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AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2006 > November > 12
Sunday, November 12, 2006
A day for believing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s amazing how improvement in one area can provide the foundation for a team’s overall performance, as we saw Saturday in Georgia’s upset win over fifth-ranked and heavily favored Auburn.
The key to Georgia’s turnaround from losing to a perennial conference doormat the week before? Our receivers held on to the ball when it was thrown to them early on. Simple as that.
That forced Auburn to play differently, as defensive coordinator Will Muschamp noted. “We gave up the deep balls early in the game, and that got us back on our heels,” he said.
And it was like a domino effect. The threat of Dawg receivers catching the ball downfield eased the Auburn pressure at the line of scrimmage somewhat, allowing our inconsistent offensive line to play its best game, and opening up our running attack, especially the quarterback draw. Our receivers catching the ball also took some of the pressure off freshman QB Matthew Stafford, meaning he didn’t feel he had to try and force the ball into bad situations. Result? He threw no interceptions that left the Georgia defense with its back against the wall. The Dawgs did turn the ball over three times on fumbles, but unlike earlier games this season, they didn’t fold and wilt after that.
Likewise, the key to our defensive showing was the line getting pressure on Auburn’s quarterback, starting with Ray Gant’s sack of Brandon Cox on the Tigers’ very first play from scrimmage, the first of four times the Dawgs got to Cox. It appeared Georgia got inside Cox’s head, and the pressure also forced the slightly gimpy QB to rush throws, resulting in four picks, three by Tra Battle, who redeemed himself for getting victimized by opposing teams earlier in the season.
Richt said after the game that the coaches didn’t do anything different this week (though he did suffer a severe bout of self-doubt the night before the game). So what was the difference? Why were receivers hanging on to balls that they’d dropped against lesser opponents? Why were blocks held that were missed before? Why did Matthew Stafford finally start thinking before throwing?
It was between the ears. It appears that with most of their season goals out of reach after the loss to Kentucky, the Dawgs played like they had a point to prove. And rightly so. Let’s face it, any program that wants to be considered in the SEC elite has something to prove when it loses to Vandy and Kentucky in the same season and barely escapes the Mississippi schools.
So they set out to prove that still belong up there with Florida, Auburn and Tennessee and not beneath Kentucky. That they can play like defending conference champions. As QB coach Mike Bobo put it: “We believed today.”
Auburn believes now, too. It doesn’t erase the sorry showing the Dawgs made for much of this season, but it’s the first step in reclaiming Georgia’s rightful place in the SEC pecking order.
THE NATURE OF FANDOM: One of the more ridiculous statements I’ve heard in recent weeks is this idea that anyone who criticizes the Georgia coaches or players is not a true Dawgs fan.
So says a little clique of sanctimonious Red & Blacker-than-thou zealots who assert that they’re the only “true” believers, and that everyone else is a “fair-weather” fan or “bandwagon-hopper” who doesn’t deserve to enjoy the surprise win over Auburn. What a bunch of garbage.
Who appointed these see-no-evil, hear-no-evil bullies as guardians of the Bulldog Nation? Nobody, and they need to get over themselves.
This reminds me of other factions in religion, politics and nonsports fandoms that arbitrarily declare that theirs is the only true way, and then proceed to throw insults at anyone who differs. The truth is that being a fan doesn’t require mindless acceptance. Anyone who sat through the Ray Goff years and continued to contribute money to the program and buy season tickets certainly deserves to express any opinion they have regarding any aspect of Bulldogs football.
UGA supporters (including me) who have expressed their disappointment in Georgia’s underachieving performances this season are no less fans than these self-appointed ayatollahs. Dawgs fandom doesn’t need any litmus tests. Even if you’ve never been to Sanford Stadium but you root for UGA, you have just as much right to call yourself a fan as those of us who spend thousands of dollars and countless hours on the road supporting the Dawgs. Likewise, those who think a player should be benched or a coach should be fired are just as much fans as the blind loyalists.
We’re here to share our devotion to the Georgia Bulldogs, and sniping at one another over whose style of fandom is the “true” one is a waste of time and, frankly, looks really stupid. I mean, is that any way to celebrate a great win, casting aspersions on fellow fans?
That’s almost as pathetic as those fans who get off by spending time on rival teams’ blogs, trash-talking. And that goes for Georgia fans who engage in such childish behavior on the Trade School blog and elsewhere. How about acting like grown-ups for a change, OK?
