Friendly Zone on the D.W. Brooks Mall in front of the Plant Sciences building. School official George Stafford said that “based on the attendance we have had the first two games, we felt that it was in the best interest of our fans to condense the area.” Looks like they’re learning you can’t really teach old Dawgs new tricks.
A work in progress
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Saturday’s game wasn’t the most exciting for fans, but when a team like Georgia is playing a team like UAB, it isn’t supposed to be. Excitement in those type games means trouble — usually that the favored team has taken its opponent lightly and showed up flat. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case with the Dawgs. At times, Georgia’s play was sloppy Saturday, but they never looked unmotivated.
And it wasn’t a snoozefest by any means, thanks to the special teams living up to their name and the defense notching its second straight goose-egg. I liked this quote about the defense from center Nick Jones in the Athens Banner-Herald: “Them boys are playing lights out. It makes it easier on us. We don’t have to force.”
That’s the best thing that can be said about the Dawgs’ offense in Matthew Stafford’s first start at quarterback: They didn’t try to force anything and as a result had no turnovers. The only major mistake Stafford made was in not picking up a delayed safety blitz, and the blow he took to the chin probably impressed that on his brain permanently. Thank goodness Jones promptly jumped on the fumble.
Otherwise, the offense continues to be, as Stafford noted, a work in progress. Coach Mark Richt kept the playbook vanilla Saturday; the offensive line continued to be spotty (there were too many tackles in the backfield, even with two previously suspended starters returning, and we had a bad snap); the running game looked good at times (Danny Ware and Kregg Lumpkin) and not so good at other times (Thomas Brown); the receiving corps continued to be unimpressive, and Stafford and the receivers haven’t yet gotten their timing down on the long ball.
Let’s say the offense was adequate with a few flashes of what they hopefully will become. I know some fans are worried about letting Stafford run as often as he has in the past two games, but I think that’s a welcome (if unexpected) addition to our arsenal. Anything that makes the opponents’ defense think twice is good, and Stafford did some tough running in scoring his first touchdown, shaking off three tacklers on what could have been lost yardage.
As Richt noted after the game, there’s a lot of room for improvement. But once Stafford and the receivers get on the same page and the long pass downfield is back on the table, Georgia’s offense should be more than respectable.
As for the defense, they look really good so far, though as my son noted, they haven’t really been tested yet. (And who would have thought you could say that AFTER you’d played a Steve Spurrier team?)
MORE GOOD STUFF: The Blazers (the mascot is a green dragon, for those who might wonder), penetrated no deeper than the Bulldogs’ 36-yard line. … Special-team play was awesome: the blocked punt and recovery for a TD, Coutu’s 55-yard field goal, the coverage on kickoffs and punts, and Gordon Ely-Kelso averaging nearly 50 yards on his three punts. I still have a feeling they’re gonna win us at least one game this year. … The halftime video-screen tribute to Erk Russell was nicely done. In general, the use of the video screen (particularly in the pre-game) has been much improved this year.
AND THE NOT SO GOOD: Nine penalties for 70 yards, including consecutive third-down flags in the second quarter that kept a UAB drive alive and a fourth-quarter facemask call that did likewise. … Some ineffective playcalling, like on the fourth-and-one try when we went with lightweight back Brown, who got stuffed, instead of Lumpkin, Ware or the quick handoff to the fullback that’s worked so well in that situation in the past. … A.J. Bryant taking his eyes off the ball on the Dawgs’ lone dropped pass. … Two badly missed tackles on a 20-yard UAB pass completion. … The ridiculously long delay on the part of the officials while they tried to determine whether Bryant had caught another ball and, if not, what they ought to do. (In general, as LSU fans will attest, Saturday wasn’t a great day for officiating crews.)
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR: The guy who sits on the end of our row had complained to Damon Evans after last week’s game because there was no usher to keep folks from parking themselves on the steps next to him (we sit under the overhang). This week, we not only had an usher, we had an über usher. This guy warned folks to take their tickets with them if they got up or he wouldn’t allow them back in his section, he warned folks who’ve been standing on the top row for decades about the danger they were in of falling, and when early departers started moving up the steps, he started barking to them to “keep to the right.” Actually, it was kind of amusing. I half expected him to start telling us to sit up straight and dress that line!
Erk must be smiling
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If the Georgia defense is going to have to carry the Dawgs for a while, you can’t ask much more than the first two consecutive shut-outs since Erk’s last team in 1980. And that was despite too many penalties that sometimes kept UAB alive. Well done, Big D!
More tomorrow.
Stafford’s first start
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
My friend Jack, who’s not a Georgia grad or even a Georgia fan, came by my desk yesterday to tell me his reaction on viewing the Dawgs game on TV last week.
After watching young Matthew Stafford and his howitzer arm for a few plays, Jack told his wife, “This kid could turn me into a fan.”
Yeah, Stafford’s career is just beginning and he’s got a lot to learn. But already names like Favre and Ellway are being mentioned by non-Georgia observers when they’re asked who Stafford reminds them of.
Saturday brings Stafford’s first start at QB for the Dawgs. Even though the game itself may not be that great (Georgia rarely brings its A-game to these lower profile nonconference affairs), that alone has me excited.
Watching this kid grow and get better is going to be really fun.
A twist of fate
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Funny how unexpected events sometimes allow you to make a difficult change while saving face. That ankle injury in Columbia allowed Mark Richt to insert the quarterback who gives Georgia the best chance of notching some big wins this year without having to publicly demote Joe T., a merely adequate player who’s done everything asked of him.
Could we have won the game if Joe T. had played the bulk of it and Matthew Stafford had been limited to a few series? The way the Dawgs defense (and the Cocks offense) played Saturday night, the answer is yes. But Stafford having most of a game against an SEC opponent under his belt no doubt will pay benefits down the road this season.
So, what next? If Joe T.’s ankle heals quickly, Richt has indicated he’s still the starter. If that’s the case, you’ll probably see him sharing playing time with Stafford in what amounts to a co-starter situation. If the ankle takes a while to heal, well, by the time Joe T. returns I don’t see Richt benching the phee-nom. I think the torch has been passed, even if they don’t make that official.
Yes, Stafford looked like a true freshman. A true freshman who’s going to be brilliant. He didn’t always make the right decision, and as Richt noted in his post-game press chat, the coach didn’t exactly help him by continually calling for more difficult long balls instead of safer dinks. “I made a couple of dumb calls that probably hurt him,” Richt said, and that pretty much echoed what some of us were saying during the game. But, as Richt noted later, while “I called a couple of deep shots that really weren’t there,” Stafford has “got to learn to throw it away.” But the kid has an incredible arm, and I like the way he scrambles, too, even if he is what Richt laughingly called “a big joker.”
Actually, of the three interceptions, only the first one was really Stafford’s fault; he overlooked an open back in order to try to float one downfield. The second pick was a blatant case of uncalled pass interference (strange that the ESPN crew ignored that fact) and the third one, in addition to being a bad call, saw Mohamed Massaquoi cut off the route prematurely, too. Still, you have to consider: Even with the Dawgs winning, if Joe T. had thrown three picks, fans would be screaming for a new starter. And if poor ole Joe Cox had thrown three, there’d be calls for his scholarship to be yanked. Interesting how context changes perception.
OTHER THOUGHTS THE MORNING AFTER: I said last night that the defense looked awesome and that was the case much of the night, particularly the goal-line stands, where they fully lived up to the “ERK” memorial stickers on their helmets. But with the exception of Charles Johnson, the pass rush was less than it could have been Saturday night, and there was some arm tackling on receivers that needs to be eliminated. Still, the run defense looked vastly improved for the second week in a row. … The offensive line was still a little inconsistent, but better, especially considering they were dropping like flies. They did a fantastic job on that touchdown run by Danny Ware (which, by the way, was a terrific check-down by Stafford), and at times the Dawg blockers gave their young QB almost TOO MUCH time in the pocket, resulting in him reaching for throws he didn’t really need to make. … The backs were mostly running hard and looking good. I still think we need to use Thomas Brown more on the outside until the line can consistently open bigger holes for him. Up the middle, go with Kregg Lumpkin and Ware, who are more likely to be able to break tackles. Brown may be the strongest player on the team, but he’s still small for a running back. … The officials were incredibly inconsistent Saturday night in what they consider pass interference. Too bad that’s not something that can be reviewed on replay. … Richt’s time management still could use some work. Georgia burned time-outs that it really didn’t need to use early in both halves. And what the heck was the purpose of that TO before the last field goal attempt when the FG unit was already on the field? Trying to ice our own kicker? … I liked the increased use of the two-back sets, first with Lumpkin and Brown and later with Ware and Brown. That’s GOT to give a defense pause.
STUPID QUESTION OF THE DECADE: Loran Smith, noting that the Dawgs had dedicated the game to Erk Russell, then asked Coach Richt, “What brought that about?” I can just imagine how blunt old Jim Donnan would have handled that one, but Richt was diplomatic, beginning, “Well, the fact that he passed …”
ONE LAST NOTE: One of my favorite Erk Russell quotes (and there are many) was when he related that after the famous Appleby-to-Washington TD against Florida, Washington had, using Erk’s own phrase, told the coach that he “rose to the occasion.” Just as the much loved big man’s scrappy defenses did many many times, Georgia’s defense, in stopping a pair of fourth-and-goal tries by Spurrier’s team Saturday night, also rose to the occasion. The best tribute they could have offered to a legend.
What do Akron and Spurrier have in common?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The word: Zip.
As in 18-zip.
Spurrier shut out for the first time since he coached at Duke! Defense was awesome.
Pair that with the real beginning of the Matthew Stafford era and you have a big night for UGA.
Can I get a woof woof?
Much more tomorrow.
Looking for answers in Columbia
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There are some major questions that the Dawgs need to answer Saturday night in Columbia, but contrary to where most of the media and fan attention has been this week, the quarterback situation isn’t the most important.
Yes, it remains to be seen whether Joe T. can “manage” a game well enough to defeat an SEC opponent, and whether Matthew Stafford will play any against the Gamecocks, and if he does, whether he’ll look like the superstar in the making he is or the true freshman he also is.
But the question marks about the Dogs that seem to be of greater concern involve the offensive line’s less than impressive blocking (complicated by suspensions and injuries), and our ham-fisted receivers continuing to drop the ball.
Unless the line can open some holes, little Thomas Brown probably isn’t going to be that effective. Fortunately, Danny Ware looks hungry for playing time, and he and Kregg Lumpkin both have a better chance of running over some people.
As for the Dawg receivers, let’s hope the message that the coaching staff was sending with the demotion of starters Mohamed Massaquoi and Kenneth Harris was received loud and clear. Still, I think it’s a mixed message at best. If a couple of drops and not running their routes properly gets Massaquoi and Harris demoted, why is Martrez “Can’t Even Catch a Cold” Milner still starting at tight end after dropping yet another touchdown pass in the end zone last Saturday? And how come A.J. Bryant gets promoted to starter after muffing that fade in the end zone on the same series Milner dropped his sure TD?
On the other side of the ball, even with the confusion between Tra Battle and Ramarcus Brown that apparently allowed an easy Western Kentucky touchdown pass to a wide-open receiver, the defense looks to be fast and aggressive. I look forward to Quentin Moses and Charles Johnson getting to know Blake Mitchell extremely well Saturday night. I’m hopeful Paul Oliver and company in the secondary can force SC’s Sidney Rice to have another off night. And our previously suspect run defense looked much improved last week (though it’s hard to tell how good any aspect of our game was considering who we were playing — which is why this week should answer a lot of these questions).
I also really liked our special teams play, and not just the punt returns. It looks like maybe we’ll finally be a threat with kickoff returns this year, too. And I liked the way Brandon Coutu put most of his kicks in the end zone (and one through it), no matter which direction he was kicking. Let’s hope Coach Richt’s love affair with the high, short kickoff is over.
Stepping back a bit to look at the bigger picture, what concerns a lot of the Bulldog Nation is that while the players may change, Georgia over the past several years seems to have had consistent problems recruiting and keeping healthy offensive linemen, and getting them to play up to their potential when they are healthy. Likewise, for going on four seasons now we’ve been plagued with too many dropped passes, many in key games.
At what point do we conclude that a shakeup of the coaching staff in those areas might be in order?
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.
Post-game quickie
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Looks like Mark Richt has a quarterback controversy on his hands again.
More tomorrow.
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