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AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2007 > October > 14
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Team ain’t heavy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Some highly touted high school phenoms live up to their billing as a college freshman; others are still struggling to deliver the goods consistently midway through their sophomore season.
Thanks goodness New Jersey’s greatest high school running back falls into the former category, as it appears Knowshon Moreno may have to carry this entire Georgia team on his back. He certainly did that Saturday night in Nashville, ending up with 157 yards on 28 carries and practically willing the Dawgs down the field on that last drive despite having gotten dinged up a little earlier.
With his offense having wasted several opportunities in the first half with off-target long passes and drives killed by penalties on the line, Mark Richt told Loren Smith after the game that he decided at halftime Georgia was going to have to run the ball more. Unfortunately, injury-prone Kregg Lumpkin wasn’t around long to help, but Moreno was up to the task, getting 123 of his yards after intermission.
Behind a line that still follows departed coach Neil Callaway’s penchant for being able to pass protect but not block for the run, that meant Moreno often had to freelance, cutting back away from where the play was intended to go. That 32-yard third-quarter run that set up a Bulldog touchdown by the reliable Brannan Southerland was a gem.
And then there’s Matthew Stafford, who continues to be maddeningly erratic. For most of the first half Saturday, his timing was abysmal as he continually threw the ball too late. And for some reason offensive coordinator Mike Bobo seemed determined to keep going for the long ball time and time again until Stafford got it right (which he never did). The worst was that third quarter play where Sean Bailey was wide open and Stafford sailed the ball several feet over his head.
But give Stafford credit for keeping his cool and coming through on that last drive, making some key passes to complement Moreno’s gritty runs as the Dawgs ate up the clock moving into position for the winning field goal.
And kudos to tight end Tripp Chandler, who’s turned his game around in a major way. He had two key catches Saturday night, including one where he got leveled right after catching the ball but held onto it and then jumped right up, Moreno-style.
MORE GOOD AND BAD STUFF: The Dawgs defense looked pretty awful at times in the first half, especially trying to stop a running quarterback. Obviously, Vandy noticed our weakness for misdirection plays and used an end-around and a reverse to great effect on their first scoring drive. In the second half, the Georgia D played a lot more aggressively and had pretty much shut Vandy down until they fell asleep on that long pass play that brought the Dores downfield in a hurry. Thank goodness for Darryl Gamble stripping the ball and Dannell Ellerbe jumping on the fumble. That more than made up for a badly missed tackle Gamble had on a Vandy first-down run in the first half. … Likewise, that was heads-up play by leading receiver Tony Wilson jumping on his own fumble when the ball was stripped after a big catch on the final drive. … Will Bobo or someone please tell Stafford to quit throwing sidearm? He almost got one of those throws intercepted Saturday. … Georgia was seven of 16 on third-down conversions, which won’t get it done against the conference elite.
OTHER STUFF: It was good to see an angry Coach Richt shoving players as he broke up that impromptu midfield celebration by some of the Bulldogs after the game. But as Kevin Butler said on the “Fifth Quarter Show,” it’d be nice to see some of that emotion during the four quarters of the game. … It seemed in the first half like that awful ESPN2 crew was more interested in talking about NASCAR than what was happening on the field.
