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AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2006 > October > 22
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Good, Bad and Really Ugly
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Well, no question which game I got the biggest kick out of Saturday— the Trade School’s humiliation on ESPN. I never would have thought I could enjoy rooting for a team that looked like it showed up for the game wearing purple kiddie PJ’s.
I wonder if UGA’s coaching staff will take any lessons from the way the Junior Bowden ran the ball down the Jackets’ throats and how the Tiger defense managed to rattle and contain Reggie Ball with incessant pressure. Not to mention make “Heisman candidate” Calvin Johnson irrelevant.
Wait a minute. I forgot for a second which coaching staff I was talking about. That probably stands the same chance of happening as Georgia’s blissfully-in-denial coaches learning anything from Auburn getting in Chris Leak’s face, or for that matter Arkansas running it on Auburn.
Of course, Clemson’s Thunder and Lightning and their buddies do have two obvious advantages over the Dawgs in using the strategy that stifled “Heisman candidate” Johnson and company — an effective offensive line and a defense.
Which brings up Saturday’s UGA game against Mississippi State, which I suppose I can’t put off discussing any longer. No matter how much I’d like to. Really.
OK, here goes. The game-saving play by Charles Johnson at the end, as great as it was, belies the larger, more disturbing fact about that drive: We let one of the worst offenses in college football fly down the field in less than 30 seconds and get in position to potentially win or tie the game. Thanks to Charles, they didn’t get the chance. But the reason realistic Dawg fans are upset with the MSU game, even though it goes in the books as a win, is that it doesn’t bode well for the remainder of the season, when we’ll be facing GOOD offenses, as opposed to the ridiculously poor one that almost beat us Saturday. Georgia’s defensive schemes were predictable, and the play sloppy (our tackling seems to be getting worse as the year wears on).
That isn’t to let the offense off the hook. They certainly did the defense no favors with five turnovers. And our special teams were even worse, giving Mississippi State a leg up (pardon the dog pun) in field position much of the second half.
At least special teams coach Tony Ball has indicated that he WILL be changing schemes and/or personnel to get things straightened out. Too bad that attitude isn’t more widespread at Butts-Mehre this season.
MORE GOOD AND BAD STUFF: Brannan Southerland gets my vote as the most valuable player so far this year. There are guys on the team with twice his talent who don’t play half as hard as him. That catch he made on Georgia’s last scoring drive was particularly impressive, since the ball wasn’t well-placed. (Did you notice that Matthew Stafford was throwing slightly behind his receivers all day, forcing them to turn and reach for the ball? Certainly a contributing factor in some of the drops. And one of the interceptions seemed to result from him badly side-arming the ball. Some more quality time with Coach Bobo definitely needed there.) … Even when Martrez Milner’s toe heals up, I hope Tripp Chandler keeps the starting TE spot. He was also impressive Saturday. … Kenneth Harris had a big day receiving. I think he and Stafford show signs of becoming a really potent pairing. … Finally, a fade that was perfectly thrown and caught! Kudos to Stafford and MoMass on that first score. … OK, so MoMass’ play has been maddeningly inconsistent and his drops and fumble Saturday showed a definite lack of focus. But booing him and then cheering when he’s taken off the field? Definitely not a shining moment for elements of the Sanford Stadium crowd. … THREE false-start penalties on senior Daniel Inman? He wasn’t holding his blocks very long, either. If we weren’t so thin on the OL, some time on the bench would be well-deserved. … More needlessly burned timeouts Saturday. Considering he’s such a bright guy, how is it that in his sixth season Mark Richt still hasn’t figured out how to manage the clock? … What can you say about Andy Bailey? On WNGC’s “Fifth Quarter Show”, UGA kicking great Kevin Butler said the problems seem to be “between the ears,” in that the kid can’t handle pressure kicks. Butler suggested putting more pressure on him in practice by giving him certain assigned kicks, and if he doesn’t make them all, the entire team gets extra running. There’s no pressure like peer pressure. … I don’t care if Kregg Lumpkin is the worst blocker on the team. He’s the BEST runner, and he needs to get the ball consistently. Throw it to Danny Ware, but we need to give the ball to Lumpkin A LOT more. I mean, why are we asking a true freshman quarterback to do so much? … Maybe Lumpkin and Ware would be better choices for kickoff returns, too. … Whatever Georgia’s doing at halftime, it ain’t working. We keep coming out for the third quarter as cold as ice. As Richt said after the game: “I don’t know why we can’t get out of the gate in the second half, but we’ve got to get it straightened out.” Sounds like changes are afoot, which is definitely a GOOD thing. … Three quotes from Richt, Master of Understatement: 1. “We tend to keep ‘em in the stands until the last second.” 2. “To turn it over five times and still win is always a blessing. It doesn’t happen very often.” 3. “We’re not as good as we’ve been. And we’ve got to get better.” … The video games music was kinda bizarre, but it was cool that MSU brought their band. But how come their team didn’t incur a penalty when the band played straight through a play on the field? Meanwhile, it was the North stands’ turn to be the primary audience for the Redcoats’ Athens-themed show and folks showed their appreciation by starting to stand and applaud halfway through the last number. … Did you see those FSU black uniforms? Man, they were Oregon-ugly. That’s not even one of their colors!
