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 > 2007 > September > 16
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Stumbling toward Tuscaloosa
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
True to form, the Bulldogs took the field for a game against a lesser opponent Saturday with lethargic play and looking like they wished they were somewhere else. Then they started getting sloppy and things got even worse in a first quarter to forget.
When you’re a Division 1 team and you’ve played 15 minutes on the clock with a not very good 1-AA team and you’re tied 3-3, something is wrong.
QB Matthew Stafford unfortunately led the way, misfiring badly on passes, calling the wrong protection scheme and fumbling while getting sacked. Looking like his early freshman self, in other words, instead of the accomplished sophomore Mark Richt had led us to expect. Stafford just didn’t seem to have his head in the game for the first quarter and a half.
Finally, midway through the second quarter, the Georgia offense woke up and put it away, ending up with a respectable score for a game like this.
Why the Georgia coaching staff seems unable to get the Dawgs mentally ready for these games, even in this season of the Appalachian State Lesson, is a mystery. Whatever they’re doing in the way of game prep for these gimme games just isn’t working.
Let’s face it, if the Dawgs play in any of their remaining games like they did in the first quarter Saturday, it could get ugly. Several teams on the schedule are suddenly looking a lot tougher, including Kentucky and Troy. (Granted, a couple aren’t, notably Auburn.) Mess around like this in too many games, and Georgia easily could find itself having to sweat out a winning record this season instead of worrying about winning the SEC East.
GOOD STUFF: Knowshon Moreno. He’s still looking like a freshman at times, running into blockers and missing holes, but he’s already the mainstay of our running game and getting better every week. His first touchdown run was a beauty. By the end of the season, he should be awesome. … Once Stafford got on track, he made some really nice throws. And that play with the fake-out diamond formation of all the receivers to one side while the QB runs the draw to the other side worked brilliantly, with Stafford getting a 22-yard gain. I know Mike Bobo justified using the play against Western Carolina by saying “that was the best play in that situation,” but it might have been wiser to keep it under wraps for another week. … MoMass was back as the starting flanker, replacing the drop-prone Tony Wilson, and led the team with three catches. … Brannan Southerland continues to be Mr. Dependable when it comes to short-yardage plays. … That drive where Georgia moved from its 35 to the WC 23 in just two pass plays and then Moreno capped it off with a TD run was one of the prettiest UGA drives in quite a while. … Mikey Henderson has a nice punt return that set up that long touchdown pass from Joe Cox to Demiko Goodman. It was good to see Cox finally getting some playing time.
BAD STUFF: Both lines (and our linebackers) had trouble at times with a 1-AA team, which is pretty disturbing. There were a lot of missed tackles, too. And the Dawgs didn’t look very good adjusting to the Catamounts’ no-huddle offense. … Georgia’s not-so-special teams continue to have serious problems. Our kickoff coverage has been poor. On the “Fifth Quarter Show,” former UGA kicking great Kevin Butler noted that the Dawgs are engaging receiving team’s blockers instead of evading them and heading for the man with the ball. Whatever the problem is, Georgia needs to fix it fast. Likewise the problems with getting the right personnel on the field for punts and the opposing team’s field-goal tries (the Dawgs had to burn another couple of timeouts Saturday because of 12 men on the field) and with illegal shifts in our punting formation. … Two more dropped passes. Enough said. … Stafford continues to overlook wide-open receivers while missing on tougher throws to the end zone.
OTHER STUFF: So it’s back to Bama for the first time since 2002. Maybe Coach Richt can get Pat Dye to do another motivational job for the Dawgs. … What’s with the ESPN announcers and Alabama’s QB? Literally every mention of him in their coverage of the game against Arkansas used all three names, “John Parker Wilson.” It’s not like he’s an assassin or serial killer. … One of my brothers, who’s involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, says they’ve been told there’s a possibility the kickoff time for the Dawgs’ game against Ole Miss will be moved to 9 p.m. Not only would that inconvenience the fans from South Georgia, but it would mean the FCA would have to scrap its plans to have 2,000 high school athletes at the game since a lot of them come from more than three hours away. Let’s hope Damon Evans isn’t blinded by dollar signs and vetoes any such late kickoff.
Services »
